A cinematic approach to drug resistance
Coach sent me an article that turned out to be very thrilling and eye opening. It was experiment done by Harvard scientists and Technion-Israel Institute, to show how bacteria moves(mutates) through different levels of antibiotics. What made this experiment special was that the results of the experiment was represented in small video clip, that made it more attractive to public. I think that video clips and documentaries are good way to raise public awareness, because people tend to enjoy watching something, rather than reading about it. To add, one of the scientists, Lieberman stated “When shown the video, evolutionary biologists immediately recognize concepts they’ve thought about in the abstract, while nonspecialists immediately begin to ask really good questions.” Therefore, visual work makes people more interested in the topic.
The experiment required the team to construct a 2-by-4 foot petri dish and fill it with 14 liters of agar, a seaweed-derived jellylike substance commonly used in labs to nourish organisms as they grow. Then they divided the class into 9 sections, as shown in the figure 1.
We can see that each sector going towards middle has higher consecration of drugs in it than the last one. Over the next two weeks, camera mounted on top of the dish took snapshots of the bacteria moving and then they turned it into a stunning time-lapsed montage. The results were powerful, to see bacterial movement, survival and evolution with naked eye. Next figure shows the end result of the experiment.
This was one of a kind work, since it was never done before, at least like that. The researchers were extremely happy with the results and saying that: “This project was fun and joyful throughout. Seeing the bacteria spread for the first time was a thrill (Kishony).” Furthermore, beside the beautiful artwork they ended up with, the researchers came to conclusion that the most resistant mutants do not always lead evolution. Sometimes it favors the first to get there. The strongest mutants are, in fact, often moving behind more vulnerable strains (Baym). I found that research to be innovative and I think we should look problems with different perspectives, since the outcomes can give us new and better information.
Sources:
Pesheva, Katerina. “A Cinematic Approach to Drug Resistance.” Harvard Gazette. N.p., 8 Sept. 2016. Web. 16 Sept. 2016.