Did you know that it was possible to help scientific research by digging a hole in your garden? Throughout this summer, a team of young Inserm researchers is supervising the “Science à la shovel” operation. The goal: to explore as many French soils as possible, to perhaps discover in the soil the new antibiotics of tomorrow.
The starting point of this participatory research is this observation: researchers have not found new antibiotics for 30 years. And those that exist are working less and less well, “vswhich means that tomorrow, our drugs will no longer work”, recalls Helena Shomar, researcher at Inserm.
“If we have a small infection, we will no longer be able to treat it. It is estimated that by 2050, it will be one of the leading causes of death in the world.”
Helena Shomar, researcher at Insermat franceinfo
It is therefore urgent to find molecules that could constitute new drugs. And that’s good, for Vincent Libis, researcher at Inserm: there are plenty of molecules from bacteria still unknown under our feet! “Many of today’s drugs come from bacteria that live in the soil. We know that there is still a very rich reservoir and we are far from having explored everything. The soil is very complex and we ultimately know very little about it”.
>> In the sewers, microscopic allies: viruses capable of killing the bacteria most resistant to antibiotics
Vincent Libis takes soil relentlessly. Sometimes with a few nice surprises: a researcher-trainee has just discovered in Paris, near Place Denfert-Rochereau, a bacterium hitherto known only in the soil of… the distant Easter Island. Who will do better? “What we offer people is to mix pleasure, leisure and science”explains Héléna Shomar.
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Everyone can participate. In his garden or on a walk. “The idea is to take the equivalent of a tablespoon of soil and send it to us by post. Then our laboratory will take care of isolating bacteria and studying them.” Ultimate reward: if you discover a new bacterium, the researchers assure that you will have the privilege of inventing its name.
>> If you want to participate: all the information on the procedure to follow can be found on the Science à la shovel website.