I'm in a celebratory mood. Microcosm is published today. In my mind, I can see the books moving out of warehouses onto trucks, off to book stores and front door steps. This morning I read a great review from Mykola Bilokonsky at Newsvine. ("What are you waiting for?" he asks.) And tonight I'll be having a little get-together, with the weather cooperating in splendid fashion. To spread the cheer, let me invite you to participate in a contest to win a copy of Microcosm that I will personally sign.
To enter, you just need to ask a Microcosm-related question in the comment thread. My book is specifically about E. coli, and generally about life. By illuminating how this microbe works, I end up exploring everything from synthetic biology to the possibility of extraterrestrial life to the evolutionary history recorded in E. coli's genome--a history that we share. For more information, you can check out the Newsvine review, or my previous Microcosm-related posts here, or my Microcosm page on my web site. Or you can just ask a question about E. coli that's been on your mind for years. I know you have at least one...
You can post a question between now and Thursday, 5 pm EST. I will then choose five questions to answer in a post on Friday, and I'll get in touch with the five winners for their addresses.
In the meantime, question away, and spread the word to anyone else who might be interesting in entering.
Update: Let's keep it to one question per entry, so that the question space isn't all gobbled up!
Update: The contest is closed. Come back Friday for winning questions and their answers.
Comments
As the first commenter can I get away with a silly question? Something like, "So, why's E. Coli such a big deal?"
Actually, I don't know much about E. Coli. Why is it the bacteria we always use for experiments? What is it about that little guy that's so amenable to being experimented upon? I think mice, drosophila and E Coli are the most experimented-upon creatures, at least that I know of.
As a final, and definitely silly, question, "How does E. Coli illuminating how E. Coli works lead you to explore 'everything from synthetic biology to the possibility of extraterrestrial life to the evolutionary history recorded in E. coli's genome--a history that we share'?"
Posted by: Stuart Coleman | May 6, 2008 12:06 PM
OK, here's my question: Is most of life slime? For years I've consoled myself with the factoid that "most of life is slime," i.e., by weight, the bulk of living matter, past, present and future, was, is, and always will be, microbial. Is that true? If so, how do we know? (P.S., my neighbor, NPR science editor David Malakoff, says you are a great writer.) Sincerely, Dan Kowalski
Posted by: Dan Kowalski | May 6, 2008 12:10 PM
Hi Carl,
How does E. coli maintain its "species identity" (for lack of a better phrase) given that it's not a sexually-reproducing lifeform?
Posted by: minusRusty | May 6, 2008 12:10 PM
Here's my question:
I've been hearing a lot about probiotics in health circles lately, I wonder if there is any work being done on modifying e. coli to further assist with various intestinal problems. In other words, could e. coli be made into a type of super-probiotic?
If you happen to choose my question, my current copy of Microcosm will be given as a prize to one of my middle school science students this fall. :)
Posted by: Edman | May 6, 2008 12:10 PM
Hey, now, Edman... doesn't that constitute biasing the jury pool?!? ;-)
Posted by: minusRusty | May 6, 2008 12:15 PM
Is there a limit to the number of questions we can ask? Assuming we can ask only one question, just pick #1. If not, here's my list:
1. Because E. coli lives in our intestines, I would think that our health would be in its genes' benefit. Have there been any genes or processes identified that benefit it by benefiting us? or is the environment in our intestines too competitive to allow us to get into a mutualistic relationship with our E. coli?
2. Sort of going along with #1, are individual's E. coli strains distinguishable from each other? could we, in theory, identify an individual (human or otherwise) by looking at the bacteria in their feces?
3. What is your favorite thing that has been done to E. coli (making it glow, smell like bananas, etc)?
4. Do different E. coli cells ever cooperate with each other (clones)? how about different strains?
Posted by: Ceph | May 6, 2008 12:27 PM
Hey, now, Edman... doesn't that constitute biasing the jury pool?!? ;-)
Haha, actually, that was totally unintentional. I really just didn't want people thinking I was hoarding copies of Microcosm...which might be considered pretty weird.
Posted by: Edman | May 6, 2008 12:43 PM
Congrats Carl! I have already ordered the book but I would love to have a signed copy:). I know absolutely nothing about E. coli so my questions are a little basic (sorry).
