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Description
Cole watched in disbelief as the slimy little blobs slowly inched their way across his table, leaving sticky trails behind them.

They were fluorescing, which meant that they were expressing the reporter gene, which in turn showed that recombination was successful. On the other hand, quorum sensing on this scale had never been observed in either of his two specimens... and Cole had the dim recollection of accidentally tipping the petri dish open as he was reaching for a bottle of alcohol. Had something else managed to get in? or had a random genetic event just happened?

Whatever it was, he found the movement of the slugs unsettling. They were distinctly ignoring the various loose ends spotting his table, moving towards a larger, pulsating mass near his test tube rack - and even the isolated slugs were no longer static, but slowly changing course. That suggested an ability to resolve multiple images simultaneously, which in turn hinted at an uncanny ability to form images. And the fact that the stalk on the central mass was bending away from the glass beaker he'd absent-mindedly set down beside it demonstrated an eerily fascinating avoidance response. And they were growing...

He was putting his observations together, and extrapolating on them to form increasingly wild speculations. If they could communicate on this level, if they were this aware of their surroundings, they might be able to anticipate change. Have circadian rhythms. Even be capable of learning. If so, ...who knows what they could do! Many microorganisms carried out certain activities only at high cell density. Bioluminescent bacteria only flashed at fish when they were in a crowd. Pseudomonas aeruginosa only secreted its damaging enzymes where the population number was high enough for its activity to be cost effective. What were these aggregating microbes saying to each other? Proposing sex? Discussing the gastronomical merits of different agar? Trading information? -- Plotting a massive takeover of the laboratory?

On the one hand, it *could* mean groundbreaking news in the microbiology world. On the other hand, it could also mean that his hard work had gone right down the toilet.

The hell with it! I don't care if they're sentient, Cole reflected sourly, so long as they're cultured.

-------------------------------------------

100 Pictures Challenge #58: Kick in the Head.

I'm sorry for the pun! I'm sorry for the pun! I'm sorry for th-- You know what? I'm going to put the blame on Isaac Asimov and his "Shah Guido G." tale. Well, all of his humourous tales. They've totally messed up my idea of "funny". That, and I just happen to like shaggy dog stories.

I just needed to do something fun, utterly silly and without artistic (or, for that matter, scientific) merit. Mind you, though, it may be corny sci-fi, but I swear I didn't make up most of the "facts"!

What's Real (And What's Not)
(for those who really want to know)

Reporter genes are "markers" used in genetic engineering to determine if the genes of interest have been successfully incorporated or expressed in a culture. Among the common reporter genes are those encoding for fluorescent/bioluminescent proteins.

Quorum sensing - or "microbe speak" - is a real phenomenon whereby microorganisms communicate with one another through the secretion of chemicals. They use it to signal to one another about food, personal space, numbers (the examples I gave are real), aggregation, gene exchange. And yes, sex too. ("Hey babe, check out my pilus. It's skinny - but it's looong!").

Why not communicate with sound? Because, to produce sound, you would need equipment that is at least as big as the wavelength of the sound you're making. And then there's the problem of the medium in which microbes usually live - and the fact that they'd be hearing not only sounds they produce but also the mighty hammering of molecules upon their tiny bodies. Makes you think the next time you swear at your radio, doesn't it?

A number of microbes have demonstrated ability to form visible structures under certain conditions, such as the slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum, which gathers when there isn't enough food to form a large fruiting body to send out spores. Their locomotion speed is closer to about 20 um/minute, though, so in reality Cole would probably have had to sit around for 10 hours, watching them aggregate...

It is possible to resolve multiple images and form images without vision or hearing. Some species of spore-propelling fungi have demonstrated ability to sense and distinguish between gaps in obstacles, and adjust their aim accordingly.

The bit about avoidance behaviour is also observable in some species of fungi, whereby solid objects placed within several millimetres of their growing zone causes their sporangiophores to bend or grow away from it. Some scientists proposed that the sporangiophores emit volatile chemicals into the air, and detect changes based on air current and reflection of these chemicals.

The presence of free-running circadian rhythm has been demonstrated in different microorganisms (yes, even certain bacteria), among them the dinoflagellate Gonyaulax polyedra, which flashes in the water at night and photosynthesizes in the daytime (both of which require precious nitrogen supply).

So far, only a few microorganisms like Vorticella and certain flatworms and nematodes have displayed associative learning behaviour. No reason why I can't play the outrageous game of "What if?" with other classes of microbes, though!

To know more about quorum sensing, please read this article:
Small Talk in the Microbial World .

This picture is filed under "Cartoons" because there is no subcategory for "Humourous drawings".

Would anyone like a free drawing? Tell me what agar is in the tubes, and what the results are. Not you, Ty.

