Oil spills are a significant threat to marine wildlife and human health. Nature has evolved an effective way to rectify this problem using indigenous bacteria to clean up the oil contaminants. My research focuses on studying the microscale interaction of bacteria with oil droplets to better understand the mechanisms of oil degradation by the bacteria. The picture shows oil-degrading bacteria (gray) finding an oil droplet (orange), forming biofilms around it (green), and eventually breaking it down into harmless compounds.
Submission Year:
2017-18
Photographer's affiliation:
Graduate student
Academic areas:
Smith Engineering
Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs
Art of Research categories:
Invisible discoveries
Photo:
Categories:
PhD student/candidate
Smith Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
School of Graduate Studies
Ecology, Biodiversity and the Natural Environment
Sustainability, Environment and Resources
Cleantech
Protecting the Natural Environment
Location of photograph:
Queen's University
Photographer's name:
Saeed Rismani Yazdi
Display Photographers Affiltion + Faculty or Department:
PhD Student, Chemical Engineering