Why is E. coli so successful? Who actually benefits in our relationship with E. coli? What makes some strains harmful? And finally, are you ever coming to give a talk in Tennessee :)?
Posted by: memyrald | May 6, 2008 12:45 PM
Does E. coli ever make other carnivorous animals sick?
Posted by: todd. | May 6, 2008 12:46 PM
What do we know about E. coli's behavior in space?
Posted by: Philip Franklin | May 6, 2008 1:08 PM
There doesn't seem to be much info that's readily available about the genus Escherichia. Wikipedia does say:
Why E. coli? Is there something in particular about its evolution that accounts for its "success"? Is it that it happened to get a "foothold" and just went on from there for no particularly explicable reason, or is there something that can be pinpointed as a "success factor"?
Posted by: Scott Belyea | May 6, 2008 1:11 PM
I believe it was one of your articles leading up to this book that compared E. Coli to the internet. How both E. Coli and the internet function in similar fashion, breaking information, or food, into packets that can be processed identically and then efficiently working through them all.
So my question is, Would we be taking the analogy too far if we flipped it around and asked if the internet is showing signs of life? Can E. Coli be used as an example to show how the internet is not only mimicking life, but dealing with the same problems as a living entity?
Are there good philosophies that can seperate the functions of E. Coli and the internet, and call one life and the other artificial?
Ok, so I've asked a few questions. Maybe I'm breaking the rules, but that's been weighing on me ever since I read the article about how the Internet is like E. Coli.
Posted by: Measure | May 6, 2008 1:17 PM
How are intelligent design proponents taking the news that E. coli flagellum can be explained naturally? Have they countered with anything?
Posted by: Michael D. Barton, FCD | May 6, 2008 1:28 PM
I have a question about how far back we can trace E. coli in animals. Did the dinosaur-era proto-mammals have E. coli in their guts? Or does bacterial evolution occur so quickly that we don't have the tools to look back that far?
Does E. coli leave any kind of trace that we might find in fossilized dung, or even for ice-age remains like in a frozen mammoth or something preserved in asphalt at La Brea?
I guess my question is best phrased as "when did E. coli first conquer our bowels?" Presumably there's been an entire ecosystem in there since multicellular life started having a butt. When did E. coli become king of the roost, and in what way are scientists able to find this out?
Posted by: Siamang | May 6, 2008 1:37 PM
"How are intelligent design proponents taking the news that E. coli flagellum can be explained naturally? Have they countered with anything?"
I think their response is something like this:
"What? Nuh-unhhh... OH LOOK! COWS!!! Wait, what were we talking about?"
Posted by: Siamang | May 6, 2008 1:39 PM
Question: Is there really a clean division between E. coli and other species of bacteria? Is there really a clean division between bacteria and viruses of bacteria? Or, in general terms: what can we learn from E. coli about the boundaries we draw between organisms?
Posted by: Mark Powell | May 6, 2008 1:46 PM
Is E. coli stardust?
Posted by: Sarah Goforth | May 6, 2008 1:49 PM
Are you the evil overlord of earth's E.coli-sphere?
Posted by: marek | May 6, 2008 2:12 PM
In studying the mechanisms of e-coli, are there any insights that can apply to the organization of more complex entities? For example, does the responses of e-coli to environmental pressures offer ideas as to how to better organize organizations or societies to respond to danger, stress, etc.?
Posted by: Gary | May 6, 2008 2:56 PM
In animals and plants transposons and other mobile elements have contributed a number of times to the evolution of advantageous traits and the birth of new genes. As E. coli has its own set of mobile elements, I was wondering if we know of any documented cases when the transposition of these sequences resulted in increased (bacterial) fitness?
Posted by: dolphin | May 6, 2008 2:58 PM
Hmmm ... questions you want.
As I understand it many, most?, types of E. coli are fairly benign. Some are normal and beneficial to humans and live in our guts. But some other species or subspecies, are deadly.
Why is it that the generally beneficial ones proliferate in the human gut but the toxic ones generally don't? What tips the balance on the playing field?
