Read the Signs by Samantha S. and Lorence R

We chose to focus our #SciComm project on the antibiotic resistance crisis portrayed through a cartoon we made using BioRender. We chose to use a cartoon as our medium because we felt it was a creative way to get more practice using BioRender, since BioRender isn’t traditionally used for “fun” projects like making cartoons but is still an extremely useful skill to have in the biology field. We also felt it would be a fun way for the audience to better absorb our message. We chose to focus on the antibiotic resistance crisis because both of us (Lorence and Samantha) have unfortunately had personal experience dealing with antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. It felt especially important to share with the world the importance of knowing the effects of inappropriate use of antibiotics and common ways bacteria evade them, but also how important it is to finish the full prescribed course of antibiotics if being treated for bacterial infections. In this cartoon, we see propaganda targeting three different communities: bacteria, researchers, and the doctors prescribing and the people using antibiotics. We chose to portray the antibiotic resistance crisis this way to showcase that while bacteria are small, they are mighty and that this crisis needs everyone’s help. Bacteria are capable of communicating with each other and evolving to evade selective pressures, so it is important that people understand they are evolving faster than we can combat them. It is up to everyone to step in and help!