Found in Translation
TED Radio Hour
How Fatima's Sensor Can Predict What Bacteria Are Up To
Bacteria use signaling molecules to communicate with each other. When there are many bacteria, the signaling molecules accumulate and the bacteria start sensing that they're not alone. In this way, they keep track of how many they are and when they are many enough to initiate a new action. Fatima's sensor uses it to interpret these molecular conversations between bacterial cells and possibly predict what they're up to. She used those early whispers to diagnose infections before they spread.
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