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Tno's microbiology research and in Micropia premier

Thursday, 2. October 2014 - 11:50

From 1 October 2014 Micropia opens to the public: the world’s first museum that makes the invisible world of micro-organisms visible. For this special museum, whose official opening by Queen Máxima is 30 September, TNO provided all kinds of knowledge and research in the field of microbiology.

In Micropia visitors enter a new world; seeing and experiencing how microbes eat, move and propagate, navigating through 3D landscapes and getting to know their own microbes through a bodyscan. TNO has been involved in the creation of Micropia since 2006. TNO has supplied data for two exhibits in the museum, the hydrochip is there and TNO experts give lectures on microbiology.

EXHIBITS AND HYDROCHIP
Micropia shows the invisible and makes the visitor part of the world of micro-organisms. As in a body scan that lets you see which organisms are in and on your body and the influence they have on, for example, your intestines, skin and mouth. The TNO data are used not just for the body scan but also for the kiss-o-meter that shows what microbes you exchange when you kiss. TNO’s hydrochip also has its place in Micropia. This innovative method based on DNA technology can quickly and reliably determine the ecological quality of surface water using species-specific bits of algae DNA on the chip instead of time-consuming light-microscopic analysis.

LECTURES
For the fourth time TNO and the Artis Academy are organising a series of lectures on microbiology in the historic Lecture Theatre of Artis this autumn. TNO’s Remco Kort, involved in the creation of Micropia since 2006, set up the lecture series jointly with the Artis Academy through his TNO chair in Microbial Genomics at the Vrije University. Each year microbiologists from TNO (Frank Schuren, Bart Keijser and Guus Roeselers), other knowledge institutions and companies address PhD and undergraduate students along with other interested Artis visitors who have some knowledge of the field.

IMPORTANCE OF MICROBIOLOGY
Micro-organisms, especially bacteria, are both useful and essential for our health. Research and data-gathering generate insight into the composition and function of the micro-organisms in the body (the human microbiota) and the interactions in which they engage. This knowledge contributes to the development of innovative methods to prevent or combat infectious diseases, auto-immune diseases, chronic disorders and allergies as well as enabling new ways of treating water. These are some of the ways in which TNO helps improve human and environmental health.

Dr. R. (Remco) Kort

Source: 
www.tno.nl
Tags: 
Amsterdam
Micropia Museum