Postdoctoral Researcher, Ca' Foscari University of Venice
Contributing Editor, Platypus, The CASTAC Blog
Research Interests
Bacteriophages | Bioinformatics | Biology | Biotech | environment | Hinduism | India | Laboratory | Material Culture | Microbiology | Religion | Ritual | Science and technology | Water |
About Victor
Victor Secco is a social anthropologist working at the intersections of microbiology, environment, and religion. His PhD from the University of Manchester examined bacteriophage research and Hindu rituals in the Ganges River in North India, while his current postdoctoral research at Ca' Foscari University of Venice explores planetary microbiome studies through ethnography within environmental genomics laboratories across European coastal areas. His work examines the computational infrastructures of bioinformatics and sampling practices in the production of microbiological knowledge.
Contact
Contributions to Platypus, The CASTAC Blog
View all of Victor's posts on Platypus, The CASTAC Blog.
Searching for Microbes with No Name: The Labour of Sampling and the Making of Scientific Value
It was an early crisp morning in late April 2023, I climbed into the back seat of the Hilux with the other field scientists, heading to the day’s sampling site on the north coast of Belgium. We sat in silence in the car, part of the early-morning mood and a sign of how tired and overworked we felt most days for the last month. Outside the car’s window urban and green fields landscapes alternate on our way. As we reached closer to our destination the song “A horse with no name” by George Martin started playing on the radio. Slowly the lead-scientist in the field started humming the song and then singing along quietly, as we all followed her humming, the mood inside the car completely changed. We were ready for another long day out in the elements—thorny bushes, light rain, cold wind—collecting soil, sand, water and air in search (read more...)