Teams of bacteria have working memories remarkably like ours
Groups of bacteria that stick together, known as a biofilm, have a strong working memory, according to new research. (CDC/)Tiny organisms do extraordinary things. Bacteria can both help bring life to soil and wreak havoc on a human digestive system during a bout with food poisoning. However, we don’t normally think of microbes like bacteria as being smart. Groundbreaking new research, though, suggests otherwise: When many bacteria live together as a unit, a conglomerate known as a biofilm, the biological system creates a working memory in some ways similar to the way our own memory works. A new paper published this week in the journal Cell Systems documents how these communities of bacteria have the capacity to remember when they are exposed to blue light. This finding illuminates an unexpected connection between the abilities of simple organisms and complex neurons in the human brain. Gürol Süel, a molecular biologist at...