Cells- Units of Life!

A couple weeks ago, in Science Bus- oh, what is Science Bus? It's a program where college students go to elementary schools with a lesson plan and some stuff and teach them about science. Yesterday was owl pellet day.

I have never seen anyone so excited about owl pellets. Everyone wanted to bring the bones home.

Anyway, I was talking to a kid about cladograms and the classifications of animals. They had all sorts of pictures of animals in front of them, and were trying to find characteristics that were similar in the animals. They had a fish, a bird, a monkey, and a human.

"They all have eyes!" one yelled.

"Well, they all have eyes. Is that going to be useful in designing a cladogram? I don't think so, because you want to find characteristics in a group that one has and the others don't," I replied.

"Well, is there an animal that doesn't have eyes?"

And, because I am an idiot who doesn't know which characteristics denote the Animalia kingdom, I said "A cell."

"Whoa, cells are animals?"

"Yup." I really have to apologize to him. Come on, could I have said a jellyfish? A sponge? I did mention worms afterwards. Jeez.

Then, using a spooky Halloween voice, I told him "Cells are in your body. Your whole body is made up of cells. You are not just one living thing, but a large collection of living things."

"Whoaaaaaaa..." he said.

Since I mentioned normal microbiota, I've been more and more aware of how I am not just a single living organism, but a large collection of billions upon billions of living organisms. Everything I know and feel is made possible by the interactions between tiny, tiny little living things which adapted to form the complex functions I have. This is the result of evolution on a time period that my poor brain cannot handle, in numbers my brain cannot envision, and it is less than the number of cells in my body. And here I am, typing at a computer and not letting them sleep.

If you want to accept an award and start your speech with "I'd like to thank my cells..." so be it.

Next to the astonishing number of cells and the interaction they do to keep me alive as a conscious entity, their very life and existence amazes me. It's just that we have no idea what it feels like to be a cell, and may never find out. Do we know that these cells perform functions and nothing else? By labelling what they both do as "life," are we giving the same name to two different functions? Is a life with consciousness worth more than a life with consciousness? Is one possible without another?

And, if you can easily answer that question because you believe in souls, why do we have to define things as having souls and not having souls? Isn't it possible just to appreciate the sanctity of life?

Heck, if attributing a soul to me but not my cells places my "life" at a greater value than theirs, I'd rather not have one. Even if I have consciousness and they don't, that's only a benefit my life has that theirs does not. I respect you, cells.

I just asked like five questions and then said something mildly provocative. Respond.

Say Hello to my Little Friends

You are not alone. Look at your hand. You have billions of friends on your hand.

These are called normal microbiota, and they are harmless organisms which colonize all the space they can find on our bodies. It's a great evolutionary relationship- we provide warmth and moisture, they colonize our body so that disease microbes can't. Basically, these microbes are a wonderful form of protection against disease germs, simply by being there. Think Times Square. In order to infect a body, disease germs must first find an entrance, and that's harder to do with a whole bunch of normal microbiota running around. (Especially if these normal microbiota stand at the top of the stairs.)

Just a bit of political correctness: these are microbes, not germs. To call these microbes germs would be like calling a Pakistani Indian. However, unlike 'Indian,' 'germs' also has negative connotations, and I'm sure your little microbiota would appreciate you calling them by a positive name. They are helping you. It's the best thing to do in order to appreciate them, unless you want to have a bit of fun and try to name them all.

Does washing our hands kill the little guys? Yes, but the microbes on our arms are able to multiply and completely cover our hands right after they are washed. Your hands are never completely microbe-free, and it could be dangerous if they were. Washing your hands may be the most important medical discovery in human history, but it also removes our protective layer of microbes which help to block out disease microbes.

That's why it's important to not overwash hands- overwashing can lead to degradation of normal microbiota, making it easier for disease microbes to cultivate.

"I'm talking to my normal microbiota" is also a great thing to say to someone who catches you talking to yourself.

Thoughts or comments on normal microbiota? On microbe feelings? On Times Square?