biotechnology

Why Studying Bacteria Matters

I have been thinking a lot recently about how the tools we use in our work have improved so dramatically in the last few decades and how this is mostly down to the frequently disparaged study of microbes. While everyone can get behind studying bacteria that cause life-threatening diseases like typhoid fever and cholera, I think that it is often harder to convince people of the value of studying ordinary and sometimes obscure bacteria that do not directly affect human health. However, over the years, such studies have revolutionized many aspects of our lives.

thermophillic bacteria at Yellowstone

It Is A Luxurious Time To Be A Biologist

Discovery was always fascinating to me. The curiosity of how a cell looks under the microscope and how a volcano erupts under the earth’s crust has led me to pursue a career in science. I still remember how excited I felt after my first experiment in a lab class where we had to touch an LB-agar plate with our fingers before and after we wash them to see what grows on it. I still hold on to the feeling of surprise when I saw mold growing because of my dirty fingers.

Yannis Grammatikakis and team