Richard Cogdell is the Director of the Institute for Molecular Cell and Systems Biology at the University of Glasglow, Scotland.
Richard was led to a career in studying bacterial photosynthesis by a desire to learn and understand basic photosynthesis, he "wanted to know how natured worked."
In 1995, Richard's research group, in collaboration with others, used protein crystallography to determine the three dimensional structure of a light-harvesting complex from the purple bacterium, Rhodospsedomas acidophilia.
This breakthrough led to two key elements in the understanding of bacterial photosynthesis. One, once you have established the structure you can understand its function. Two, this view of a light-harvesting complex attracted an interdisciplinary group of scientists from the fields such as chemistry, physics, mathematics and biology.
Richard's current challenge is to take the process of photosynthesis (using solar energy to make a fuel) and apply it to the world's energy needs in a sustainable manner.
To do this, Richard says "you must break photosynthesis down to it's four most basics steps", absorb solar energy, concentrate it, break it apart and make a fuel. These are the steps that must be duplicated if they are going to be successful at creating sustainable, renewable energy.
The first two steps, says Cogdell, are like a solar battery (easy to recreate). The hard part is finding ways to use renewable energy to drive the chemistry. That's the process Richard spends most of his time working on and he uses the concept of an artificial leaf to help explain this complex process to the public.
According to Cogdell, if the current rate of investment continues, it will be approximately five to six years before we see a small pilot system that demonstrates the feasibility of the process.
Richard emphasizes that if mankind wants to survive, we must find a way to convert solar energy into fuel because when fossil fuels run out so do we.
The most common analogy for CRISPR systems is that of molecular scissors. Joe Bondy-Denomy offers an alternative analogy from the bacteriophage perspective, all based on scientific data.
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We may not see microplastics, but they are all around us. These microplastics play a role in shaping the microbial environment, and this talk will explain how.
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Science communication experts discuss creative ways (like variations of escape-the-room, the Up-Goer Five Challenge, or edible learning aids) to get people to interact with science.
Jennifer Gardy, Kathryn (KT) Elliott, and Dave Westenberg discuss the inspiration for their creative approaches and tips for other who want to improve their scicomm skills.
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CDC Principal Deputy Director Anne Schuchat has extensive experience in global health and science advocacy. Jennifer Gardy interviews Schuchat about emerging disease threats and what advice for early-career scientists Schuchat can offer.
Schuchat talks about translating disease detective work into policies that decrease infection rates, citing the successes in decreasing group B Streptococcus infections, developing group A meningococcal vaccines, and halting the recent West African Ebola outbreak. Schuchat talks about her road from an Emerging Infectious Disease fellow to her role in preparing for emerging disease as Deputy Director, and her vision for a future of interdisciplinary collaboration for the greater benefit of global public health.
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From ASM Microbe 2017 at New Orleans, Vincent and Rich meet up with Kate Rubins to talk about becoming an astronaut, space travel, and doing science in space.
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Rich Condit
Guest: Kate Rubins
Thumbnail Photo by Chris Condayan
Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees
Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@microbe.tv
At Microbe 2017 in New Orleans, the TWiM team speaks with Arturo Casadevall about his thoughts on the pathogenic potential of a microbe, rigorous science, funding by lottery, and moonshot science.
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Elio Schaechter and Michele Swanson.
Guest: Arturo Casadevall
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Links for this episode
Pathogenic potential of a microbe (mSphere)
Rigorous science (mBio)
Funding by lottery (mBio)
Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded audio) to twim@microbe.tv
Step inside the creative process with Agar Art 2015 winners Maria Peñil Cobo, Mixed Media Artist, and Mehmet Berkmen, PhD, Staff Scientist at New England Biolabs. During their multi-year collaboration, Maria and Memo have created astonishing works of art using living microbes. Find out how they meld science and art with this behind-the-scenes how-to video guide.
Inspired? Submit your own agar art to ASM’s Agar Art 2017 contest through April 27, 2017 - http://www.asm.org/index.php/public-outreach/agar-art
Prizes include up to $200 in Amazon gift cards and the chance for your art to be featured in the Agar Art Gallery at ASM Microbe 2017 (http://www.asm.org/index.php/asm-microbe-2017), June 1-5, 2017 in New Orleans, LA. Submissions must be high-resolution photos of an organism(s) growing on agar. Submitting artists must be ASM members ( http://asmscience.org/content/membership/all) or work with an official ASM Agar Art partner organization to create the submitted piece. Questions? Contact communications@asmusa.org.
Veteran medical journalist Meredith Wadman discusses her book The Vaccine Race. It tells the timely, epic, and controversial story of the development of the first widely-used normal human cell line and, through it, important viral vaccines, including the vaccine for rubella (German measles). Far from being an instrument of history, vaccine development in the modern era is targeting new (and reemerging) infectious diseases, including Ebola, Zika, Influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). Dr. April Killikelly, a scientist at NIH's Vaccine Research Center, discusses the latest tools and technologies used to design tomorrow’s vaccines.
In late July, 2016 ASM ventured below the equator, joining public and private sector partners at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s (APEC) Women in Science (WiSci) STEAM Camp in Chaclacayo, Peru. ASM Young Ambassador to Uruguay, Dr. Paola Scavone, and ASM Program Coordinator Laetitia Diatezua led four microbiology workshops in Spanish at the camp, teaching 100 girls how to build a cell-phone microscope, plate bacteria, extract DNA, and view bacteria using their handmade microscopes. This year’s camp was a joint collaboration between private sector entities, and the White House’s Let Girls Learn Initiative, US Department of State, UN Foundation’s Girl Up, and APEC’s Women in the Economy focus.
What happens to us after we die? Â A decomposing corpse becomes its own mini-ecosystem, hosting insects, scavengers and multitudes of microbes. Â Microbes from the environment, the corpse, as well as the insects and scavengers are blended together and work to recycle tissues back to their constituents. Â Dr. Jennifer DeBruyn discusses the fascinating process of human decomposition, and how scientists are using that information to inform forensic science, livestock mortality management and fossilization. Â Â
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