University researchers to take Micro the Magnificent to Great British Bioscience Festival

Published On Tue 28 Oct 2014 by Grant Hill

A team of researchers from the University of Dundee will be exhibiting at the Great British Bioscience Festival in London next month, accompanied by ‘Micro the Magnificent’, their popular giant microbe.

The festival, which takes place from 14th-16th November at the Museum Gardens in Bethnal Green, is the culmination of a year-long public engagement campaign that showcases the best of British bioscience and enables visitors to explore the fascinating world of biology through interactive exhibits created by scientists across the UK.

Dr Nicola Stanley-Wall and colleagues from the University’s College of Life Sciences will be exhibiting ‘Biofilms: building bacterial cities’. The display features parts of the Magnificent Microbes engagement project the team have undertaken in recent years to inform the public about how necessary microbes – often called germs – are to our lives as well as the important research into them taking place at the University.

Although most microbes are invisible to the naked eye, our bodies contain millions of them, they help shape our environment, and we use them without knowing it every day. Visitors will be able to play a game where they build and blast their very own bacterial city while also meeting the giant microbe that was christened Micro the Magnificent by a Dundee school pupil.

Dr Stanley-Wall explained, “Bacteria are single-celled organisms that form large, social communities called biofilms. A commonly encountered example of a biofilm is dental plaque. Bacteria within a biofilm are encased in a self-produced, ‘sticky coat’, the biofilm matrix.

“This matrix protects cells within the biofilm from both physical and chemical stress and means that often biofilms cannot be treated with antibiotics. This means that biofilms have profound global effects on human health and in various medical and industrial sectors. Understanding how biofilms form is important for the development of novel antibiotics and to harness the power of the social biofilm community for beneficial purposes.

“We have worked closely with schools and community groups on the Magnificent Microbes project to raise awareness of what bacteria are and why they are important. Visitors will learn where bacterial cities lurk in their home, neighbourhood and so on and meet and have their photo taken with Micro, our giant microbe.”

The Great British Bioscience Festival is free and suitable for all the family, with over 20 exciting and interactive displays to be explored. The event is being operated by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) in partnership with LND Science Festival.

Professor Jackie Hunter, BBSRC Chief Executive, said, “The Great British Bioscience Festival will be a unique chance for BBSRC and our scientists to bring awe-inspiring bioscience research to east London. A variety of entertaining and engaging exhibitions will be on offer, highlighting the best of BBSRC-sponsored world-leading bioscience. “

For more information on all the exhibits heading to the Great British Bioscience Festival visit: www.bbsrc.ac.uk/gbbioscifest.

The latest festival news will be broadcast on Twitter using the hashtags #GBbioscifest and #LSF14.

Notes to editors:

About BBSRC

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) invests in world-class bioscience research and training on behalf of the UK public. Our aim is to further scientific knowledge, to promote economic growth, wealth and job creation and to improve quality of life in the UK and beyond.

Funded by Government, BBSRC invested over £484M in world-class bioscience in 2013-14. We support research and training in universities and strategically funded institutes. BBSRC research and the people we fund are helping society to meet major challenges, including food security, green energy and healthier, longer lives. Our investments underpin important UK economic sectors, such as farming, food, industrial biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.

For more information about BBSRC, our science and our impact see: http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk. For more information about BBSRC strategically funded institutes see: http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/institutes.  

BBSRC Media Office, Email: press.office@bbsrc.ac.uk, Tel: +44 (0)1793 414694.

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