It turns out that bacteria — tiny creatures without a brain or moral code — can still communicate with each other, according to "Deep Inside Bacteria, a Germ of Human Personality" in the Wall Street Journal. The eyeless little buggers use a chemical language — quorum sensing — by releasing a specific molecule that allows each to determine the presence of others. This allows some strains of bacteria to delay an attack on a host (i.e., you or me) until there are enough little bad guys to overwhelm your immune defenses (i.e., they stuff the infectious meeting room with smelly buddies until they have a quorum and can vote you down). Says one scientist: "Really, they're just stripped-down versions of us."
That's what I'm worried about.
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