Remembering resistance: non-genetic memory in bacteria

Suitable for 14 to 19-year-olds (secondary and high schools, and college), this article and accompanying activity sheet can be used in the classroom or shared with students online.

This resource links to KS4 and KS5 Biology and Physics.

It can also be used as a careers resource and links to Gatsby Benchmarks:
Gatsby Benchmark 2: Learning from career and labour market information
Gatsby Benchmark 4: Linking curriculum learning to careers

• This teaching resource explains the work of Dr Hanna Salman and Dr Andrew Mugler, from the University of Pittsburgh in the US, who are finding evidence that bacteria can pass on ‘memories’ to their offspring, over several generations. Understanding more about this process is crucial for the fight against the rise of antibiotic resistance in bacteria.
• This resource also contains interview with Hanna and Andrew. If you or your students have a question for them, you can submit it online – go to the article using the Futurum link below and scroll to the bottom of the page. Hanna and Andrew will reply!
• The activity sheet provides ‘talking points’ (based on Bloom’s Taxonomy) to prompt students to reflect on Hanna and Andrew’s research, and tasks them to think about how biological physics is tackling some of society’s biggest issues.

This resource was first published on Futurum Careers, a free online resource and magazine aimed at encouraging 14-19-year-olds worldwide to pursue careers in science, tech, engineering, maths, medicine (STEM) and social sciences, humanities and the arts for people and the economy (SHAPE).

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