Past events on outreach and science communication
SciFest 2017
March 9th-11th 2017, Uppsala, Sweden
This year we will participate again with a full hands-on workshop titled “Microbes in the Kitchen!” at the Uppsala Science Festival. 9th and 10th are days reserved to students and 11th is an open-doors event for everybody interested.
Microbes in the Kitchen
Did you eat bread today? What about chocolate, yogurt, cheese, or surströmning? The people who make these foods have help from millions of tiny, microscopic creatures that we cannot see with only our eyes. These include bacteria and fungi that help us create delicious foods through their breathing and byproducts, making bubbles and flavors which enhance our foods. We culture these organisms in their ideal conditions; with comfortable temperatures, ample food, and a level of acidity that they favor, they will produce the products that we like to eat.
But microbes are not always welcome in our food. Some of them grow too much and make our food spoil. Perhaps you have seen moldy bread which was left for too long in the pantry, or an apple that is turning soft as it is colonized by microbes and decomposed. Humans have used many processes to stop these microbes, thus prolonging the edibility of food. For example, we store things at cold temperatures in the refrigerator or freezer. We use salts and vinegars to change the environment properties of the food so it is not hospitable for a lot of microbial growth.
Which microbes do we like in foods and which are not good? What are some of the processes we use to harness microbial energy for producing foods? How do we find and encourage these microbes to work for us? And what do the microbes look like up close when food goes rotten? What methods of food preservation are the best and how do they stop microbes from growing where we do not want them? This workshop allows you to see some of the tasty foods we make with microbes from a microscopic view. In this way it will open a world of competition and survival between microbes as they battle each other for resources and against humans’ efforts to preserve food.
“Ask, watch, try!” at the Nobel Museum
March 14th 2017, Stockholm, Sweden
In this mini science fair different scientists bring their work to the public in a hands-on set up. I will be showing how important DNA is and how easy is to see and collect your very own one! More info here.
DNA: equal but unique!
Learn about DNA and how to extract your very own. DNA is what ultimately makes us all living things. You, a dog, a plant or a bacteria are living organisms which information is contain on the DNA. And with this, although we all have DNA as the molecule of life, the differences in this DNA is what makes every single organism unique. Learn how to extract your own DNA!
Eva Garmendia 