Presumable the bad ones are all around us in small numbers. Why is it that only when you get large numbers of them all at once, like when you eat that under cooked burger with tainted beef, does that toxic sort take over.
If the toxic sort is so strong that it can push aside the friendly version and and we are exposed to it in smaller concentrations so frequently why doesn't win out more frequently?
Do we, in conjunction and cooperation with the friendly E. coli, have some sort of limited immunity?
Posted by: Art | May 6, 2008 3:32 PM
Q: What makes some bacteria, such as E-coli, beneficial in one setting (e.g., the gut) and harmful in another ?
Posted by: Itamar | May 6, 2008 3:35 PM
What is the energy economy of E. coli? How much energy does it burn to produce what result? When does the E. coli economy collapse (ie: too many for a given host)? Can an E. coli "colony" grow too large for its environment?
Lots of questions to express the one idea.
Oh, and thanks for a nice science blog.
Posted by: Harold K. | May 6, 2008 4:10 PM
How do you distinguish between benign strains of E. Coli and pathogenic ones? I am guessing that different methods are used in research and clinical settings.
Is it possible that life began on Earth when a space faring alien briefly stopped over and took a shit? And thus E. Coli was the first terrestrial life form? :)
Posted by: Stagyar zil Doggo | May 6, 2008 4:32 PM
Carl:
Congratulations on your book! Have fun at your "little get-together". =)
Question: What, if anything, can E. Coli teach us about swarm technology; specifically, can E. Coli provide any insights into nano-tech motility and the way nano-bots work together?
Posted by: Zugzwang | May 6, 2008 5:02 PM
My question (ooh, ooh, pick me pick me!!):
How much of the nutrients extracted from the food we eat go to our E. coli-like gut flora, and how different are their nutrient demands from our own?
Posted by: James | May 6, 2008 5:10 PM
Are there bioterror risks in using a species originally from intestines as such a central tool of biology? I mean, we can't take toothpaste on an airplane, but you don't need any kind of security clearance to genetically engineer E. coli.
Posted by: Ford | May 6, 2008 5:54 PM
Oftentimes, genes will pass from a bacterium to another bacterium - or even a human. Q: What types of diseases are associated with gene transfer from E. Coli to our own cells? And is it an evolutionary battle to maintain a population of E. Coli, while at the same time protect ourselves from that (seemingly) safe population of E. Coli?
Posted by: josh | May 6, 2008 6:37 PM
Quesion: What, if anything, about E.coli aids in the field of neurology?
Congrats, by the way!
S.
Posted by: Shauna MacKinnon | May 6, 2008 6:43 PM
How can E. coli help us conquer the universe?
Congrats on you publications!
Greetings from the Neotropics!
Posted by: Veronica | May 6, 2008 7:01 PM
Is there e-coli on other planets? On other extra solar system planets?
Posted by: brown | May 6, 2008 7:07 PM
How special is e-coli. Is it special enough, or are its morphs special enough, to live in planets throughout the Universe?
Posted by: bronw | May 6, 2008 7:09 PM
What makes e-coli special? Is it special enough to be present throughout the universe?
Posted by: brown | May 6, 2008 7:12 PM
Would we care so much about E. coli if we couldn't infect it with bacteriophage lambda or the T-even phage?
Posted by: Ron | May 6, 2008 7:38 PM
I'll recuse myself from the contest... but congrats on the release. I've changed the Link on EcoliWIki from "Coming soon" to "Now available".
And alas, no, most of these questions are not answered at EcoliWiki.
Posted by: Jim Hu | May 6, 2008 7:38 PM
What makes brown so special? Can he be found on other planets or out in space?
Posted by: e coli | May 6, 2008 8:24 PM
What role do phage-encoded toxins (such as Shiga) play in the evolution of the phages that infect bacteria like E. coli?
Posted by: JSB | May 6, 2008 8:50 PM
A copy is already winging it's way to me, but here goes...
Does E Coli affected by any parasites?
Cheers,
Colin
Posted by: ColinB | May 6, 2008 10:26 PM
I dig your NYT articles and would love a copy of your book, and it is my birthday...So, heres my question: how similar is the microbial flora of the digestive system within similar phylogenetic groups and across different ones?
Posted by: mattmc | May 6, 2008 10:51 PM
...
