The Consciousness of a Microbe

I have nearly finished reading Small Wonders - How Microbes Rule Our World by Idan Ben-Barak

It is a fantastic book!
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Microbes rule our world!

Some of the differnt types I will mention here because what they can do is truly fascinating. I have decided that when I decompose I want to be either Archaea or the Super Hero bug (D Rad) Deinococcus radiodurans.

Humans are organic. We are made up of living and dead cells and we are constantly sharing our living and dead cells with each other and other species. Interesting to insert Genesis here... 'from dust you came, dush you return'...we decompose down to microbes. Even when we are alive we are sharing, hosting etc microbes.

Single-celled microorganisms were the first forms of life to develop on Earth, approximately 3–4 billion years ago.
Source

This is exceptional stuff. Microbes categorised as Extremophiles can withstand and survive radium and even space. DNA cannot withstand these extremes but microbes can.

Extremophiles have been known to survive for a prolonged time in a vacuum, and can be highly resistant to radiation, which may even allow them to survive in space
Source

While I was reading the book I was overwhelmed when I learnt how organised Microbes are. Microbes are highly intelligent. They have organised communities just like we do:

Microbial intelligence (popularly known as bacterial intelligence) is the intelligence shown by microorganisms. The concept encompasses complex adaptive behaviour shown by single cells, and altruistic and/or cooperative behavior in populations of like or unlike cells mediated by chemical signalling that induces physiological or behavioral changes in cells and influences colony structures.
Source

Examples of microbial intelligence
1. The formation of biofilms requires joint decision by the whole colony.

2. Under nutritional stress bacterial colonies can organise themselves in such a way so as to maximise nutrient availability.

3. Bacteria reorganise themselves under antibiotic stress... further reading

Microbes must have consciousness!
For them to have such an organised community, to be able to survive in extreme conditions that does not support life indicates to me a high intelligence and consciousness.

Check out the Biofilm - (Colonists) In summary, by joining and attaching themselves to a surface or each other they survive:

Biofilms are ubiquitous. Nearly every species of microorganism, not only bacteria and archaea, have mechanisms by which they can adhere to surfaces and to each other.

Formation of a biofilm begins with the attachment of free-floating microorganisms to a surface. These first colonists adhere to the surface initially through weak, reversible van der Waals forces. If the colonists are not immediately separated from the surface, they can anchor themselves more permanently using cell adhesion structures such as pili.[5]
Source

Human beings are made up of Cells:

The cell is the structural and functional unit of all known living organisms. It is the smallest unit of an organism that is classified as living, and is often called the building block of life.[1] Some organisms, such as most bacteria, are unicellular (consist of a single cell). Other organisms, such as humans, are multicellular. (Humans have an estimated 100 trillion or 1014 cells; a typical cell size is 10 µm; a typical cell mass is 1 nanogram.)...
further reading

Living and dead cells = Microbes.

Have you ever seen your blood under the microscope? I was fortunate enough to see mine magnified. When I saw it, it reminded me of pictures I have seen of the Universe!

Here is a vid of blood under the microscope:



Other Articles, Great Reading:
Some Microbes Survive Massive Radiation!

Superbug Survives Radiation, Eats Toxic Waste


[edit on 4-9-2009 by Thurisaz]

reply to post by Thurisaz

Microbes must have consciousness!

That might be so but do they have free will??....huh...

Great bit of information on the facinating world of the small, thanks for that!!

Star and flag

Peace

[edit on 4/9/2009 by operation mindcrime]

reply to post by operation mindcrime


Good question. I feel they must have because in the examples of intelligence it included that in the formulations of the biofilms, it required a joint decision by the whole colony.

reply to post by Thurisaz


So that would be more like a collective consciousness, like in an ant colonies for example?? But do the individual microbes experience free will or is that also a collective free will?? (does that even exist collective free will )

Just asking....

Peace

I actually feel after reading the book, microbes mirror us

They have terrorist cells*: lysteria, martyrs & ones that even commit suicide!

* as Dan Ben-Barack calls them.



This one is fantastic!!



Unfortunately, I can't edit the 1st You Tube link I included above...here is a better one:



My blood under microscope looked better than this!! Honestly looked like a mini Universe



Here is a link to You Tube that lists a lot of great viewing!!
Highly recommend MicroWorld

List



[edit on 6-9-2009 by Thurisaz]

Where do viruses originate from?

No Single Hypothesis May Be Correct
Where viruses came from is not a simple question to answer. One can argue quite convincingly that certain viruses, such as the retroviruses, arose through a progressive process. Mobile genetic elements gained the ability to travel between cells, becoming infectious agents. One can also argue that large DNA viruses arose through a regressive process whereby once-independent entities lost key genes over time and adopted a parasitic replication strategy. Finally, the idea that viruses gave rise to life as we know it presents very intriguing possibilities. Perhaps today's viruses arose multiple times, via multiple mechanisms. Perhaps all viruses arose via a mechanism yet to be uncovered. Today's basic research in fields like microbiology, genomics, and structural biology may provide us with answers to this basic question.

Origins of Viruses

I was always taught that viruses start from bacteria that becomes airborne...

Influenza virus is a perfect example of this.

reply to post by Thurisaz


Delightful overview. Thank you.

F&S&

Slimemolds are another example and check out tardigrades en.m.wikipedia.org... these are the hardest animal on earth.

Slime moulds en.m.wikipedia.org... they live as single cells when food is plentiful,when food is sparse the collect themselves together and move.
" Professor John Tyler Bonner, who has spent a lifetime studying slime molds argues that they are "no more than a bag of amoebae encased in a thin slime sheath, yet they manage to have various behaviours that are equal to those of animals who possess muscles and nerves with ganglia – that is, simple brains."

reply to post by Thurisaz


I love our small neighbors and companions. Marking for reading/viewing later, thanks for thinking of the little critters.

great post, i'll link to this topic as a reference point in my travels while i preach the gospel of tinfoil..
i think along these lines is probably what those 'medichlorians' were all about in those star wars movies
..want a cup of jawa juice?

Thurisaz
Microbes are highly intelligent. They have organised communities just like we do:

Complex behavior can emerge from very simple rules. Bird flocking is a good example. I don't think they would be ranked as intelligent or conscious by any reasonable definition of those words.

reply to post by GetHyped

GetHyped

Thurisaz
Microbes are highly intelligent. They have organised communities just like we do:

Complex behavior can emerge from very simple rules. Bird flocking is a good example. I don't think they would be ranked as intelligent or conscious by any reasonable definition of those words.

Typical sweep it under the rug kind of statement.
Actually if you knew and understood more about what microbes do along with the trillions of other bacteria and cells that make up our body you probably would see that intelligence is a hallmark trait of these tiny organisms.

Start with this interesting blog by Jon Lieff MD. It's completely dedicated to this very topic and it's quite compelling...
jonlieffmd.com...

reply to post by PhotonEffect


Absolutely nothing has been offered up to back these statements up. There is literally nothing to sweep under the rug.

reply to post by GetHyped


Do some more reading.