In the Ted Talk “Secret Social Lives of Bacteria” by Bonnie Bassler, she talk about bacteria and how they operate together to do things. She starts by stating bacteria is the oldest living component on earth, they have been here for billions of years. Bacteria are single celled microscopic organisms with one strand of DNA. Their life includes consuming nutrients from their environment, growing, and then dividing into two cells. Bacteria are continuously growing and dividing.
Bassler continues her discussion of bacteria by classifying humans as ninty to ninety nine percent bacteria. Humans have ten trillion bacteria cells in us or on us at any moment in time. Bacteria creates an invisible layer around our body that keeps harmful threats out so we can stay healthy. They also digest our food, make our vitamins, and educate our immune system. Bacteria is mostly known for all the bad things they do. Bassler asks the question of how Bacteria can do anything at all given that they are microscopic. She gives the example of a type of bacteria that glows called Vibrio Fischeri. She found that by itself the bacteria does not glow. When in a community of the bacteria they glow, because they can communicate through chemical language. If bacteria is alone they produce small molecules like hormones and the molecules just float away, If in a community they grow and double and they all produce the molecule making the extra cellular amount of molecules increase in proportion to the bacteria cell number. When the molecule hits a certain amount that lets the bacteria know how many other cells are around and they all turn on the light simultaneously. This type of bacteria lives in the Hawaiian Bobtail Squid. The squid sleeps during the day and hunts at night. It has developed a shutter that open and closes over the light organ housing the Vibrio Fischeri. This shutter allows just the right amount of light in to match the light produced by the bacteria so the Squid does not make a shadow. Not producing a shadow protects itself from predators trying to eat it. When the sun comes up the next day a pump connected to the circadian rhythm that pumps out ninety five percent of the bacteria and throughout the day …show more content…
The bacterial cell has a protein, which is an enzyme that makes that hormone molecule. The cells then grow, releasing that molecule into the environment. The bacteria have a receptor on their cell surface that fits with that molecule it produced. When the molecule increases to a certain amount, it locks down into that receptor and information comes into the cells that tells the cells to turn on this collective behavior of making light.
The importance of the glowing bacteria, is all bacteria use this systems like the Vibrio Fischeri. All Bacteria make chemical words that they recognize, they then turn on group behavior that only works when all the bacteria cells participate simultaneously. There are hundreds of bacteria behaviors that are carried out. The most important one for Humans is virulence. They get into us and grow. They count themselves and recognize when they have the right cell number, the bacteria launch their virulence attack at the same time so they can defeat an enormous
Bassler continues her discussion of bacteria by classifying humans as ninty to ninety nine percent bacteria. Humans have ten trillion bacteria cells in us or on us at any moment in time. Bacteria creates an invisible layer around our body that keeps harmful threats out so we can stay healthy. They also digest our food, make our vitamins, and educate our immune system. Bacteria is mostly known for all the bad things they do. Bassler asks the question of how Bacteria can do anything at all given that they are microscopic. She gives the example of a type of bacteria that glows called Vibrio Fischeri. She found that by itself the bacteria does not glow. When in a community of the bacteria they glow, because they can communicate through chemical language. If bacteria is alone they produce small molecules like hormones and the molecules just float away, If in a community they grow and double and they all produce the molecule making the extra cellular amount of molecules increase in proportion to the bacteria cell number. When the molecule hits a certain amount that lets the bacteria know how many other cells are around and they all turn on the light simultaneously. This type of bacteria lives in the Hawaiian Bobtail Squid. The squid sleeps during the day and hunts at night. It has developed a shutter that open and closes over the light organ housing the Vibrio Fischeri. This shutter allows just the right amount of light in to match the light produced by the bacteria so the Squid does not make a shadow. Not producing a shadow protects itself from predators trying to eat it. When the sun comes up the next day a pump connected to the circadian rhythm that pumps out ninety five percent of the bacteria and throughout the day …show more content…
The bacterial cell has a protein, which is an enzyme that makes that hormone molecule. The cells then grow, releasing that molecule into the environment. The bacteria have a receptor on their cell surface that fits with that molecule it produced. When the molecule increases to a certain amount, it locks down into that receptor and information comes into the cells that tells the cells to turn on this collective behavior of making light.
The importance of the glowing bacteria, is all bacteria use this systems like the Vibrio Fischeri. All Bacteria make chemical words that they recognize, they then turn on group behavior that only works when all the bacteria cells participate simultaneously. There are hundreds of bacteria behaviors that are carried out. The most important one for Humans is virulence. They get into us and grow. They count themselves and recognize when they have the right cell number, the bacteria launch their virulence attack at the same time so they can defeat an enormous