Bugs and Movies: Using Film to Teach Microbiology

Bugs and Movies: Using Film to Teach Microbiology

Manuel Sánchez
Departamento de Producción Vegetal y Microbiología, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Spain.

A YouTube channel has been created to watch commented video fragments from famous movies or TV series that can be used to teach microbiology. Although microbes are usually depicted in terms of their roles in causing infectious disease, numerous movies reflect other scientific aspects, such as biotechnological applications or bioethical issues.

INTRODUCTION

As in other disciplines, many microbiology professors use references to scenes from famous movies or TV series as a teaching resource in their classes. It is important to remember that film is art, and film does not need to reflect accurately the real world. Often credibility is sacrificed in favor of the show, but the explanation and correction of microbiological movie goofs is also a good teaching tool. To this end, I developed and implemented a YouTube channel that provides students with an interactive opportunity to review fragments of pictures where microbes have a role. The fragments include annotations about microbiological aspects based on the action watched on the screen, which can be used in developing questions to be answered by the students and encourage debates about scientific methodology. This tool was designed for its use with students learning a basic Microbiology course in Biotechnology and in Environmental Science careers, but it has been also used with students who aspire to careers in Medicine.

PROCEDURE

A YouTube channel was created in order to upload video fragments with a microbiological scope from popular movies or TV series. As I teach in a Spanish university, the name of the channel is Microbios y Cine (4) , but I also created an English version named Bugs & Movies (2) . As an example of how this works, I used a fragment from CSI Las Vegas episode “Let the seller beware,” where the presence of the fungus Aureobasidium pullulans in a crime scene helps Grissom and his team to resolve the case.

The movie fragment (3) has a runtime of 3 minutes and 19 seconds, and was composed by joining four different parts of the episode mentioned above. In the first one, Grissom identified the fungus; on the screen appears information about its uses in biotechnology as a pullulan producer. In the second part, Grissom performs an experiment with Greg, his assistant, raising bioethical issues concerning the use of humans in scientific experiments. In the third part, we see the success of the experiment; so it is possible to discuss such issues as experimental design and the importance of negative controls in science. Finally, Grissom uses the forensic information to identify the suspect: the fungus produces an allergic reaction in people of Scandinavian origin (Fig. 1). The information that appears within the videos is short, so I created a blog (1) associated with the channel where the student can find more information related to the subject, such as articles or Web links. This particular clip has been used during class time when introducing the subject of allergic reactions produced by microorganisms.

 


 

Fig. 1   Screen shot of “CSI Las Vegas,” including a technical explanation of the scene.

At the moment there are 21 videos in the Microbios y Cine channel. To create the clips, movies in avi format were spliced and joined using the freeware program VirtualDub- 1.9.10. The clips were uploaded in the YouTube channel, and then the annotations were included using the tools provided by YouTube for video editing. Apart from the one commented on above, scenes from the following motion pictures have been annotated:

Arrowsmith (1931) . The classic movie directed by John Ford and based on the best-seller written by Sinclair Lewis still reflects what it means to follow a scientific career. In the nine clips from this movie, several situations are shown, such as the appearance of a research laboratory, the fight against infectious diseases, quarantine measures, development of new antimicrobial agents, and the “publish or perish” policy of some institutions. In particular, clip number 6 has been used as a practical exercise with students who have learned basic microbiology laboratory techniques. After they finish the practical session dedicated to the fixation and staining of microbial samples, they are asked to watch the clip in their homes or in the library in order to write a brief report indicating the errors made by the movie character when preparing a microbial sample for optical microscopy.

The Andromeda Strain (1971) . It may be considered as the most “microbiological” film of the Seventh Art. The nine clips from this techno-thriller can be used to show how a multidisciplinary team deals with the isolation and characterization of a virulent pathogen. Issues to be discussed with the students are biosecurity, astrobiology, epidemiology, sterilization and isolation procedures, data collection, testing experimental hypothesis, and the handling of laboratory animals (5) . This movie was projected in its full length as an extra activity where attendance was voluntary. After the show, professors and students initiated a discussion on the topics depicted in the film.

The Libertine (2004) , starring Johnny Depp as John Wilmot, 2 nd Earl of Rochester, the English libertine poet who died of syphilis in 1680. The clip has been used in the classroom to show the progression and symptoms of the disease in its third stage.

“Cuckoo’s Nest” episode from CSI, New York , shows how the CSI team discovers fibers of a biomaterial developed by a biotech company. This is a good example of biotechnological products from microbes and embedded marketing. I use this clip with students from the Industrial Microbiology course to discuss biotechnology and its influence in our daily life.

CONCLUSION

The YouTube channel Microbios y Cine , and its English version Bugs and Movies , was created to provide an engaging activity for reinforcing fundamental microbiological terms and scientific concepts to help students take advantage of the countless occasions where the microorganisms have a film role. Most often microbes are the “background actors” that cause some kind of infectious disease to the main characters, such as plague, cholera, tuberculosis or gangrene. But in other shows, the microbes are the “Big Bad Guy,” either as a terrible enemy that a few brave scientists must beat and/or with which physicians must engage in an epic struggle, or as a biological weapon capable of annihilating all humanity. And finally, there are occasions in which the microbes are the heroes — even the saviors of the planet — as in The War of the Worlds .

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author would like to thank professors Elena Martín-Orozco, Inmaculada Meseguer, Marina Torreblanca, and Francisca Colom for their comments and opinions on the relation between movies and microbes. Parts of this manuscript have been presented in XXIII Congress of Sociedad Española de Microbiología, July 2011, Salamanca, Spain. The author declares that there are no conflicts of interest.

REFERENCES

1  Bugs and Movies Blog: http://bugsandmovies.blogspot.com/2010/11/csi-las-vegas-beware-with-aureobasidium.html

2  Bugs & Movies YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/BugsandMovies

3  “Let the seller beware,” annotated clip. http://www.youtube.com/user/BugsandMovies#p/a/u/0/v_NKatrilFc

4  Microbios y Cine YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/manuel5sanchez5

5   Sanchez, M. 2011. Biosafety and biological weapons: the Andromeda strain (1971). J. Medicine and Movies 7: 15–20. Available from: http://revistamedicinacine.usal.es/index.php/en/vol7/num1/626

Author’s mailing address: Edificio Torrepinet, Campus de Elche, Departamento de Producción Vegetal y Microbiología, Universidad Miguel Hernández, 03202 Elche, Spain. Phone: 34-966-65-8499. Fax: 34-966-65-8586. E-mail: m.sanchez@umh.es .

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DOI: 10.1128/jmbe.v12i2.268
Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education , November 2011
Copyright © 2011 American Society for Microbiology . All Rights Reserved



JMBE
ISSN: 1935-7885