Would a review of Microcosm: E. coli and the New Science of Life on a leading on-line review site (named something other than 'amazon') by a leading writer there be of interest to the E. coli bug..??
There, I asked a question, even if annoyingly self-serving...
...tom...
.
Posted by: ..tom... | May 7, 2008 12:05 AM
If E. Coli can easily absorb genes from other organisms, what allows it to keep its identity? Or to say it differently, what keeps the newly mixed DNA from producing a Chimera? Under what conditions is the expression of a foreign gene allowed?
By the way Carl, when you are in the Bay Area, why not stop into The Bone Room in Berkeley and say hello and get a free tour.
Ron Cauble
Posted by: Ron Cauble | May 7, 2008 12:50 AM
Have there been any biomimicry applications that have come from studying e. coli?
Posted by: Kevin | May 7, 2008 2:01 AM
Mr.Zimmer
I have one simple question. When will the first synethtic cell - like a an amoeba - be created by man? I thought it would take thirty years. More like in half that time or less. And that inevitablily leads to the question of what is life and what constitutes as life. Life can be based on instinct and learned response alone. But intelligent life entails awareness and the ability to learn. By that definition all living things, including viruses and bacteria have the ability to adapt not just to survive but to thrive. Read the for example for the first time in thirty years there is now type of wheat rust can potentially destroy all wheat strains and therefore cause worldwide famine.
Thus to me the question of life is central to our quest to all our other questions. And the development of synethetic life is or will be a huge milestone and cause huge waves of change. Think how this understanding could lead to a whole new string of computers. They would be the closest thing to a synethetic human being. Thanks for opportunity. Look forward to your response or anybody esle's. Like this kind of discussion.
RH
Posted by: Randy Hoff | May 7, 2008 3:23 AM
Question: Which of the internal metabolic functions and processes of E. coli do you find most fascinating, and why.
Posted by: Julian | May 7, 2008 3:36 AM
hi carl
how do you think e coli is likely to evolve in the future? given the fact that the mitochondria in our cells has its origins in a bacteria, is e coli too going to lose its personality (!) and become an integral part of us?
Posted by: geetha | May 7, 2008 3:53 AM
Question: Can you get sick from e coli you already have ?
ie... you have e.coli in your digestive tract anyway, say you have poor hand washing skills after using the bathroom, can you infect yourself with a bacteria you already have ?
Posted by: Stu | May 7, 2008 6:21 AM
Will learning more about E.coli / current knowledge let us use it to crack biosynthesis, code and synthesise at will letting
E.coli be the molecular factory we are looking for ideally? And will it lead to more answers regarding the minimal-organism theory/practice?
Posted by: Fnz | May 7, 2008 6:52 AM
Will learning more about E.coli / current knowledge let us use it to crack biosynthesis, code and synthesise at will letting us use E.coli as a molecule factory ideally, in and out of living systems? And will it lead to more answers regarding the minimal-organism theory/practice?
Posted by: Fnz | May 7, 2008 6:53 AM
How can E. coli, and your book, be used in the ongoing quest to explain evolution to those who are open to learning, and how can they be used to take on the claims of creationists/IDists?
I've got a copy of the book speeding toward me, but would love to have a signed copy. Mostly, though, I am really interested in an answer to the question!
Posted by: Craig B | May 7, 2008 8:11 AM
What's the most interesting story about Ecoli that you didn't have space for in your book?
Posted by: Joel Bass | May 7, 2008 9:30 AM
I suspect that my infant daughter already has E. coli and other intestinal flora in her system. My question is, how did it get there?
Probably not through the umbilical cord, unless it's also a blood-borne pathogen endemic to pregnant women. Probably not from the birth canal, since she was a C-section baby. And probably not from the general environment since, as paranoid first-time parents, we scrub and disinfect everything that comes into contact with anything that comes into contact with her. I don't see E. coli listed as an ingredient in baby formula and it wouldn't make sense for it to be lurking in breast milk, so where did Baby Alexi--and by extension the rest of us--obtain that very first dose of bacteria?
Posted by: tem2 | May 7, 2008 9:38 AM
How does E. coli relate to other gut flora in terms of competition? Do they have finely tuned mutually beneficial relationships, or is it a competitive environment?
