Dispelling the Myths of Bacteria: Oxford Exhibition Open

An enlightening new exhibition at Oxford University Museum of Natural History this autumn seeks to rehabilitate the reputation of bacteria and counter the popular misconception that they are all bad, or to be feared.

Incorporating more than 55 exhibits Bacterial World, being held between 19 October 2018 – 28 May 2019, will span monumental art, geological and deep-sea specimens, film and digital interactives, demonstrating how these tiny organisms wield huge influence over us, shaping the past, present and future of life on our planet.

The exhibition will feature items generously loaned from institutions including the Wellcome Collection, Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, the Pitt Rivers Museum, and the Natural History Museum, London.

The earliest form of life on Earth bacteria exist practically everywhere today; from the deepest oceans to the driest deserts and even in the clouds. Bacteria survive, thrive, fight and die by the trillion every moment. These remarkable organisms can swim using nanoscopic motors and battle with spears. They sense, communicate and remember. What’s more, there are as many bacterial as human cells within our bodies. The exhibition will demonstrate how science is lifting the lid on the secret lives and hidden stories of the smallest of organisms and their influence on us and our planet.

Professor Paul Smith, director of the Museum of Natural History says: "Bacteria are essential for almost every aspect of life on Earth, from the very origins of life itself to the deeply intricate relationships that underpin all ecosystems. Drawing on research from across the University of Oxford, the Bacterial World exhibition explores our very intimate relationships with bacteria and reveals the vital roles they play in enabling our planet's huge variety of life."

Professor Judith Armitage FRS, lead scientist for the exhibition, Professor of Biochemistry at University of Oxford and President-elect of the UK Microbiology Society, adds: “I hope this exhibition goes some way to revealing the generally unknown and unseen vast, diverse world of bacteria. Bacteria have been evolving since the beginning of life on Earth and helped form the planet on which we live, providing the oxygen and much of the nitrogen needed for current life. Their complex communities, where they live and die, compete, communicate, cooperate, fight and have sex have evolved for specific environments and

we are coming to realise, are essential for healthy soils, oceans and even ourselves. While some, in the wrong place, can cause diseases, we need to understand microbial communities to be able to continue to control those diseases and to maintain both a healthy body and a healthy planet.”

For more information visit www.oum.ox.ac.uk/bacterialworld