Difference between revisions of "Team:Toulouse France/Description"

Introduction

Just like in many countries, prehistorical men walked into our lands. However, they left a trace of their passage in France: the Lascaux cave, which is one of the most important heritages we have. What is so specific about this cave ?
it is not just a simple cave, cold, rocky and moist. The Lascaux cave is so much more.
Decorated with organic and minerals pigments, it is home to parietal paintings and many frescoes and engravings cover the walls.
Bulls, aurochs and horses are part of these representations, and testify the way of life of our ancestors.

Background - the historic of the cave

As soon as the cave was discovered in 1940, people came from the whole country and abroad to visit it. However, the carbon dioxide and the water vapour released by their breath started to disrupt the cave’s ecosystem. The damages caused by these air changements are at the origin of the first crisis that the Lascaux cave knew. Two kinds of contaminations were observed: the limestone formation on the walls, which was called the white disease, and the green algae growth, named the green disease. Then, white mold and black stains appeared on the walls and the floor, and were characteristical of the second and the third crisis respectively. These contaminations flow from fungi and bacteria proliferation.

Treatment of the cave

Curing the cave was a priority. Consequently, treatments like biocid or antibiotics were tried. The success of these initiatives worked temporarily, but new microorganisms developed on the organic wastes. According to the last reviews about the Lascaux cave, bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas species, Rhizobium radiobacter,...) and fungi (Fusarium sp., Ochroconis anomalaand, Aspergillus sp., Acremonium sp.,...) are currently in the cave. Nowadays, even if the cave situation is steady, microorganisms covering frescoes are still present.

Why did we choose this subject?

At the beginning of the iGEM adventure, almost twenty subjects were considered. Every thematic was intertwined with the other, like environment, health, and mostly art. After months of intense brainstorming, we finally decided to work on the conservation of the Lascaux cave. We wanted to choose a project that was personal and original. The Lascaux cave then imposed itself. It is part of the French heritage, and was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list. It has been threatened of destruction since decades now, and organizations from all around the world have gathered to solve the Lascaux cave crisis.
The Lascaux cave is what traces us back to our humanity.
The first men lived there and some of the first pieces of art ever were created there.