On February 25, 2019 The NJ Assembly unanimously voted in favor of designating an Official State Microbe, Streptomyces griseus. This brings NJ one step closer to being the second state in the US (and the world) to have a symbolic microbe.
This action sequence shows me (seated) casting the vote for Assemblywoman Annette Quijano (standing) in the Assembly Chamber. Wow, that was cool, and an honor! ASW Quijano was the principal sponsor in the Assembly. The vote was 76 to zero.
Strep griseus produces streptomycin, the first broad spectrum antibiotic and the first significant antibiotic found in America. It was discovered in 1943 in New Brunswick, NJ
While Drs Eveleigh and Warhol were at the Eagleton workshop, the Rutgers Daily Targum (university newspaper) ran a cover story on our efforts to get an Official State Microbe for New Jersey! Great timing!
Microbiology at the NJ Historical Commission Forum
Monmouth University hosted the NJ History Forum where I talked about the great history of New Jersey and Microbiology on behalf of my colleagues at Rutgers.
One presentation is titled The 75th Anniversary of the Discovery of Streptomycin (upcoming in 2019); the other is titled An Official New Jersey State Microbe! Streptomyces griseus. The revolutionary antibiotic streptomycin was discovered as a product the microbe Streptomyces griseus isolated from New Jersey soil.
Authors of the presentations are Douglas Eveleigh, Jeff Boyd, Jessica Lisa, Max Haagblom, and John Warhol.
To learn more about microbiology, check out the book:https://tinyurl.com/Warhol-Small-Guide. It costs less than a burger and a Coke, it lasts longer, and is more fun!
I had a great time talking to students and faculty at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia on Oct 25. Topics were the New Jersey State Microbe, and my book, Dr Warhol’s Periodic Table of Microbes, The Small Guide to Small Things. Both topics hinge on effective science communication, a concept woven throughout the presentation. The skills and tactics needed to effectively interact with the nonscientific public, legislators, and scientists outside of your own discipline were all part of the lively seminar.
Heading to University of the Sciences in Philadelphia on Oct 25 to give a talk about the NJ State Microbe, The Periodic Table of Microbes, and the Small Guide to Small Things.
Thank you, USciences, for the invitation!
Microbiology occurs in a rich cultural environment; this homework list is only a start!
Get this great science book, it costs less than a burger and a Coke, it lasts longer, and is more fun!
The NJ State Microbe will be part of the New Jersey Historical Commission Forum on Popular Culture in New Jersey on November 2. A great opportunity to inform more people about microbiology. We’re also presenting on the 75th anniversary of streptomycin, the world’s first broad spectrum antibiotic, discovered right here in New Jersey.
The NJ Microbe had another milestone when the Assembly Science, Innovation, and Technology all voted in favor of the bill.
Thank you to all the people from around the world who contacted the legislators on behalf of the microbe.Thank you to the Assembly members who voted for it and all the bill’s sponsors.
NJ Assembly legislation A3650 will be heard before the Science and Technology Committee on Monday Sept 17. It’s taken a lot of work to get it to this stage. Thank all of you who helped!
And, you can get the world’s most entertaining science book on Amazon https://tinyurl.com/Warhol-Small-Guide It costs less than a burger and a Coke, it lasts longer, and is more fun!
This is part of the team that worked hard on getting recognition for microbiology in New Jersey.
We are actually standing on a mosaic that depicts several of the Official State Symbols of New Jersey, only the Gold Finch shows in this photo. Everyone entering the State House sees these icons. Symbolism is important!
We have been getting a lot of positive press and electronic media following the unanimous vote of the New Jersey Senate on July 27. It’s nice to see an article in an actual newspaper! This ran in the Sunday Asbury Park Press on page 2 on July 29, 2018.
The legislation to establish an official microbe for New Jersey is set for a Senate vote on July 16, 2018. We had a unanimous “Yes” in the last legislative cycle, let’s hope for a repeat tomorrow!
On June 14, the NJ Senate State Government. Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee voted Yes unanimously on S1729, which names Streptomyces griseus as the State Microbe of New Jersey. This is another big step in becoming the first state after Oregon to have an official microbe, and an excellent way of acknowledging the great science that’s been done in NJ.
BeforeRingo Starr was the drummer for The Beatles, he was Richard Starkey, a kid from Liverpool. Born in 1940, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis in 1952 and was hospitalized for two years.
The only treatments available at the time were: bed rest (95% mortality); streptomycin monotherapy; combination therapy with streptomycin and para-aminosalicyclic acid; and triple therapy with streptomycin, para-aminosalicyclic acid, and isoniazid.
It’s reasonable to assume that streptomycin, the antibiotic produced by Streptomyces griseus (discovered in New Jersey), was an important part of Ringo’s survival. His career with The Beatles, and his contributions to rock n roll music, would not have been possible without Streptomyces griseus, The New Jersey State Microbe.
This makes it official, we’re presenting at the Microbe 2018 annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.
It just struck me that this is an entirely new area of research and activism. Oregon was successful in getting a State Microbe, but I can’t get anyone there to return my phone calls or emails. I think I’m the only one doing this systematically.
The Rutgers Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology had an amazingly great day on April 28th. The booth was staffed by students and faculty all day and had lines of people waiting to learn more about the State Microbe and microbiology in general. State Microbe T shirts were very popular. Thank you to everyone who participated!
We collected nearly 400 signatures on a petition to our legislators in support of A3650 and S1729, the legislation that designates Streptomyces griseus as the New Jersey State Microbe.
Rutgers Professor Dr Jeff Boyd took time from his busy schedule to talk about microbes with students at Bartle Elementary School in Highland Park, NJ. He spoke about all manner of invisible life forms, but really got the kids enthused about the role of Streptomyces griseus in antibiotic production and improving healthcare worldwide.
Dr Boyd also wrote to Assemblywoman Pinkin (18th District) who was so impressed with the Strep griseus story that she promised to vote for A3650, the New Jersey State Microbe law.