Scientists found an army of microbes feeding on a 17th-century canvas. Then they declared war. Source: Bacteria spores can kill painting-eating bacteria Interesting applied use of bacteria discussed in this story. Based on a PLOS One paper. Not ready for prime time yet but interesting idea – to introduce new microbes to try and control …
Neat article in the Harvard Gazette about an awesome-sounding exhibit, “Microbial Life: A Universe at the Edge of Sight.”. Put together by Roberto Kolter and Scott Chimileski, the exhibit highlights microbial life… particularly the discoveries of microbial ecology over the last couple of decades. Looks like a cool blend of science and art.
Came across this pretty interesting story today, an article in the Guardian entitled “Bacteria from 300-year-old Ovid poetry volume inspires ‘bio-artist’”. Basically the artist found an old book, and then cultured microbes from it, using her own blood to make blood agar plates. Voila, cool microbe art with history mixed in.
There is a very interesting article by Kate Baggaley in Popular Science from a few weeks ago that is definitely worth a look. “Bacteria and fungi are a menace to paintings, sculptures, and ancient artifacts.” Source: The world’s art is under attack—by microbes | Popular Science It discusses how microbes are damaging various kinds of …
Made a little Storify highlighting some posts people have made about the AgarArt contest from ASM [View the story “#AgarArt contest from @asmicrobiology” on Storify]
Microbes found in ambulances Not surprisingly, bacteria could be detected after swabbing surfaces in ambulances. Detection and characterization of surface microbial contamination in emergency ambulances – Aketza Varona-Barquin – American Journal of Infection Control ($35.95) A cross-sectional study was performed in 10 emergency basic life support ambulances operating in Bilbao, Spain, to assess surface bacterial …
Worth a look – everyone should get their Art and Microbes fix on: 10 Ways To Boost Your Microbiota On Etsy | the vexed muddler
We’ve written about Joana Ricou before on this blog, and here she is again. This time with an exhibit featuring oil paintings representing human bodies and their microbiomes. The linked article also includes a video of Ricou discussing her work, which has been featured on the cover of a scientific journal and strives to combine science and art in …
Amanita Design is a company that draws from nature in its game design. Here is a news article from The Guardian that goes in depth on their game design features and how microbiology, insects, and mythology are incorporated into the games. Games like this are great for getting people to think about nature and how organisms …
As Beijing experiences its first “Red Alert” smog emergency, an aptly-timed bit of quirky performance art is making the round on Chinese social media and the English-language press today. A artist from Shenzhen who calls himself “Brother Nut” spent 100 days walking around Beijing with an industrial vacuum cleaner. He then collected dust into a …