Bacteria Lessons for Glastonbury festival-goers

University of Manchester scientists have been conducting microbiology lessons at this year’s Glastonbury festival. They wanted to inform people about bacteria that make up our bodies. Bacteria are essential for keeping us alive and functioning: they digest food, make vitamins, and fine-tune our immune system, protecting us from infection.

Dr. Andrew McBain, head of a microbiology research group in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, was approached by Guerilla Science, an organisation which uses art and performance to challenge negative preconceptions about science.

Guerilla Science wanted to develop a demonstration of bacterial species present in the human body. It was commissioned as part of Wellcome Collection’s 2011 Dirt Season which aims to promote the importance of dirt in our everyday lives.

Dr. Joe Latimer, McBain’s research associate, and Sarah Forbes, a PhD student, volunteered to create and develop the demonstration.

It occurred at the famous Glastonbury site of Shangri-La, the festival’s version of a dystopian pre-apocalyptic ‘town’ overrun by a faux virus (a fluorescent marker which was spread by person-to-person contact).

‘Contaminated’ festival-goers were to enter Dr. Latimer’s ‘decontamination chamber’ where they were greeted with a microbial zoo with agar plates containing various microorganisms to which humans play host. This was where Dr. Latimer and Sarah Forbes taught the public about the importance of bacteria. Subsequent ‘treatment’ was then offered to festival-goers, ranging from a chemical spray controlled by people in biohazard suits to admitting your secrets to the ‘shame-drain’ which disguised your voice and broadcasted it to the public.

The project was a success and as a consequence, a second one was planned for Bestival. Dr. Latimer said, “I hope we convinced at least a few people that bacteria don’t just infect us, or live on us, but that they are us.”