Heather Barnett: What humans can learn from semi-intelligent slime

Slime molds are smarter than you think (A TED Talk)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UxGrde1NDA

And:

How bacteria "talk" - Bonnie Bassler

Yep, bacteria are sociable (Another TED Talk)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXWurAmtf78

Enjoy!

Hi Steven,

Thanks for that.

Remember this?

http://www.skytopia.com/project/fractal/mandelbulb.html#background

Thanks for that as well : )

At Graham's request I'm elaborating a little. However I'm afraid my rather clinical descriptions are a poor substitute for the liveliness and enthusiasm of the two presenters, Bonnie Bassler and Heather Barnett. Do watch the videos;

The Bonnie Bassler clip demonstrates how bacteria communicate with each other. All bacteria have two modes of communications; an intra-species mode which is unique to each species and an inter-species mode which is common to all bacteria.

Yep, not only do bacteria communicate within species but between species. This raises the prospect of a whole new class of antibiotics that work by disrupting channels of communication.

The clip also has a fascinating segment on a squid that uses bioluminescent bacteria to cloak itself. It is, as Ms Bassler puts it, the stealth bomber of marine life.

How all this was uncovered makes an enthralling tale of how scientists work

The Heather Barnett clip tells an intriguing story about slime mold colonies. Not only do slime mold colonies display intelligence but they have a memory!

Note the intelligence and memory is a property of the colony, not of the individual organisms making up the colony. If we can unravel how the colony does it we may gain a better understanding of how our brains store memories.

All in all it's another captivating tale of scientists at work.

For more on slime molds see The Slime Mould Collective:

http://slimoco.ning.com/

For more on Bonnie Bassler see:

http://molbio.princeton.edu/faculty/molbio-faculty/31-bassler

The January 2015 edition of Scientific American has a piece about human trials of an antibiotic that works by disrupting the social lives of bacteria.

See:

Experimental Drugs Target Bacteria’s Social Network
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/experimental-drugs-target-bacteria-s-social-network/

Poirot:

Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it.