Line dancing bacteria win the 2014 Dolomite and Lab on a Chip Video Competition

The inaugural MicroTAS Video Competition, run by microfluidics specialist Dolomite and Lab on a Chip, and supported by the Chemical and Biological Microsystems Society, saw first prize awarded to an enterprising – and highly creative – entry submitted by Tijmen Hageman from the Korean Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) Europe GmbH in collaboration with the Unviersity of Twente. This exciting competition gave delegates pre-registered for MicroTAS 2014, held in San Antonio, Texas, the opportunity to win Dolomite microfluidics equipment worth $2,500 by submitting a fun, artistic, surprising, or simply unusual, scientific or educational short film on micro- or nanofluidics, assessed during the event by an international panel of judges.

Tijmen received his award and a $2,500 gift certificate to spend on equipment from microfluidics innovator Dolomite for his short film entitled Magnetotactic bacteria, which brought a humorous approach to the science behind the control of magnetically-active bacteria using an external magnetic field. The winning entry providing a playful demonstration of how, by changing the direction of the field, magnetotactic bacteria can be taught to ‘line dance’ within the channels of a microchip. This has potential applications in areas such as drug delivery, enabling magnetically-active medication to be directed to precisely where it must exert its effect.

To see the winning video, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uUL4ooM6KI&feature=youtu.be