I always thought of bacteria as being intrusive. The same goes for fungi. It seemed more of something that would infect the body instead of helping the body, or any field of science. It was why I wore shower shoes in college. However, the more I read on bacteria and fungi, the more I started to see the benefits that these micro-organisms have toward science.

I never would have thought I would have a connection to bacteria in decision making. Human decision making seems pretty intuitive to me. You choose left or right. Up or down. Right or wrong. All on your own accord. Right? However, it seems that studying bacteria under stress is giving a little more insight into human decision making. In a press release, issued by the Univ. of California, San Diego and seen in the R&D Daily, scientists from the university applied mathematical techniques commonly used in physics to describe the complexity of the interplay of genes and proteins that colonies of bacteria rely upon to initiate different survival strategies during times of stress.

According to the release, each bacterium in the colony communicates via chemical messages, and performs their sophisticated decision making process using specialized networks of genes and proteins. By modeling the complex decision making of the bacterium, the scientists were able to assess the pros and cons of different choices in game theory, much like the common Prisoners’ Dilemma. It is the scientist’s hopes that their study could provide insights for economists and political scientists about complex human decision making.

So, are our thoughts driven by our own decisions or society’s decisions? Maybe someday we will be able to find out thanks to bacteria.

Not only making a splash in life science research, bacteria are also making a splash in the energy industry. Bacteria are now enabling researchers to turn carbon dioxide into liquid fuel; something that may help with the effort to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide. In a press release issued by the Univ. of California, Los Angeles and also seen in the R&D Daily, researchers from the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science have genetically modified a cyanobacterium to consume carbon dioxide and produce isobutanol, a leading gasoline alternative. The reaction is triggered through photosynthesis.

Not only can the engineered Synechoccus elongates produce isobutanol directly, but it is also easier to use than existing expensive chemical catalysis processes to convert “isobutyraldehyde gas to isobutanol,” according to the research.

Although still working out some initial issues such as the efficiency of light distribution and the reduction of bioreactor cost, the researchers believe this technique would be ideal to implement next to existing power plants that emit carbon dioxide, in hopes of allowing the greenhouse gas to be captured and recycled into liquid fuel.

So, let’s give bacteria a pat on the back for its help in science. I look forward to seeing what happens next!