When the bomb goes off there'll be a thousand mutations! Andromeda will spread everywhere! They'll never be rid of it!

Dr. Jeremy Stone in "
The Andromeda Strain"

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

The Andromeda Strain (1971) Photoincineration



The "Andromeda Strain" is a 1971 science-fiction film, based on the novel published in 1969 by Michael Crichton. Probably is the best "microbiological" movie. The film is about a team of scientists who investigate a deadly organism of extraterrestrial origin that causes rapid, fatal blood clotting. But Andromeda has other surprises. In this fragment, we can see the different sterilization and aseptic procedures taken as a precaution to avoid external contamination. Nowadays we know that some of these creates more harm than good, as for example the removal of the skin and intestinal microbiota. In this fragment there is also a interesting reference to the Bracewell probe, the possibility that an alien lifeform could be use as a comunication device.

ResearchBlogging.org
BRACEWELL, R. (1960). Communications from Superior Galactic Communities Nature, 186 (4726), 670-671 DOI: 10.1038/186670a0

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