White Blood Cell Hunting, Slaying Bacterium

(Video Link)

This video shows a neutrophil (a type of white blood cell) chasing a staphylococcus aureus bacterium. The video was recorded by biochemistry professor David Rogers of Vanderbilt University in the 1950s. Notes on the movement by med school professor Thomas P. Stossel:


Contraction waves are visible along the surface of the moving cell as it moves forward in a gliding fashion. As the neutrophil relentlessly pursues the microbe it ignores the red cells and platelets. However, its leading edge is sufficiently stiff (elastic) to deform and displace the red cells it bumps into. The internal contents of the neutrophil also move, and granule motion is particularly dynamic near the leading edge. These granules only approach the cell surface membrane when the cell changes direction and redistributes its peripheral “gel.” After the neutrophil has engulfed the bacterium, note that the cell’s movements become somewhat more jerky, and that it begins to extend more spherical surface projections.

Link, Via: Geekologie, Via: Neatorama

Microbial Art

Microbial Art shows a collection of unique artworks created using living bacteria, fungi, and protists. The site is presented as an example of the exciting interface between art and science.

A team of students from the nanobiology laboratories at the University of Osaka, Japan, genetically engineered bacteria to express fluorescent proteins and carotenoid pigments to create works of art. LINK: The Presurfer

" Bacterial Art"

Eshel Ben-Jacob of Tel Aviv University has a gallery of art made from the patterns bacteria form with they grow in petri dishes. LINK