Synthetic Biology

Short video piece for Great North Museum: Hancock exhibit on ancient bacteria

This aim of this project was to showcase the work done at Newcastle University’s Policy, Ethics and Life Sciences (PEALS) Research Centre into the origins of life on Earth, specifically the evolution of cyanobacteria.

2.7 billion years ago before the planet Earth had a breathable atmosphere, Cyanobacteria living in the sea used energy from the Sun to convert carbon dioxide and water into food and in doing so, cyanobacteria produced oxygen giving the Earth it’s ‘first breath’.

PEALS invited us into their labs to film their work, and the resulting video featured in an exhibit at Great North Museum: Hancock entitled Evolution or Revolution: Can We Put Ancient Bacteria to Work? We also used audio recorded in PEALS’ labs to create a bespoke soundtrack to the short video. You can watch the finished video below…