Question: What do you see as the applications of microbiology in the future?

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  1. David, Microbiology has so many uses already.
    For example in the food industry we use microbes to make Beer and cheese as well as yoghurt. We also use them to make probiotics!
    In the environment we are now trying to use bacteria to clean up contaminated sites. Sites that have been contaminated by oil spills or sites contaminated with cancer cause Chlorinated compounds! Microbes may also be potentially used to clean up sites after a war when there are explosives still present in the ground!
    My previous research also looked into using microbes to convert garbage into an alternative fuel to power our houses and cars! There is a big world out there for our little microbes to explore! I’m all for a micro powered future! 😉

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  2. Davidmcafeescience with another killer question!

    On top of what Mia said, there will be a LOT of research into using microbiology in medicine! Not just finding cures for disease, but using different parts of disease to help cure disease! Did you know that there are some kinds of parasites (worms that suck your blood) that are being looked at at my university as a way to treat other diseases! Thye actually infect you with a worm, and it can help with some genetic disorders and other diseases!

    Scientists are also looking at making fake viruses for all sorts of things. Viruses are basically DNA packaged in a protein cas. Scientists are looking at how to copy this to deliver DNA and other things into our bodies!

    There are even some bacteria that we haven’t known about for long that we can use in the future. There are bacteria that make their own tiny magnetic metal beads and wrap them in a coat of fat! Or other bacteria that can survive at more than 100 degrees!

    So if you can think of it, it can be researched and tried! There are so many new things to discover with microbiology just waiting for someone to go for it!

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  3. Oh man, reading through Sam and Mia’s lists. Don’t know about you guys but I feel pretty inspired!

    Microbiology is a field that’s growing really fast.

    Personalised medicines are a big one, the idea that treatments could be made especially for a person to work best with their body chemistry.

    Another cool one is using enzymes to do reactions really quickly and cheaply. A *lot* of industries rely on some chemical process or another (like refining steel, making batteries, even making simple medicines like panadol and cold and flu meds) and enzymology looks to find a way to do ALL those processes faster.

    If we make them cheaper, more people can access medicines around the world, and we might be able to use biochemical processes to help people who wouldn’t normally have access to the same healthcare we do.

    Microbiology is pretty much the future. : )

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