Recommendable! Amazing stuff! The symbiosis with bacteria is still an enigma.
"... "They do it by talking, counting, and carrying out tasks in groups," she says.
Bassler was among the first to discover that bacteria communicate by exchanging molecules, a process known as quorum sensing, and she has forged a career out of eavesdropping on bacterial conversations. ...
"I know you think of yourself as human beings," she said, addressing the crowd. "But I think of you as 90% to 99% bacterial." They keep us alive. ...
She is now developing a technique that seeks to silence bad bacteria, thus rendering them harmless. If successful, this quorum quenching could not only turn the tide in our war against bacterial infections but also revolutionize agriculture, water treatment, and so much more. ...
Scientists had no idea these seemingly simple organisms could communicate until 1970 when John Woodland Hastings ... and his colleagues stumbled across evidence while studying a bioluminescent bacterium known as Vibrio fischeri that is found in many marine animals. Hastings and his team noticed that the bacteria wouldn't emit their blue-green glow unless they had lots of their brethren around them. ...
It would take a decade before another scientist, Mike Silverman, identified the gene linked with this mysterious signaling molecule, as well as the receptors that receive it. ...
"I know you think of yourself as human beings," she said, addressing the crowd. "But I think of you as 90% to 99% bacterial." They keep us alive. ...
She is now developing a technique that seeks to silence bad bacteria, thus rendering them harmless. If successful, this quorum quenching could not only turn the tide in our war against bacterial infections but also revolutionize agriculture, water treatment, and so much more. ...
Scientists had no idea these seemingly simple organisms could communicate until 1970 when John Woodland Hastings ... and his colleagues stumbled across evidence while studying a bioluminescent bacterium known as Vibrio fischeri that is found in many marine animals. Hastings and his team noticed that the bacteria wouldn't emit their blue-green glow unless they had lots of their brethren around them. ...
It would take a decade before another scientist, Mike Silverman, identified the gene linked with this mysterious signaling molecule, as well as the receptors that receive it. ...
Bacteria live in diverse environments alongside hundreds, sometimes thousands, of other species. Scientists estimate that each square centimeter of our skin contains 1 million bacteria from hundreds of distinct species. With species-specific autoinducers and autoinducer receptors, bacteria can communicate privately with their kin while swimming in a sea of other bacterial species. Having a secret language also allows them to identify who is kin and who isn't. ..."
Bonnie Bassler
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