The Hawaiian bobtail squid - when science and nature collide

Just how does this cunning little nocturnal hunter stop itself from being spotted by it's food? Or by fish looking for an easy meal? And what on earth has that got to do with nasty bacteria? Find out in the short animation sponsored by the UK Society for Applied Microbiology.

[christinamelvin]

This is JUST what I needed, thank you! My middle school students are going to do a lab using Vibrio fischeri in a few weeks, this is a GREAT opener!

[MIkeHaubrichikonokast]

Well, this is pretty amazing; to be able to use what is learned in analyzing squid to attack diseases in humans. I am more curious now about "Quorum sensing" and I aim to learn more.

[Toorakable]

Heard you interviewed on National - great research & way cool video. Well done!

[lewdrums]

2:00 certainly hits the need for serious research right on the head ... especially here in 2020 ...

[SiouxsieWiles]

Hi there, depends what you mean. There are a number of labs trying to find ways of disrupting the ability of microbes to use quorum sensing to switch on genes for causing disease. But for something that is advancing medical research right now, we are using the light reaction of glowing bacteria to speed up the search for new antibiotics.

[SiouxsieWiles]

Hi Mike, Check out Bonnie Bassler's webpage. She has done a huge amount of work on quorum sensing. There is a great TED talk on the video's tab. Just google Bonnie Bassler.

[HeadofIbis]

Amazing! Do you suppose this discovery could advance medical research somehow?

[samarakelly]

does she say "from sex to swimming?" I couldn't tell... that was a strange part.