Bacteria may allow animals to send quick, voluminous messages
Monday, November 11, 2013 - 17:00
in Biology & Nature
Twitter clips human thoughts to a mere 140 characters. Animals' scent posts may be equally as short, relatively speaking, yet they convey an encyclopedia of information about the animals that left them. Researcher now show that the detailed scent posts of hyenas are, in part, products of symbiotic bacteria, microbes that have a mutually beneficial relationship with their hosts.