As I continue to learn about the sheer numbers and diversity of living cells that work and live as our personal microbiomes my appreciation and curiosity grow. The study of microscopic life has the ability, as do the other branches of biology, to give us insight into our own natures.
As a boy living in rural Washington State, I enjoyed observing the birds around the countryside. The killdeers followed instinct, loping away from their eggs while putting on a "broken wing act". Pretending that they were crippled, and therefore easy prey, is supposed to lure the aggressive animal to them. I mimicked their killdeer call and mocked the poor birds even as I located their nests in the gravel. Other animals I loved to observe were the ubiquitous polliwogs. For an amateur scientist, the observation of the relatively rapid metamorphosis into frogs was the ideal project. All that was required was a mason jar, pond water, and some grass for them to eat.
My interests shifted one night from the macroscopic to the microscopic world. A television show that revealed to me the fact that microscopic organisms were living not only around us, but on us and in us. I was blown away. Mom told me to wash my hands to avoid germs. I always thought that these "germs" were made up to scare children, much like a fairy tale villain. Once the TV taught me, it was doctrine. The images and the narrative of the pseudo-investigative shock journalist sealed the deal.
Not many months after that I came down with acute appendicitis that left me hospitalized for almost three months (rupture, sepsis, life-saving emergency surgery and massive doses of antibiotics). It was Christmastime, and my parents gave me a microscope to pass the time in the hospital bed while recovering. Mom even donated some of her blood for me to study. That microscope had enough resolving power to visualize bee wings and leaf cells really well. With my nascent skills blood cells were borderline observable, and bacteria were impossible to see using that toy. When the electron microscope became available in college, that was nirvana.
My education and career has led me through various subsets of microbiology, including clinical micro, plant pathology/soil micro, environmental micro, medical device testing (with principles of cleaning, sanitization, sterilization), consumer products micro, and pharmaceutical microbiology. It has been a rich experience so far.
So, what can the bugs teach us about ourselves? In the years since I first gained an interest in bacteria and their neighbors, I have learned:
1. It's better when we work together and get along. (quorum sensing, biofilms)
2. There will always be a problem and an antagonist. (disease mechanisms, competition, antibiosis)
3. There is always a solution to crazy problems. (oil spill cleanup, energy production)
4. Life and inspiration can be found almost everywhere. This world is designed to hold all kinds of life. (deep core samples and meteorites)
Other fascinating topics include ice nucleation, secondary metabolites, mutualism/symbiosis, extremophiles, cleanroom isolates, yogurt, cheese, etc.
Many of the problems we face as humanity can be aided by our partners who are always with us, on us, and in us. Just be sure to wash your hands.
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