• Question: What is the most deadly experiment you've ever done?

    Asked by Cutierosekitten to Senga, Pete on 7 Nov 2017. This question was also asked by 676putk38.
    • Photo: Senga Robertson

      Senga Robertson answered on 7 Nov 2017:

      Hi cutierosekitten

      That’s a brilliant question.

      Part of my job is to identify different bacteria (which are tiny creatures that can only be seen with a microscope) that are living around plant roots and the jobs they might do to help plants to grow, the problem is that some bacteria can make you very sick, some can even kill you! Because I don’t know what sort of bacteria I might be getting from around the roots it means that I need to work in a special “category 3” lab that’s for bacteria that could be deadly. I have to wear special protective equipment including using a special cabinet for my samples and a facemask to protect me.

      some of the bacteria that might be around plant roots include bacteria that can give you food poisoning (some bacillus species), anthrax (!) and clostridium which can cause tetanus so I need to be VERY careful!

      Senga 🙂

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