#fecal

The Republican US President makes fun of the demonstrators – with fecal humor.

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E. coli _happens!

Here we have an electron microscope image of a head of lettuce. But that's not all that's in this picture.

If you look closely, you will see a few rod like structures in the centre of the lettuce head. This is E. coli, a rod shaped, gram negative bacterium that measures around 2 micrometres in length.

E. coli is a bacteria that is commonly utilised as an indicator of faecal contamination (the title might make some sense now). Although_ E. coli i_s found in the bowels of all animals and usually causes no harm, there are certain strains that are problematic- the infamous Verocytotoxigenic _E. coli (_VTEC), which contain a shiga toxin, are an example and can cause illness if ingested.

While I can't say what strain of _E. coli i_s present in this image, it serves as a reminder to always ensure you wash vegetables thoroughly before eating- you never know what's lurking!

-Jean

From Twitter:

So fun to play games with Gerard and crow crew to raise money for @freeartsla pic.twitter.com/DK02XnLFYH

— cecil castellucci (@misscecil)