by I'm a little drunk and so posted this on FB!
Some people ask me why I post so much on Facebook. Well, you see, I am connected to about 500 people through this site, far more than my Twitter followers. Every time I come across a scientific story, I feel like running on the top of the nearest Telephone Tower and and shout about it. Carl Sagan said, "Not explaining science seems to me perverse. When you're in love, you want to let the world know." And I love to shout out these fascinating stories to people. Maybe the five hundred connections that I have on here do not give a rat's ass to these stories but to be honest, I don't care. I'll keep on shouting about these and if one person reads one of the stories, I'll be the one most pleased. Take for example, this one.
So there are these bacteria called Photorhabdus and Xenorabdus that live in the guts of nematode worms as symbionts. These nematodes feed on the insect larva living in soil. They enter the gut of the larva and release these bacteria into blood-equivalent in insects (haemolymph). Now what these bacteria do is that they release a chemical cocktail that kills the larva as well as kills off any potential bacterial competitions. The nematode then devours the larva from within and re-consumes the bacteria and move to another larva. Symbiosis, as we know it.
These bacteria are also bioluminescent, meaning that they glow. This helps in attracting nearby larvae to the carcass of the last prey.
Now this is where the story reaches the climax. These bacteria can infect humans through an open wound. Now guess what? You have an open wound in a soldier who fights in trenches in soil, it gets infected by these glowing microbes and they release an antibiotic cocktail! These soldiers are less likely to suffer from infections leading to sepsis and death due to the antagonistic action of these.
Now consider a primitive human society where people have no idea about these things. What people see is that soldiers with a glowing wound are less likely to die! Enter the myth of 'Angel Glow' and divine intervention.
The story is much better written in the link below. I just shortened it in a simple way.
The point is that every research in science is equally interesting. Imagine how this fascinating story tells you about how myths can be dispelled through scientific investigation, how organisms help each other in nature, why bacteria glow, quorum sensing, probable anti-bacterial therapies in the future and so on. The best thing about science is that each story is linked to the other and every research is adding a bit to the solution of the puzzle that surrounds us. And this, my friends, is what I live for.
In short, "Science is interesting and if you don't agree, you can fuck off."
