People’s fascination with the microbial world is not new. The infamous draper and the father of microbiology, Leeuwenhoek, was the first to open that gate to the public. With his handheld, single-lens microscopes, he bewildered his audience whether they were scholars from the Royal Society of London or just working-class relatives. It seems like microscopy was always there to inspire people after Leeuwenhoek; for centuries many explained the scenery through a microscope with words and illustrations. German naturalist Ehrenberg left behind thousands of colourful paintings of microbes in collections that inspired and mesmerised anyone who were lucky enough to see them. But, throughout the ages, information always had its limitations; in 1969 during the Apollo 11 Mission, only five photos of the first person who ever walked on the Moon were taken. Today, with the arrival of social media, information is so easy to generate and share with the public, one can create a video or a photo of their microscopy observations and post it online to be seen by millions, making microscopy more influential than ever before. Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and many other online platforms. Numbers of followers topping millions, and reaching-out stats crowning tens of millions. The scientific value of these microscopy social media accounts varies; while some just share pictures and occasional videos with no or very few facts, others give quite accurate information on the topic. Another challenge is that reaching millions is often not the case to inspire people into microscopy; however, some accounts on social media achieve that quite beautifully. They share their microscopy content with such passion and aesthetics; they capture the attention of their audience. They reveal the microworld in a colloquial and easy-to-understand way, so regardless of their audiences’ background they make the topic graspable for everyone, reaching huge crowds that would rarely be matched by citations of scientific publications.
examining pond samples, capturing protists on video, and discovering new and rare species. James is part of the very successful YouTube Channel, Journey to the Microcosmos ( youtube.com/microcosmos ). You can find some of his outstanding videos @jam_and_germs on instagram.
Genoveva F. Esteban Professor of Microbial Ecology at Bournemouth University, UK
staffprofiles.bournemouth.ac.uk/display/ gesteban
Genoveva’s research is currently focusing on the morphological and molecular characterisation of the very rare protists and microbial consortia that thrive in fresh waters. Genoveva is an award-winning and dynamic STEM Ambassador. She is a Microbiology Society Champion and has been a member of both the Microbiology Society and Protistology-UK for many years. Why does microbiology matter? James: Even though life around us looks quite different from each other, at the cellular level we are quite alike. Investigating microbes is like looking at that life at its purest form, which is personally fascinating to me! And not just that, but also the behavioural and morphological patterns larger life exhibit can be traced back to the topic of microbiology, hence one can tell a lot about our human existence on Earth by just studying microbes. After all, our consciousness is just a result of a trillion cells working together. Genoveva: Most life on Earth is, and has always been, microbial. Microbes are responsible for the functioning of ecosystems and for their recovery after disturbance or pollution. More than this, microbes are also responsible for human diseases and food production. Microbiology is a discipline that helps us understand microbes and the processes in which they are involved – that’s why microbiology matters. What advice would you give to researchers trying to engage with the public? James: Telling a unique story with a simple language everyone can understand is the way to engage with the public. People love original and personal anecdotes; if you can find a way to make people relate to your passion and curiosity, then you can get the attention of the public. Genoveva: Keep it simple so that anyone of any age can understand; try to impress the audience with a visual demonstration; show enthusiasm and, above all, enjoy it!
About the authors
James Weiss Independent Researcher
james@pondbuddies.com @Jam_and_germs
James Weiss is a professional microscopist with passion for the microbial world. He runs a private laboratory and spends many hours
83 Microbiology Today October 2022 | microbiologysociety.org
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