Posted by: Ranson | May 7, 2008 9:43 AM
Creationists often point to the bacterial cell and say something to the effect of "the cell is so complicated it is highly improbable that it could have spontaneously formed - therefore God-did-it. Are there any particular features of E.coli that reveal simpler origins?
Posted by: Sigmund | May 7, 2008 9:45 AM
Hya,
My question (I hope it has not been asked before) is this:
There are some people that argue that life is, fundamentally, about information. Thus, eating, reproduction, etc. should all have meaning in terms of information.
Is there a model for chemical information exchange between organisms and their environment? How does it work? Can we look at it through microbial life?
Posted by: Ale | May 7, 2008 9:54 AM
What would be the short-term and long-term effects of the total eradication of E. coli? In what ways would humans be effected, and how could you envision us adapting?
Posted by: Benjamin Roberts | May 7, 2008 9:59 AM
How does E.Coli interact with other mammals? I know that we humans naturally have it, but, are there dangerous strains that cause food poisoning in other mammals, or is it mainly just us humans?
Posted by: Leigh Shryock | May 7, 2008 10:02 AM
Recently, Craig Venter has been speaking on his work in genetics, and how the recent explosion in DNA sequencing technology has allowed the creation of entirely synthetic genomes. How optimistic are you about the future of using engineered bacteria to accomplish some of the optimistic scenarios (say, to create fuels from CO2 feedstock)? Would E. Coli or, or an "engineered descendant" of it, be used in a process like this, or would it be an entirely different type of bacteria?
Posted by: iwdw | May 7, 2008 10:02 AM
My question, and this comes from my work to some degree, is (multi pronged), are we born with e. coli, or do we get are first amount of it after birth?
If we get it after birth, where do we get it? Is it an indicator of what we eat or who we are related to, or both?
If it shows who we are related to, can we use it like DNA to look for relationships?
If it comes from what we eat, can we use it to study food consumption, and do we get more from new sources as we continue to grow and consume?
Posted by: thadd | May 7, 2008 10:03 AM
How is our knowledge of E.coli and other bacteria changing our understanding of population genetics and how will we modify the 20th century synthesis of natural selection and genetics?
Posted by: Greg | May 7, 2008 10:06 AM
A nurse friend of mine once told me that out gut flora has a circadian rhythm of 24 hours.
Is this true? If it is, is it then dependant on the rhythm of human activity and metabolism? Or do bacteria that live their entire lives in the darkness of our intestines have an internal clockwork independent of us?
Posted by: Sili | May 7, 2008 10:06 AM
What is the evolutionary advantage for the variability in toxicity?
Posted by: Dr. Bryan Grieg Fry | May 7, 2008 10:09 AM
Now that we know so much about E.coli, is it possible to prevent diseases of gastrointestinal tract? Maybe somehow by changing the DNA of E.Coli using the transduction of specifically created DNA information?
Posted by: Rikaja | May 7, 2008 10:17 AM
Do E. Coli populations in the gut remain there on their own or is their spread to other areas of the body limited by the immune system?
Posted by: Ooparts | May 7, 2008 10:18 AM
As per the poem here: http://digitalcuttlefish.blogspot.com/2008/01/of-trees-and-life-and-fun.html
Escherichia coli and Shigella flexneri
Are technically different—but really, not very.
What does the relationship between these two bacteria tell us about evolution? In addition, does it only tell us about the evolution of the bacteria, or can it tell us anything about our own evolution?
Posted by: Cuttlefish | May 7, 2008 10:18 AM
I have no real knowledge about E.coli (so my question may be quite silly?) but I am very interested in your book. All I know about E.coli is the horror stories I have heard about E. coli 0157:H7. What is it that makes E. coli 0157:H7 harmful to consume for humans, while other strains of E. coli are ok/helpful?
Posted by: David Wegehaupt | May 7, 2008 10:18 AM
Isn't there a virus (or viruses) in our intestines that attacks the E. coli bacteria? When a person gets sick from E. coli, is it because favorable conditions have allowed it to reproduce faster than the virus?
...
Sorry, that's more than one question and not even really related to your book (congratulations, by the way!) but one question always leads me to another. Good luck with your book!
