The Beginnings of The Intriguing Connection

Now is the time where I begin to discuss The Intriguing Connection. I'm sure many of you have been on the edge of your seats. This week I embarked on learning about bacterial growth.

Bacterial growth is the asexual reproduction of a bacterium using a process called binary fission. This means it does not require a mate to reproduction. Additionally, all of the offspring (two daughter cells) are identical. The growth of bacteria is affected by physical and nutritional factors. Physical factors include pH, temperature, osmotic pressure, hydrostatic pressure, and moisture content of the medium (the place where the bacteria grows in order to meet these factors). Each of these physical factors can affect the growth rate of the bacteria. The faster/ slower the bacteria grow, the more/less they will undergo binary fission. Nutritional factors include the amount of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorous, and other elements in the growth medium.

When we plot a curve of bacterial growth, this is unknown as the Bacterial Growth Curve. This curve has four distinct periods: The Lag Phase, The Log/Exponential Phase, The Stationary Phase, and The Death Phase. During the Lag Phase, the bacteria grow and adapt themselves to their new environment. No dividing takes place during this phase. The Log/Exponential Phase, as one might imagine, is where the amount of bacteria present grows rapidly or even exponentially. Following this phase is the Stationary Phase. During this time, the bacteria take in the essential nutrients to prosper but soon deplete their resources. Once there are no more nutrients, the temperatures in the medium are too extreme, or the living conditions are inadequate, the bacteria begin to die in a phase aptly named the Death Phase.  

Here's a table of generation times for some common bacteria in their optimal medium:

Watch this helpful lesson by Khan Academy to understand bacterial reproduction and the bacterial growth curve:

For a clearer explanation of the various parts of the bacterial growth curve refer to this animation:

Bacterial Growth Curve Explanation

Taking a side step away from the basics of bacterial growth, I recently watched this TED talk and was in awe by the technological advancement. This may not be explicitly bionics or prosthesis, but it deals with our body's reactions to bacteria, viruses, cosmetics, and even household cleaning products. Enjoy Geraldine Hamilton's Body Parts on a Chip!

Now that we understand the basics of bacterial growth, next week, I'll be talking about the Prevention of Infection in Prosthetic Devices. Stay tuned!   

Sources:

Bacterial Growth Curve
The Growth of Bacterial Populations
Bacterial Growth