The 92nd St Anne’s College Domus Seminar will be delivered by Professor Sam Sheppard:
How gene sharing made bacteria unstoppable
Bacteria are the ultimate adapters: ancient, invisible, and found everywhere life exists. The traditional view of bacteria as simple organisms that reproduce clonally is inaccurate. In fact, bacteria defy this assumption by sharing and recombining genes, a genetic strategy that has shaped life on Earth for billions of years. Using insights from the bacterial genetic code, this lecture explores how bacteria defy traditional ideas of what a “species” is. We examine how gene sharing allows bacteria to jump between animal hosts, and emerge as new human pathogens, and rapidly acquire resistance to antibiotics – making them one of the greatest public health threats of our time.
All are welcome to attend — the talk will begin at 5.30, to be followed by drinks at 6.30.