Posted by: Christopher Waldrop | May 7, 2008 10:25 AM
E. coli is used quite a bit in biotechnology, specifically for use with recombinant DNA technology. Why is E. coli used so frequently in this field? Is the nature of the E. coli organism condusive to recombinant DNA or is it simply that E. coli has a long history in laboratories so scientists are very familiar with how to work with it?
Posted by: Mark E. | May 7, 2008 10:26 AM
The synthetic capability of E. coli to produce peptides introduced following transduction/transformation is well established, but with obvious short-comings. One such short-coming is the inability to enact comprehensive post-transcriptional modification, or provide an adequate environment for adequate post-translational mechanisms. One example is the formation of inclusion bodies following insulin synthesis because of the absence of chaperones.
Do you see a way to overcome this without moving to yeast or other eukaryotes? Would introduction of Hsp90 family proteins address this issue? or is the demand associated with proper chaperoning in excess of what e. coli can support (with or without major genetic engineering)?
Posted by: Jason | May 7, 2008 10:27 AM
Probably the best well known , famous bacteria on earth. Is it the most common & is it found outside the guts of animals on a routine basis?
Posted by: Jack D Hill, BS, RDCS, RVS, RPFT | May 7, 2008 10:37 AM
I am mentally drained from finals, so I don't feel up to the challenge of finding a question worthy of receiving a free book. But I just wanted to comment that I saw a link to this on PZ's blog (Although I was thrown off for a second & thought that PZ was plugging Margulis's 30 year old pop-sci book Microcosmos), and I'm definitely going to go buy this book. I'm a microbio student who loves to read popular science, so this is right up my alley. :)
Posted by: Tlowe | May 7, 2008 10:39 AM
How can our understanding of the microcosm be applied to our understanding of the macrocosm. Particularly I am thinking about adaptations and mutations. Can we use this knowledge to improve living situations around the world and make Earth a safer place?
Posted by: Erin | May 7, 2008 10:39 AM
What is the metabolic demand of a single E. coli bacterium?
Congratulations on your new book!
Posted by: Todd | May 7, 2008 10:39 AM
Is E.Coli the only species that fills this particular niche in our gut flora? ie could we do without it, if we were never exposed to the bacteria, or if it was wiped from our gut by a bacteriophage etc?
Posted by: wazza | May 7, 2008 10:45 AM
Which came first - The bug (E Coli) or the gut (warm-blooded intestine)?
Posted by: melatonin | May 7, 2008 10:46 AM
Why do we seem to suddenly have such a problem with e. coli? Is it because of big business or just nature?
Posted by: Steven | May 7, 2008 10:47 AM
How has E. coli persisted as a species? Especially how did it persist pre-animal digestive tract? With the constant onslaught of E. coli phage that E. coli has persisted through....its remarkable there are any E. coli (or any bacteria) around to write your book about.
Posted by: Brian | May 7, 2008 10:48 AM
I've heard different stories about e. coli in the human gut, and I'm curious about e. coli's normal, non-virulent behaviour. Is it, under ideal circumstances a helpful addition to the host organism in some direct way, or is it merely a somewhat schizophrenic room mate that could just throw all your shit out and set fire to the place?
(pun totally intentional)
Seriously; what's stopping us from all out biological warfare against this potentially treasonous organism?
Posted by: Richard | May 7, 2008 10:49 AM
Congrats on the new book! I'm not a scientist. I'm not even very smart, for that matter.
We have a symbiotic relationship with E. coli. Does E. coli have symbiotic relationships with any other bacteria? Have we seen any symbiotic relationships among any bacteria and, if so, do any of those relationships likely show the beginnings of the evolution of a new multicellular life form? Maybe I should've first asked if that's the probable method for the early evolution of multicellular life.
Posted by: Mike | May 7, 2008 10:49 AM
I know nothing about E.Coli, so just to enter into the spirt of the thing, my question has to be the pathetic:
Is the E. Coli bug a microcosm of Ben Stein's brain and, if not, what is the difference between those two things?
Posted by: NMcC | May 7, 2008 10:54 AM
Are there E. Coli strains which are benign or even beneficial in other species which are harmful to humans, or vice-versa?
