Georgie Ariaratnam, Assistant Content Developer, blogs about the rise of antibiotics, the subject of a display in the Museum’s Who Am I? gallery
Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest challenges of our time. It affects all of us, so perhaps unsurprisingly, it was declared the winner of the Longitude Prize 2014.
At the Science Museum, we decided to examine this topic in more depth with a new exhibit, Your future without antibiotics?, which explores the rise of antibiotic resistance and the latest research to tackle it.
The exhibit, currently on display in our Who am I? gallery, changes every few months, giving the Science Museum the opportunity to explore current and significant research stories in health, genetics and neuroscience. With over a million people visiting the Who am I? gallery each year, it’s important to design exhibits that are interesting and relevant to our visitors’ lives.
We chose to tell three main stories in the display case. The Rise of Resistance looks at how bacteria have become resistant, Radical Research focusses on the latest research to tackle resistance and Stop the Spread explores how to prevent the spread of infection.
The display features unique and intriguing objects to tell these stories. You can see a Star Trek-inspired hand-held ‘tricorder’ which uses a virus to identify bacterial infection. Alongside, you can spot a keyboard and mobile phone cover coated with the world’s first light-activated antimicrobial surface that also works in the dark. Other items include a bio-engineered medical honey which can kick start the healing process in wound treatment. There is even a giant, lime green stick insect, whose guts researchers are studying for new antibiotic compounds.
To develop the display case, we spoke to many institutions that focus on tackling antibiotic resistance including the World Health Organisation, Department of Health, Public Health England and Antibiotic Action. The exhibit also features research from scientists at University College London, University of Birmingham and the University of Leicester.
Your future without antibiotics? opened on 18 July and will be on display in the Science Museum’s Who Am I? gallery until late November 2014.
One comment on “Your Future Without Antibiotics?”
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No mention of sulphonamides? These were used effectively in the 1940s just before antibiotics became available. Since their use then dwindled, it is unlikely that bacteria have developed resistance to them. They could be used again as a stop-gap while research goes on.