Imagine a kickstarter for science, helping to get cool and critical projects into action? That’s what Crowdfunding for Science,
the SciFund Challenge is all about – supporting science and involving the public with innovative new projects.
With only nineteen days of donations left to go, Evolution in Action has a goal to investigate how diseases evolve, using bioluminescent bacteria in mouse poo to track its progress. It may sound quirky, but the science behind the story has world-wide ramifications when it comes to investigating antibiotic resistance and stopping new diseases emerging.
Evolution in Action is just one of the many projects that Dr Siouxsie Wiles is involved with – sharing her twin passions of bioluminescence (think glow worms and fireflies!) and infectious diseases to engage the public and promote scientific progress.
Dr Siouxsie Wiles studied medical microbiology at the University of Edinburgh, UK and did a Ph.D. in microbiology at CEH Oxford (formally the Institute of Virology and Environmental Microbiology) and Napier University, Edinburgh. She then spent her postdoctoral years at Imperial College London, developing bioluminescent derivatives of various infectious organisms.
Dr Wiles’ work on Citrobacter rodentium culminated in winning the inaugural 3Rs prize from the UK National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) in 2006. She works at Auckland University, where she heads the Bioluminescent Superbugs Group in the School of Medical Sciences and can be found writing about miscellaneous science and skeptical stories at Infectious Thoughts on Sciblogs, the biggest blog network of scientists in New Zealand and ranting about pseudoscience on the Completely Unnecessary Skeptical Podcast.
This show is available on Zune, mp3 via Libsyn or iTunes. Visit www.tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback at tokenskeptic@gmail.com. Additional instrumental music for this episode: “Spyder – The Lady Geek Spy Theme” by Milton Mermikides.
Theme songs are “P&P” by Derek K Miller of www.penmachine.com and “Leap Second” by Milton Mermikides, of www.miltonmermikides.com. Please considering supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic.org.
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