Many of the bacteria in our bodies live in walled mini cities. That has some very important medical implications, biologist Anders Hakansson tells Robyn Braun
Inside our bodies, bacteria hide in enclosed communities called biofilms. What are they?
They are a way that bacteria aggregate, usually in pretty intricate architectural features. They are like little cities, with towers and water channels. Different bacteria form different kinds of biofilms, but they always produce some kind of matrix around themselves that acts as a protective coating. Many bacteria, including Streptococcus pneumoniae, which causes pneumonia, use dead cells to do this.
How do these little bacterial cities work?
In the biofilm, bacteria act a lot like an organism. Different bacteria and regions within the biofilm have different functions. Some retrieve nutrients or fix nitrogen, some might be good at taking up DNA from within the biofilm, and some even sacrifice themselves for the benefit of ...
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