Gerhard Domagk was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1939 for his research into Prontosil, the first commercially available antibiotic. His work helped to save the lives of millions but his experiences of the First World War however, still haunted him and as a consequence, he kept a skull on his desk as a memento mori for many years. Here is my own desktop skull, one that is self-illuminated by the presence of many billions of cells of bioluminescent bacteria, the type of organisms Prontosil was so effective against. It is my memento monera, a reminder that will live on a planet where the dominant form of life, on any reasonable criterion, is bacteria.
Wonderful tribute. Not to mention really, really cool pics…