In-Visible Flow

Shuppara, Alex

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/132925 Copy

Description

Title

In-Visible Flow

Author(s)

Shuppara, Alex

Issue Date

2023

Keyword(s)

Biochemistry

Abstract

The world thrives in flow rich environments. Flow is all around us, from turbulent wind patterns churning the atmosphere and torrents of rainwater rushing into storm drains, to the blood coursing through our veins. But flow is not just relevant to our ecosystem and body; likewise fluid flow even dominates tiny microbial environments. This snapshot shows cells of the bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, enveloped in seemingly invisible fluid flow. Flows can be physically demonstrated and simulated. However, visualizing the effect of fluid flow at a molecular level is challenging. For instance, our skin will react to a cold breeze by breaking out in goosebumps; bacteria similarly respond to their flowing environment by interacting with the advected molecules within. Using fluorescent reporter proteins, akin to "molecular goosebumps," makes visualizing the bacterial response to fluid flow possible. The accompanying interaction generates a vibrant color gradient as cells shift from red to green “goosebumps.” In bacterial research, fluid flow has largely gone unnoticed, like the many aspects of flow that exist behind the scenes of our daily lives.

Type of Resource

• Text
• Image

Language

eng

Handle URL

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/132925

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2023 Alex Shuppara

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