In 2024, the GYA working group on Biodiversity for Survival via Biomedicine organised a youth project led by group co-lead Shymaa Enany.
Students from high schools and universities in Egypt were invited to contribute to a poster design competition on “Biodiversity for New Medicine: Youth Grasp” to enhance youth involvement, understanding and awareness of the significance of biodiversity in biomedicine.
Biodiversity is the variety of all living things on earth – plants, animals, and even tiny living organisms like bacteria. It also includes the places they live and how they all work together to keep nature balanced. However, this diversity is under threat due to pollution, climate change, and habitat loss. Understanding and preserving biodiversity is vital for sustaining life as we know it.
To raise awareness about biodiversity and its application in biology, the GYA Bio2Bio working group organized this poster competition in 2024. Contributors were asked to design posters that explore the issue of biodiversity as a future hub for medicine from the perspective of the younger generation, and that show how natural resources like plants, animals, and bacteria can be used in innovative ways in biology.
Salma Mahmoud Abdelrahman, from the Akhnaton American School came first in the school category, with a poster about “Honey and its Medical Use”. She highlighted the antibacterial properties of honey and it’s medical application. Honey has been proven effective in treating wounds, burns, and infections, and the poster emphasizes how a natural product like honey can serve as a powerful and sustainable medical treatment.
Among the submissions from university students, Iten Mohamed Farouk from the Future University in Egypt came first with a poster about “Streptomyces Species”. These are a bacteria known for producing a wide range of antibiotics, like streptomycin, tetracycline, and vancomycin. These bacteria are extensively studied and carefully engineered to discover and produce new medicines. Their ability to create such essential compounds makes them the cornerstone of every medicine.
A video about the poster competition can be found here.
