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TED Talk: Bonnie Bassler: Discovering bacteria's amazing communication system (ted.com)
37 points by amichail on April 9, 2009 | hide | past | favorite | 6 comments


For those people who like to read instead of watch:

Bateria

  o oldest living things

  o very few genes

  o consume nutients

  o grow and divide themselves

  o good and bad Bacteria

  o Considered before as "a-social reclusive organisms"

Human

  o Trillian Human cells

  o 10 Trillion Baterial cells

  o DNA counts, 100 times more Baterial life than you are Human

  o Bateria cover us outside, they make our vitamins, etc. They are vital for us.

Case Study: Vibrio Fischeri (3:00)

  o makes biolumencense

  o they make only light in a special situation

  o alone no light, 

  o secretes small "hormon" type substances to communicate

  o after a certain level of "hormon" type substance is gathered they "turn on"

  o Bacterial Quorum Sensing 

    - They have a Signal Producing Protein)

    - They have also a Signal Receptor Protein

    - Locks on Proteins then Group Behaior Genes are 
activiated

Case Study: Squid (5:00)

  o squid uses those Bacteria in symbiosis

  o buries itself in sand during day

  o senses moonlight with a special eye like organ on the back

  o analogy "stealth bomber of the ocean"

  o only active during night

  o pumps up bacteria if needed to make light

Quorum Sensing in Bacteria (9:10)

  o All bacteria can actually talk to each other.

  o Bacteria are multi-cellular

  o Bacteria can distinguish self from other

  o Quorum Sensing, every bacteria can "vote"

    - "counting your neighbors"

  o the most votes get carried out

  o Bacterial control patogens with Quorum Sensing.

    - growing while doing nothing, then when enough numbers 
attack

  o Bacteria can develop strategies to impede/improve 
quiorum sensing

  o Display of different molecules

    - left hand part of the molecule is same only right part is slightly different

    - each bacteria uses a special right hand side version of vibrio fischeri

    - In-trust species communication by unique molecule types

  o Bacteria are multi-lingual. They can also communicate Inter-Species. (11:40)

    - There is a bacteria molecule which is always the same

  o Chemicals are their "word"

New Anti-Biotics (12:30)

  o Can we disturb communication of them so that they can't release pathogens?

  o Two strategies

    - disturbing -> targeting intra-species communication (works, mouse)

    - disturbing -> targeting inter-species comm.

  o This will be the next generation of Anti-Biotics

Future work (15:30)

  o Study bacterials because they have been longer around then us

  o Application to other Human diseses and behaviors

  o Anti- but also Pro- Quorum Sensing bacteria

    - Making you more healthy

  o Her team (17:20)


biological social networking!


.. as opposed to? :)


To be precise, kowsik probably meant "non-human biological social networking" ;-)


i'm not really human. :-)

signed, the collective.


Very impressive and quite promising




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