In an exciting course, participants addressed one of the most pressing problems in modern medicine: antibiotic resistance. One promising approach is phage therapy, in which viruses, known as bacteriophages, specifically attack and kill bacteria. Another innovative approach is quorum quenching—interrupting communication between bacteria. This communication allows bacteria to act in a coordinated manner and, for example, form protective biofilms. Quorum quenching offers a way to inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria with little or no use of antibiotics. Aliivibrio fischeri, a bacterium that glows through quorum sensing, served as the model organism. The participants were also excited to discover that garlic has a very strong inhibitory effect on the bacterial communication processes in this luminescent bacterium – an example of natural, antibacterial alternatives.
The course participants came from different cities, but they quickly bonded on the first day of the lab. The mutual exchange, both during the experiments and over lunch in the newly designed university cafeteria, strengthened the team spirit. Experiments were conducted in changing groups, which made the course particularly dynamic and allowed for interest-oriented focus areas. “What I particularly liked was having the time and professional equipment for practical work with long-term experiments. It was very motivating to achieve successful results through targeted troubleshooting and adjustments.”
The course was a perfect blend of theory and practice and gave participants valuable insights into current research and solutions to the challenges of modern medicine.
Science Camp about bacteria and bacterial defense