Posted by: Maltodextrin | May 7, 2008 10:54 AM
My Question
What is it that makes strain O157:H7 so dangerous?
Posted by: Steven | May 7, 2008 10:54 AM
So, if E. coli traditionally colonizes inside of an infant's GI tract within about 2 days of birth as part of the normal flora of the gut that aids the host by producing vitamin K2, and/or by preventing the establishment of pathogenic bacteria within the intestine, then how would virulent and toxic strains, like O157:H7, O121 and O104:H21 come into existence? If E. coli is naturally a part of the environment of the gut that is adapted to aid the host, what factor came into play that cause the genetic material of E. coli to code for harmful strains in order to boast its own survival rate? Also, are these harmful strains only found in the human gut, or is this something that is seen in the various other species which have a gut that E. coli inhabits? Thank you and looking forward to reading your book.
Posted by: Andrew R. | May 7, 2008 10:56 AM
What's the toughest part of educating the public about micro-organisms?
Posted by: Jonny_eh | May 7, 2008 10:58 AM
At the risk of answering (in part) some of the questions above:
Are there any clues in the E. coli genome as to the possible origins of its phage-virus parasites (e.g. lambda)?
Posted by: Sven DiMIlo | May 7, 2008 10:58 AM
I haven't read all of the questions, so maybe this is a repeat, but here it is.
It is my understanding that pathogenic strains of E. coli are dangerous because they produce toxic metabolites. Is this true? If so, what kinds of products do they make and how do they harm us? Is there any benefit to the bacteria for producing these metabolites (ie, they evolved somewhere outside the human body where it was useful), or are they just sort of accidental? If damage is not due to toxic metabolites, what is the source of their pathogenicity?
Posted by: Scott | May 7, 2008 10:59 AM
Q. How does the e. coli in our bodies get there?
It's not there during fetal development, so is it passed somehow from the mother or is it ingested?
Posted by: Mike | May 7, 2008 11:01 AM
When I first moved out into the country and had a well drilled I had my water tested. One of the things tested for was "coliform" bacteria. Is that the same as E. coli? What are the specific concerns about this "coliform" bacteria? What are the usual sources of it?
Thanks very much.
Posted by: Rick | May 7, 2008 11:03 AM
I have not read all of the previous questions, so forgive me if this has been asked already...
Why E. coli? From a historical perspective, why do we study E. coli? There are countless easily culturable microbes out there, so how did the scientific community select this particular species as "the model" for microbiology?
Posted by: Frank | May 7, 2008 11:09 AM
Have we accidentally colonized other planets with E.Coli?
Posted by: Jochen Bedersdorfer | May 7, 2008 11:09 AM
Historically we have been using E. coli for many applications in research, one being secretion of recombinant proteins, but recently modified E. coli have been created to produced oil and other hydrocarbons. While this procedure is not cost effective at the moment, do you see this new field as one that will become more important in the future, perhaps overshadowing current uses for E. coli? If E. coli can create chains of hydrocarbons, is it possible that we can use them to create other organic molecules? What do you see as the future of E. coli in research?
Posted by: Lauriel | May 7, 2008 11:14 AM
To my e-coli, I must be an omnipotent creator god. As such it's important to me that my e-coli act morally and worship me.
My question is: "How can I tell if my e-coli are being good?"
Posted by: Quidam | May 7, 2008 11:14 AM
Question:
Do you think a microbial zoo could be a popular tourist attraction?
Imagine enlarged photos, diagrams and gigantic models of viruses and bacteria.
Posted by: Guy | May 7, 2008 11:17 AM
E. coli is a bacteria commonly found in the intestines of some animals. What distinguishes the common and harmless strains from those that can cause illness and death?
Posted by: Kevin L. | May 7, 2008 11:22 AM
Simple model organisms are sometimes used to study more complex biological processes. (Yeast were/are studied to better understand eukaryotic cell division and its implications in cancer, for example.)
Besides using E. coli as "factories" to express large amounts of protein for biochemical analysis, how are (or how could) the cellular mechanisms of E. coli be studied to gain insight into more complex biological systems?
Posted by: James H. | May 7, 2008 11:24 AM