Freya Harrison

@friendlymicrobe.bsky.social

3332 Followers 913 Following

Reader (Associate Professor) in Microbiology at the University of Warwick, UK. Biofilm, chronic infection and ancientbiotics. https://www.youtube.com/@BreakingBiofilm

Biofilm of Staphylococcus aureus, showing clusters of bacteria (indicated with solid white arrows) on a background of EPS (outline arrows) and hydrogel matrix (arrowheads). Scale bar 1 μm.
An early medieval encampment, with tents, wooden tables and various tools and items of daily life. In the foreground, two people stand either side of a table. Between, them, and upside-down stool is being used to hold vertical jute cords taut. Each is bent over a stack of folden manuscript pages on the table in front of them. They are sewing the stacks of pages together and attaching them to the jute cords as they sew.
A woman talking in front of a projected slide. The slide shows a synergy plot - for a narrow range of polymyxin concentrations, any concentration of our polymer synergises with the polymyxin when used to co-treat Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
The photographer is looking down at a take-away cup in her lap, and the surrounding floor. Lots of pairs of feet and suitcases are crowding the shot.
A lake, surrounded by trees and rushes. The water surface shows that it is breezy. Two people are paddling coracles, dressed in early medieval tunics and nalbound hats. One wears a cloak, which is billowing in the breeze.
A collection of brightly-coloured vases and pots. Each is a single solid colour, with geometric sharp ridges covering its surfaces.
A display case of various pieces in different media. There is a scuplture and drawing of a human heart, a painting showing the view through an endoscopy camera, a print of fungi and others. The style is that of detailed scientific illustration.
In the standard SEM image, aggregates of bacterial cells with no visible matrix sit on top of a network of collagen fibrils. In the cryo image, interconnected aggregates are covered with a smooth coat of matrix, and no collagen is visible - it is under the aggregates, and the only tissue structures visible are patches of elastin fibres.
A four-panel figure showing scanning electron micrographs of Pseudomonas biofilm on the surface of pig lung tissue. Aggregates of bacteria sit on top of a network of collagen fibrils, with some bacterial cells penetrating the collagen mesh.
A reflection of a well-lit coffee shop counter in the dark window of an amusement arcade. The unlit Amusements sign is visible, superimposed on the glass cases of pastries.
Graohs showing that wild type upregulates MexXYOprM but not MexEFOprnN, while the mutant does the opposite.
Four graphs, showing the response of PA14 and an isogenic pel mutant, and PAO1 and an isogenic pel psl double mutant, to meropenem and colistin. There is no difference between the response of mutants and WTs.
A smiling woman kneels to cut a cake on a low table. The cake is decorated to look like a bacterial biofilm. There is a bunch of pink roses and a large gift bag on the table.
A cartoon showing the various targets of reconstructed eyesalve against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. It targets the cell membrane, as well as several intracellular targets including nucleotide biosynthesis. In S. aureus, it also affect quorum sensing.
Five happy people smiling - four are holding glasses of champagne, and one a coffee mug.
An email. It reads as follows. Dear Author, We are emailing you from Knowledge Lab (https://knowledgelab.org/) at the University of Chicago, led by Prof. James A. Evans. We are studying how AI helps scientists extend their work in new directions. We came across your paper "Sweet and sour synergy: exploring the antibacterial and antibiofilm activity of acetic acid and vinegar combined with medical-grade honeys" and applied custom AI models on it, which generated 5 new extensions. Our pilot study indicates that up to 60% of scientists found the proposed extensions both thought-provoking and actionable. Would you like to see these ideas? They are absolutely free and with no obligations -- although we would sincerely appreciate your thoughts on their quality. You may review these extensions and share your feedback with us at your convenience within the next 7 days. Your contributions will be formally acknowledged in the resulting publication. Click the link below and fill out your thoughts on them: Take the survey Or copy and paste the URL below into your internet browser: https://uchicago.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1yPc7XXPRcCh6Xs?Q_DL=U11HdOvG3TSWmcN_1yPc7XXPRcCh6Xs_CGC_uCvOlDC99eFZgjk&Q_CHL=email Follow the link to opt out of future emails: Click here to unsubscribe We sincerely appreciate your feedback. Warm regards, Knowledge Lab & Data Science Institute University of Chicago
A calico cat loafing on a red sofa. Her eyes are half closed and she looks slightly grumpy. There are pink stains on her white chest fur.
On the left is a print of a medieval illustration showing two men pointing at a third man taking off a maille hauberk. On the right is an almost-finished copy.
A man and a woman standing behind a table. On the table is a microscope showing an image of biofilm-infected tissue, a robotic ventilator and various items of lab equipment.
A dog sniffing a sample in a small container
On the left is a print of an image from the original manuscript, with test splashes of paint and notes on pigments around it. On the right is is a partially-completed copy.
A group of people at a restaurant table
A man in front of a display screen, showing images of Aspergillus growing on sections of lung tissue.
A close-up of two sleepy cats, resting their heads together.
A computer screen showing light microscope image acquisition software. There is a Gram-stained tissue section on the screen, with a dense bacterial biofilm on one surface. It is partly covered by an error message.
A cartoon showing a Gram-negative bacterium exposed to two variants of a polymer. A triblock structure causes formation of multiple small pores in the outer membrane. A diblock structure causes large pores in both outer and inner membranes, and cell lysis.
A diagram of cell viral infection pathways. Two intracellular viral particle and an organelle give one infected cell the appearance of a screaming face.
Four hand-made posters on a wall. Two are about cystic fibrosis, one is about Duchenne muscular dystrophy and one about diagnosis of genetic diseases.
A badger cranium, three jaw bones and assorted loose teeth.
A shieldbug on a blue cornflower. The bug is a dusty purple colour, and its “shield” is a shiny gold colour. Its antennae have horizontal black and white stripes.
The PCA shows clear separation of clusters from infected and uninfected tissue, and a change in proteome over time.
Two women holding certificates and smiling.
On the left is a table covered with plants, books and other items used in medieval medicine. On the right is a lifesize cardboard cutout of a medieval woman.
Wildlife camera footage. A European badger drinks from a pond in the foreground. There are four other badgers in the background.
Baroness Bennett speaking
A woman standing in front of a presentation screen. There are light microscope images and data showing differential biofilm growth of wild-type and mutant bacteria.
A man standing in front of a presentation, showing electron microgrpahs and data on antibiotic biofilm eradication assays.
Electron microscopy images showing pitting and degradation of a plastic bead by P. aeruginosa.
An electron micrograph showing a surface view of a biofilm. It is dry and quite flat, with a cracked surface like dried mud.
Images of mixed macrocolonies of C. albicans and S. aureus, with fluorescent tags used to show spatial structure of the communities. The two species are not fully mixed.
Rupika standing in front of a projector screen, which shows some microscopy images of biofilms in ex vivo pig skin wounds.
A cartoon showing logic gates of high/low temperature and high/low pH triggering release of an active molecules to target either biofilm or planktonic bacteria.