Microbial pigments: an untapped resource for teachers, artists and researchers

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.

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About the fabulous covers of the Trends journals

You may (not) know that I was the full-time editor of Trends in Microbiology (TiM) for 15 months. During that time, I greatly enjoyed --in addition to other more obvious editorial tasks-- working with our in-house designer, Philip Patenall, for the making of the TiM covers.

The process used to be something like this. First, I chose one of the articles to be highlighted on the cover and suggested a tentative design. Then, Phil and I discussed about how to translate my (often not very clever) idea into a proper design. And, finally, he did (basically) all the hard work.

Note that the image shown here corresponds to a different journal, Trends in Genetics. This is my favourite Trends cover (and that of many other people) of 2009. It was designed by Phil, based on suggestions by the journal editor, Treasa Creavin.

Phil made hundreds of covers and lots of other graphic art for the Trends journals and other scientific publications. See below four examples of the work he made for TiM during 2009. If you want to see more pretty covers, go to the Trends website, choose a journal, and click on the magnifying glass below the cover pic (on the left sidebar) for each issue.



Unfortunately, Phil left his job last November because of a departmental reorganization, so his last covers were those of the December issues. Because my contract ended with the year, then I had the rare opportunity to make my own cover designs for the January and February 2010 issues, in the absence of a dedicated designer. Although I've always been interested in photography and anything visual, and have been using Photoshop for a while, I'm fully aware that I am not a professional designer. I know these covers are not very good but, hey, I enjoyed making them, and wanted to share them with the blogosphere. Here they are:

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The Bio-Art Case: The End?

Fresh news on the bio-art case, as read on The Scientist:

"A geneticist was sentenced to one year of unsupervised release (no jail time) and a $500 fine for supplying bacteria to an artist, according to the Buffalo News, bringing to an end a well-publicized case that began more than three years ago."

Further reading:

• Geneticist sentenced in art case, The Scientist (11-Feb-2008).
  
• Researcher in Kurtz case fined $500, avoids jail, The Buffalo News (11-Feb-2008).
• Outburst follows fining of figure in Kurtz case, The Buffalo News (12-Feb-2008).
• Prof sent bacteria to artist; no jail, The Buffalo News (12-Feb-2008).

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The Bio-Art Case

The news came out on Oct. 11, 2007 (by Carolyn Thompson, AP, as seen at Examiner.com)*:

“A college researcher has admitted to illegally mailing bacteria to an avant-garde artist friend in a federal case that arts supporters see as an attack on artistic expression.
Dr. Robert Ferrell's attorney, who characterized the mailed material as "high school science bacteria," said the University of Pittsburgh genetics professor agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor count of "mailing an injurious article" because of his poor health.”

This is a sad story, you may know the case. Steven Kurtz, artist and professor at the State University of New York in Buffalo, asked for some inoffensive bacterial cultures to Dr. Ferrell, who saw no problem in sending them. The artist used the bacteria as part of an art exhibit. However, in June 2004, both men were investigated for possible involvement in “bio-terrorism,” although finally charges were only for “felony mail and wire fraud.” For details, please follow the links:

- Professor pleads guilty in bio-arts case (phillyBurbs.com)
- Geneticist pleads guilty to misdemeanor in "art bioterror" case (The Scientist)
- Mail harmless bacteria, go to jail (Aetiology)
- CAE (Critical Art Ensemble) Defense Fund

(*) It seems that the original link to the article at Examiner.com does not work anymore, but here it goes: Professor pleads guilty in bio-arts case. Ah, this is the temporary nature of the internet...

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