1. 2018 has been an incredible year for #synbio. Check this compilation of the Top 10 moments! 🔬

No better way to start the year than with a compilation of the Top 10 moments in synthetic biology! 2018 has been an incredible year for synbio, researches in this field are gradually leading to new technologies and application that will improve our daily life. Some examples of the advances are plastic degradation, DNA data storage or microbial drug delivery. Read more >

2. Planning a trip to Amsterdam? ✈️Did you know that there is a whole museum of microbes?🔬 It was the first of its kind!

In a wonderful city like Amsterdam, there is a small museum with even smaller organisms, microbes! This place is changing the way people see bacteria and other organisms. Inside the museum, there are a lot of interactive activities and amazing facts that will awaken your interest in this tiny world. You can’t miss it! Read more > 

3. Do you have germophobic friends? Don’t worry, we’ll help! Here are 11 reasons that will turn them into #microbe lovers! 🔬💓

Most people have a negative view of microbes. Words like bacteria are automatically related to infections and illness, but BactToTheFutere has shown us that it’s not true. Bacteria are incredible and play important roles in solving health and global problems such us antibiotic development, food and energy production or water purification. Here there are 11 examples of awesome microbes. Read more> 

4. An ocean free of plastic? 🌍These #bacteria could make it possible.

The plastic pollution of our oceans is unquestionably one of the world’s biggest environmental problems. However, a study of the Tel Aviv University could have found a solution in salt-loving microorganisms. Their results show that some seaweed-eating bacteria can naturally produce a fully degradable polymer. This could lead to a way of sustainably produce bioplastics. Read more about it here>

5. From Albert Einstein to Charles Darwin. Look what these light-reacting #bacteria create in only five minutes!👀 Just #AwesomeMicrobes

Some microorganisms have mechanisms that allow them to move until they find the perfect conditions for growth and survival. For example, some bacteria react to the environmental light and these researches have used that capacity to create these amazing portraits:

 

The video shows how millions of bacteria move following the pattern set by the researchers. It only takes them five minutes to move from one portrait to the next one. Read more>

6. Are you that one person that never gets the flu? 🤒😷 You should thank your nose #bacteria!

A recent study has shown that the bacteria of your nose and throat could have an influence on whether or not you get the flu. Researches from the University of Michigan have discovered that people with high levels of certain species of bacteria are less likely to contract the virus. This advance may open the door to the manipulation of our body microbes for illness prevention. Read more>

7. Carbon emissions of wastewater plants could have their days numbered! 💧These #bacteria transform the organic compounds of wastewater into renewable fuel!

Current wastewater treatment plants have to face several issues such as high energy consumption or greenhouse gases emissions. However, a new study from Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid has found a way to make these plants more efficient and carbon-neutral. The method consists of using phototrophic bacteria that transform the carbon present in sewage into biofuels. Read more about this study here>

8. Grab your phone! 📱 These researches have developed a biosensor that can detect live and dead #bacteria through an app!

Nowadays there are apps for everything! Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi have developed a biosensor for the front camera of your phone that can detect bacteria. The biosensor changes the colour into the black in presence of bacteria, then the app analyses these colour variations and the phone vibrates giving a signal. Their results showed that the biosensor could detect live and dead bacteria in less time than conventional methods. Read more>

9. “Ground control to Major Tom”🎵 you better stay away of these#AwesomeMicrobes during your space trip.

10. Free time at the lab? 👩🏾‍🔬Make a team with #bacteria and create #AgarArt!🔬🖌️

Have you ever thought about creating art by using living things? It doesn’t sound real but it is possible! Actually, there are a lot of fans of this way to create art. We are talking about painting with bacteria! It is called Agar Art and it has even an annual art contest. If you now feel curious and want to know how this technique works, watch this tutorial>