Magnificent microbes on show

Microbiologists from the University of Dundee were on hand to show visitors the wondrous world of ‘Magnificent Microbes’ at an event held last month at Sensation, Dundee Science Centre.

Although most microbes are invisible to the naked eye, our bodies contain millions of them; they help shape our environment, and we use them without knowing it everyday.

Among the little known facts about these little “creatures” are that:

Ants can use the bacteria on that live on their bodies to produce their own antibiotics.

Bacteria can be used to fight pollution.

Like something from a sci-fi film, microbes can glow in the dark.

Lots of commonly consumed food and drink products are made using fungi or bacteria.

Dr Nicola Stanley Wall, a lecturer in microbiology at the University of Dundee, said:

“Because of their size, people don’t realise just how interesting and important microbes are so we wanted to hold an event where people could come and see how fascinating they really are. People don’t realise how broad the range of functions are that microbes play a role in. Microbes, especially fungi, are used to make a massive range of food and drink products.

“We hope that we’ll be able to give people a better understanding of what microbiology is. With some of the youngsters, it might even persuade them to pursue a career in science.”