ASM announced the winners of the 11th annual Agar Art Contest, which received a record-breaking 557 submissions. Since 2015, ASM's Agar Art Contest has provided scientists and artists with a platform to showcase their creativity by using live microbes to "paint" images on agar, a gelatin-like substance that serves as food for the microorganisms. Explore the winning submissions for this year’s theme, “Microbes Make the World Go Round.”
This year's contest theme, "Microbes Make the World Go Round,” invited participants to highlight the essential role microbes play in our daily lives, from supporting ecosystems to enabling key innovations in health and industry.
“Each year, the Agar Art Contest entries reveal just how beautiful, diverse and surprising the microbial world can be,” said Aleea Khan, Director of Marketing and Communications at ASM. “This year’s theme inspired entries that illuminate the essential and often unseen roles microbes play in sustaining life.”
Johnie Urias, a medical lab technologist at Health Sciences Centre Winnipeg in Canada, won first place with “Circles of Life: Microbes in Motion.” Urias’ winning piece features 7 interconnected plates in which microbes appear to move from 1 to the next, symbolizing the vast networks microbes create across soil, water, plants and the human body. He used Chromobacterium violaceum, a soil and water bacterium that produces the vivid purple pigment violacein, a compound known for its striking color and its ability to combat bacteria, fungi, parasites and even cancer cells.
Stephany
Young, a professor at Universidad de Panamá in Panama City, won first
place with “The Hidden Power of Microorganisms: No microbes, no
life…” Young’s piece was created using Serratia marcescens, Micrococcus spp. and
a diverse collection of environmental bacteria isolated from insects,
small animals and leaves placed onto nutrient agar. After incubation,
colonies with distinct pigmentation were selected to form the final
artwork, a depiction of the rich microbial world that surrounds us.
The American Society for Microbiology is one of the largest professional
societies dedicated to the life sciences and is composed of over 38,000
scientists and health practitioners. ASM's mission is to promote and
advance the microbial sciences.
ASM advances the microbial sciences through conferences, publications,
certifications, educational opportunities and advocacy efforts. It
enhances laboratory capacity around the globe through training and
resources. It provides a network for scientists in
academia, industry and clinical settings. Additionally, ASM promotes a
deeper understanding of the microbial sciences to all audiences.
Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle, Pharmaceutical Microbiology Resources (http://www.pharmamicroresources.com/)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Pharmaceutical Microbiology Resources