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Feb 06
2011
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Bacteria smells!Posted by Dirk Nowad in smell , odor , Natural Ingredients , national geographic , biotechnology journal , bacteria |
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Bacteria has the ability to detect and differentiate between odors. That's a study out of Newcastle University in the U.K., published some time ago in the Biotechnology Journal.
Researchers found in experiments designed to test bacterial growth formations, that two species of soil bacteria could not only pick up on the smell of ammonia in the air, but actually reacted to it.
If bacteria can sense ammonia and somehow migrate toward that source, that would be very beneficial.
In addition, scientists hope the finding will help them to reduce the harm caused by antibiotic resistant, disease-causing bacteria, which also form biofilms in such inconvenient places as hospitals and on medical devices. If scientists can find out a way to stop the bacteria from sniffing out the tasty food sources, they might be able to prevent its spread.
