The journal PLoS Biology has launched a new series of articles on education "to present innovative approaches to teaching critical concepts, developments, and methods in biology." The title of the first article in the series is In Living Color: Bacterial Pigments as an Untapped Resource in the Classroom and Beyond.
From the article:
"Soil bacteria from the Streptomyces genus represent a source of interesting natural products that have been largely overlooked by artists, researchers, and teachers. This article is intended to encourage amateurs and professionals alike to explore this overflowing source of biopigments. Not only does this endeavor have the potential to lead us toward a fertile nexus between art and science, it may also lead to a more sustainable and environmentally friendly way to color the world around us in the future. The relevance of biopigments to many facets of science, technology, and society, makes this material an outstanding tool to engage students of varying academic interests across multiple age groups. Therefore, we encourage teachers of all levels to consider using biopigments as a vehicle to introduce the scientific method to their students. To facilitate the implementation of biopigments into science and art curricula, we have provided a list of useful online resources and information about procuring materials [...] as well as recommend ways to evaluate the effectiveness of the lesson [...]."
Original article (and image source):
Charkoudian LK, Fitzgerald JT, Khosla C, Champlin A (2010) In Living Color: Bacterial Pigments as an Untapped Resource in the Classroom and Beyond. PLoS Biol 8(10): e1000510. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1000510
Image: “Elvis Lives!” painted on agar media plates using the bacterium Streptomyces coelicolor.
Related links:
- Microbial Art, a collection of unique artworks created using living bacteria, fungi, and protists.
- Painting With Penicillin: Alexander Fleming's Germ Art. The scientist created works of art using microbes, but did his artwork help lead him to his greatest discovery? By Rob Dunn. Smithsonian.com, July 12, 2010.
- Streptomyces: they're twisted! Twisted Bacteria, Aug 10, 2007.
I would be extremely cautious about using untested and unknown products, in any context, but particularly in classrooms. Poisons and allergens may themselves be bright colours or may be associated with colours, not least to ward off predators.
ReplyDeletePat, that's an interesting point that doesn't seem to be addressed in the PLoS Biology article.
ReplyDeleteI understand that the authors suggest to use specific, "well-known" bacterial strains obtained from a reliable source (e.g. a culture collection such as ATCC). By "well-known" bacterial strains I mean those that have been used in laboratories for many years without known cases of allergies or poisoning. Obviously, routine safety procedures should always be followed when handling any microbes or chemicals.
Perhaps the authors of the article could have been more explicit about the identity of the suggested bacterial strains, and about any safety concerns/procedures?
Nowadays, it would surely work well especially if it was being tested by other users who is willing to have the benefits that it can give. Also, there would be something more important from using this kind of thing.
ReplyDelete