Santiago Castro
Last November, teachers and students from the Nanotechnology and Nanoscience and Biology degrees went to the Benjamín Rúa Institute and the Las Encinas Institute to carry out APS activities on anti-bacteria. The closing day consisted of a talk about the research of the Microbiology department and a presentation of diplomas to the participants.
“It is a project to raise awareness, but also to introduce people to research,” explains Emma Barahona, a professor in the area of Microbiology. “We seek to promote scientific learning and encourage future researchers,” she adds.
A few days to teach how to investigate
El APS It is a methodology that serves to integrate the learning of content and skills, as well as values, in community services, in an educational project. This type of project aims to provide a direct service to society.
The activity consisted of students from the degrees themselves teaching young people, from vocational training and high school, how to carry out research to find new antibiotics.
On the first day, soil samples were collected under aseptic conditions from poorly explored locations, avoiding contaminated or chemically treated areas. These samples were transported to the laboratory, where, on the second day, they were cultured on specific agar media to promote the growth of microorganisms present in the soil. Because only a small percentage of microbial diversity is cultivable in the laboratory, different dilutions were used to maximize the obtaining of colonies.
On the third day, an antibiotic test was carried out using safe bacteria related to a group of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, such as Escherichia coli and Bacillus, with the aim of detecting microorganisms capable of producing substances with an inhibitory effect. “It was a success because we obtained 16 isolated clones of possible antibiotics that we will be able to study,” explains the professor.
The activity was very well received by the participants. “We received a very good rating in the surveys that were carried out, as well as a great interest from the students of the degree,” says the person in charge.