• Question: hi my favrote thing in science is micro organisims I am year 8 can you give me some usefull facts to learn about them Thank you

    Asked by zaccf to Stef on 16 Mar 2013.
    • Photo: Stefan Piatek

      Stefan Piatek answered on 16 Mar 2013:

      Ah bacteria, I really enjoyed bacteria at university, they’re fascinating.

      There’s a really amazing thing that bacteria can do and that’s called Quorum Sensing, this is when they basically find out how many of their mates are around. Unlike us, they can’t see each other, but they can detect each other. When they get together they change the things they do, so for Aliivibrio fischeri – a bacteria in the sea, when there’s a lot for them, they all start to glow!

      If you know the deep sea quids and fish that have glowing parts, this is because they have loads of these bacteria concentrated together so they can form a little light!

      how cool is that?

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