A new project uses the Green Bay Packers’ practice field for more than just training to win football games.
The Tiny Earth project — a network of instructors and students from UW-Green Bay and local high schools — works to identify bacteria in the ground that can cure antibiotic-resistant diseases.
The Packers donated a soil sample from one of their practice fields for the project, the Green Bay Press Gazette reported.
“We thought, ‘Oh, why not,’ you know?” Director of Public Affairs for the Packers Aaron Popkey told wearegreenbay.com. “If that gets more people interested in the program, to spread the scope of it, and the impact — that would be a great thing to do.”
Over 70 percent of today’s antibiotics originate from soil bacteria, UW-Green Bay biology professor Brain Merkel told the Press Gazette.
However, new drugs to fight resistant bacteria are getting harder to find.
A 2013 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called antibiotic resistance “one of our most serious health threats.” At least 2 million people get an antibiotic-resistant infection in the U.S. each year.
Although only one research team will have the chance to work with the Packers’ field soil, each group is searching for bacteria with the ability to kill disease-resistant strains. If someone finds a type of bacteria that shows exceptional promise, it will be sent to a lab at UW-Madison for further research, the Press Gazette said.
Tiny Earth’s student research will be presented at Lambeau Field on Dec. 6, according to wearegreenbay.com.
