— Just as a football game cannot be played with just one person, many tasks performed by cells require multiple players, too. For many bacteria to act as one, proper communication is key. One way of talking to a neighboring bacterium is called quorum sensing, in which one bacterium releases special molecules, called autoinducers, into the environment so that other bacteria can sense and respond to them [1]. Another way, used not only in bacteria but also in plants and animals, involves physically bridging two cells and exchanging specific molecules with each other through a microscopic tunnel. Continue reading Nanotubes: a new way for germs to connect

–Bacteria are ubiquitous. They defend and define us, constituting over 90% of the cells in the human body. They wield the ability to survive in the most extreme of environments, and the chemical reactions they catalyze hold the potential for vital technological advances such as clean energy. Yet they defy domestication; scientists have been able to grow in the lab, or “culture,” less than 1% of the bacterial species on Earth. Continue reading Bacteria Culture