Simple yet effective

iChip is a simple device with several membranes that are used simultaneously to isolate and grow uncultured bacteria 1 Scores of bacteria are present in soil. These bacteria can yield many antibiotics. However, these bacteria till now could not be grown in the laboratory

2 Researchers extract individual bacterium cells which are then placed in each of the 96 iChip chambers 3 The device is buried in soil so that the single cells receive nutrients and multiply. The colony is then used in labs