Description
Cole watched in disbelief as the slimy little blobs slowly inched their way across his table, leaving sticky trails behind them.

They were fluorescing, which meant that they were expressing the reporter gene, which in turn showed that recombination was successful. On the other hand, quorum sensing on this scale had never been observed in either of his two specimens... and Cole had the dim recollection of accidentally tipping the petri dish open as he was reaching for a bottle of alcohol. Had something else managed to get in? or had a random genetic event just happened?

Whatever it was, he found the movement of the slugs unsettling. They were distinctly ignoring the various loose ends spotting his table, moving towards a larger, pulsating mass near his test tube rack - and even the isolated slugs were no longer static, but slowly changing course. That suggested an ability to resolve multiple images simultaneously, which in turn hinted at an uncanny ability to form images. And the fact that the stalk on the central mass was bending away from the glass beaker he'd absent-mindedly set down beside it demonstrated an eerily fascinating avoidance response. And they were growing...

He was putting his observations together, and extrapolating on them to form increasingly wild speculations. If they could communicate on this level, if they were this aware of their surroundings, they might be able to anticipate change. Have circadian rhythms. Even be capable of learning. If so, ...who knows what they could do! Many microorganisms carried out certain activities only at high cell density. Bioluminescent bacteria only flashed at fish when they were in a crowd. Pseudomonas aeruginosa only secreted its damaging enzymes where the population number was high enough for its activity to be cost effective. What were these aggregating microbes saying to each other? Proposing sex? Discussing the gastronomical merits of different agar? Trading information? -- Plotting a massive takeover of the laboratory?

On the one hand, it *could* mean groundbreaking news in the microbiology world. On the other hand, it could also mean that his hard work had gone right down the toilet.

The hell with it! I don't care if they're sentient, Cole reflected sourly, so long as they're cultured.

-------------------------------------------

100 Pictures Challenge #58: Kick in the Head.

I'm sorry for the pun! I'm sorry for the pun! I'm sorry for th-- You know what? I'm going to put the blame on Isaac Asimov and his "Shah Guido G." tale. Well, all of his humourous tales. They've totally messed up my idea of "funny". That, and I just happen to like shaggy dog stories.

I just needed to do something fun, utterly silly and without artistic (or, for that matter, scientific) merit. Mind you, though, it may be corny sci-fi, but I swear I didn't make up most of the "facts"!

What's Real (And What's Not)
(for those who really want to know)

Reporter genes are "markers" used in genetic engineering to determine if the genes of interest have been successfully incorporated or expressed in a culture. Among the common reporter genes are those encoding for fluorescent/bioluminescent proteins.

Quorum sensing - or "microbe speak" - is a real phenomenon whereby microorganisms communicate with one another through the secretion of chemicals. They use it to signal to one another about food, personal space, numbers (the examples I gave are real), aggregation, gene exchange. And yes, sex too. ("Hey babe, check out my pilus. It's skinny - but it's looong!").

Why not communicate with sound? Because, to produce sound, you would need equipment that is at least as big as the wavelength of the sound you're making. And then there's the problem of the medium in which microbes usually live - and the fact that they'd be hearing not only sounds they produce but also the mighty hammering of molecules upon their tiny bodies. Makes you think the next time you swear at your radio, doesn't it?

A number of microbes have demonstrated ability to form visible structures under certain conditions, such as the slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum, which gathers when there isn't enough food to form a large fruiting body to send out spores. Their locomotion speed is closer to about 20 um/minute, though, so in reality Cole would probably have had to sit around for 10 hours, watching them aggregate...

It is possible to resolve multiple images and form images without vision or hearing. Some species of spore-propelling fungi have demonstrated ability to sense and distinguish between gaps in obstacles, and adjust their aim accordingly.

The bit about avoidance behaviour is also observable in some species of fungi, whereby solid objects placed within several millimetres of their growing zone causes their sporangiophores to bend or grow away from it. Some scientists proposed that the sporangiophores emit volatile chemicals into the air, and detect changes based on air current and reflection of these chemicals.

The presence of free-running circadian rhythm has been demonstrated in different microorganisms (yes, even certain bacteria), among them the dinoflagellate Gonyaulax polyedra, which flashes in the water at night and photosynthesizes in the daytime (both of which require precious nitrogen supply).

So far, only a few microorganisms like Vorticella and certain flatworms and nematodes have displayed associative learning behaviour. No reason why I can't play the outrageous game of "What if?" with other classes of microbes, though!

To know more about quorum sensing, please read this article:
Small Talk in the Microbial World .

This picture is filed under "Cartoons" because there is no subcategory for "Humourous drawings".

Would anyone like a free drawing? Tell me what agar is in the tubes, and what the results are. Not you, Ty.