Activiteit

SG - Through the Eyes of a Bacterium

Can we find society in nature? Bacteria are often regarded as simple, single-celled organisms that only care about reproduction and their own survival. This is, however, far from the truth!

Organisator Studium Generale
Datum

wo 21 februari 2024

Locatie Impulse, gebouwnummer 115
Stippeneng 2
6708 WE Wageningen
+31 (0) 317 - 48 28 28

About Through the Eyes of a Bacterium

As marine microbiologist Detmer Sipkema will show, bacteria are complex, diverse, and social beings that can exhibit individuality, cooperation, and competition in multiple ways. How do bacteria express their uniqueness? And how do they work together for the common good?

Join Detmer on his exploration through the eyes of a bacterium, and discover what it means to live in a world with your own kind, with other bacterial species, and what it’s like to live with an animal host.

About series The Essence of Society: Community and Individuality

We’re all part of it, but what is the essence of society? Is a society an actual community, a deliberate companionship, as is suggested by its etymology? Or is society only a mental concept, leaving the real world with nothing but individuals? What makes a community? And what is the role of the individual? In this series we start our search for the essence of what we call society. We foray into the natural realm, investigate human society, and end with an interactive and interdisciplinary dialogue treading the natural, the political, and the in-between.

About Detmer Sipkema

Detmer Sipkema is Associate Professor Marine Microbial Ecology at Wageningen University, where he also earned his BSc, MSc, and PhD in Bioprocess Engineering. He worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California Berkeley, and at the CEAB-CSIS in Spain. He also worked as a scientist for DSM. His current research and education is driven by the ambition to understand and apply symbiotic interactions between marine microorganisms and their hosts. The interactions in sea sponges fascinate Detmer because of their early appearance in evolution, in sea sponges. And because the deep oceans are the last natural frontier on Earth, little is known about the ecology and evolution of the microorganisms inhabiting these waters. The more applied aspects of Detmer’s research are focused on the discovery of bioactive compounds for pharmaceutical purposes, and on the use of microbes for a more sustainable aquaculture practice.