The scientists have isolated and will screen thousands of compounds produced by soil microbes for antibacterial activity. Daniel van der Weide, electrical and computer engineer who is creating the assay technology, is a member of the nanophase inorganics cluster hire funded by the UW-Madison Initiative.
Engineering is now in the mix.
Electrical and computer engineer van der Weide, internationally known for his expertise in microfabrication of circuits and devices for high frequency probes and sensors, will provide the technology for assaying thousands of compounds for value as antibiotics, insecticides, anticancer drugs, and antiparasitic agents. Goodman speculates as to why. Soil bacteria may have evolved to co-exist symbiotically with other microbes. They likely started out on a solid mineral surface and these chemicals are not in the traditional agar media. From conception to reality.