Bacteria and the 5 lessons they teach us about life
Bacteria were the first forms of life — surely there is something to learn from them?
I had just finished a book by Dr Matt McCarthy, “Superbugs: The Race to Stop an Epidemic” and was mind-blown. For someone who has not been exposed much to the medical world, the story about bacteria, superbugs, and the continuous invention of antibiotics fascinated me.
The book itself is so well written that it hooked me from the beginning. Dr McCarthy explained complicated concepts and processes in such a simple and engaging story (A+ for storytelling skills indeed). I had newfound respect (of course I had before it, but now, even more) for physicians, microbiologists, and everyone else working in this field.
Some fun facts about bacteria before we start:
Bacteria is the oldest known life form on Earth. They have been on this planet for more than 3.5 billion years. They are prevalent, and our body contains just under 40 trillion bacterial cells based on the calculation by Weizmann Institute of Science researchers. A lot, isn’t it?
Different bacteria can survive in a variety of extreme conditions. From ice to hot springs, and even radioactive waste. They are tough.
Bacteria are everywhere — some are good that we can’t live without, and some are bad causing sickness again and again. They are ancient and have lived longest than all of us, so I think it’s appropriate to learn something from them. Sooo, without further ado, here are 5 lessons from bacteria.
1. Improvise, adapt, and overcome
is an unofficial slogan among the U.S. Army Marines. And probably the values of which our bacteria friends live for.
Some studies have shown that bacteria can begin to develop antibiotic resistance as early as 11 days. That’s much quicker than the amount of time required by humans to recover from a heartbreak (pun intended). Bacteria adapt quickly, making it hard to find an antibiotic that will work consistently forever. If you take antibiotics too often, bacteria can become resistant. When this happens, an antibiotic that was previously effective in treating a certain infection will become useless. What’s more interesting is that this resistance can be inherited genetically. As they multiply, genetic changes will follow, hence giving birth to antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria.
In a 2019 research paper published in the journal Molecular Cell, researchers from Aarhus University, University of Copenhagen, and ETH Zürich have collaborated to understand the process of how bacteria are able to resist the treatment of antibiotics. The result proved the ability of bacteria to slow down their cell division rate when exposed to antibiotics so that they can save energy and maintain the highest possible tolerance. They will then quickly grow again when the resistance has been developed. This amazing adaptability characteristic is a contributing factor to the intensity of infectious diseases in humans.
We, as humans, should learn much from this characteristic of bacteria. Changes are the only constant and we are expected to adapt well, no matter what the circumstances are.
Improvise, adapt, and overcome.
2. Collaborate or die
For many years, bacteria have been thought of as an individualistic organisms. It seems that they can live without us, and we were just unlucky to have bacteria in our bodies. But are we? There are trillions of bacteria in our bodies, could we have lived well without them at all?
The answer is no. Bacteria needed us to continue living, and vice versa, we needed them. A microbiome in our body is a form of partnership that contributes highly to human health. A microbiome is a community of micro-organism that are found living in a given habitat. Only a small proportion of micro-organisms are actually associated with diseases — the rest are crucial for a healthy functioning of our body.
A newborn is a good case in point. As a baby leaves the sterile womb, passing through the birth canal gives the baby its first dose of bacteria, which has proven to contribute to gut health and boosts the immune system. Studies have shown that babies born through C-section are more susceptible to health issues such as allergies and asthma due to missing out on these crucial bacteria injections in their bodies.
Bacteria, on the other hand, are not as independent as we thought. They are unable to produce certain nutrients that are vital for their growth on their own. It has also become increasingly obvious that microbiomes exist because it is critical to collaborate and communicate with each other. Bacteria are part of a network that even connects them to other bacteria of other species.
Bacteria can’t help but work together.
Collaboration is a basic principle in life and a driving force of development. No human beings are able to live on their own, not even bacteria are. Our bodies have long accepted this condition and adapted to the omnipresence of bacteria. We will simply lose the battle if we don’t.
3. We are what we feed ourselves
The phrase above is often used to describe how much our minds and lives are affected by ourselves. By our decision on what to feed our body and mind, spiritually and emotionally.
But this time round, bacteria teaching us that it is real. Like literally — what we feed our body, is what our body will become.
I’ve just talked about the microbiome above. One of the most important microbiomes in our body is the gut microbiome, a collection of bacteria, viruses, and fungi that live in our bowels that affect everything, from as serious as heart health to as simple as inflammation.
A healthy gut is nourished by fibre, which is present during the consumption of our food. Bacteria that live in our gut then help us break down fibre to produce beneficial molecules for us. These bacteria are those that we called as “good” bacteria. They have an anti-inflammatory effect and hence, are good for our health and will reproduce quicker when our diets consisted of more plants and fish.
On the other hand, eating too much fast food (yeah those Big Macs you just ate last week?) and other foods that are high in fat and sugar, will feed the “bad bacteria” that produce toxins that harm the gut. An unhealthy gut microbiome increases the risk for inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome, as well as diabetes and even cancer, as this study suggests.
What is more interesting is the vicious cycle that we might encounter. The more quantity of bad bacteria present in our gut, the more craving we will have for unhealthy food. We crave more “fast food” because we need to feed more bad bacteria. Then, the more we eat unhealthy food, the better the environment for bad bacteria to thrive, and the faster those bad bacteria will reproduce. And hence, we are seeing the vicious cycle of reinforcing unhealthy gut.
Essentially, our gut microbiome is a living and breathing beings that are capable of being responsive to what we put into it. We are what we feed our bodies with. Literally.
4. Each of us is uniquely unique
Does your parent tell you that you are unique? You are special and nobody is just like you? Well, they are absolutely right. Each of us is unique, each of us consists of a unique combination of bacteria, fungi, and viruses.
This video explains the composition of the microbiome in a fun and engaging way — it explains that a community of microbiome normally consisted of three different groups, namely:
- The quiet passenger that just exists without doing anything to our body unless required
- The harmful guests but we have learned to live together, such as plaque on our teeth
- The friendly fellow who is useful for our body, mostly found in our gut that helps with food digestion
The component of our microbiome change over time and differ from person to person. When you are sick or when you take antibiotics, the composition of your microbiome may shift substantially as the bacteria get affected. Even as our body goes back to its healthy state, the previous composition of bacterial types normally does not. Just before, we also explore the fact that our gut microbiome will change depending on what we feed them
So, essentially, we are unique. Not just comparably with other people, but comparably with time too. Our body a minute ago might have already been a different body. How cool is that?
5. Our body is not our own
We are consisted of trillions of bacteria, living and breathing on their own, of which we have little to no control. So, who is the owner of this body that we have no control over then?
The human ecosystem is also a complicated and complex one. We have yet to figure out fully how our body functioning, let alone the behaviours of all those bacteria living in this body.
“Microbes in the gut break down many of the proteins, lipids and carbohydrates in our diet into nutrients that we can then absorb.” said Lita Proctor, PhD., NHGRI’s HMP program manager
We can’t live without bacteria as our bodies don’t have all the enzymes to digest our food. While bacteria need the nutrients in our body to reproduce and stay alive too. It is a mutually beneficial relationship so far, happening within our body.
Though, it does seems like our body is not our own anymore. It is a place for trillions of other living beings to thrive. Could we really discern to whom this body truly belongs?
The more I learnt about our body, the more fascinating it has become. There is so little that we know about our body and how it functions. The same with life. We are only at the beginning of the journey of understanding life. We have a long way to go.
