Just when scientists thought they knew all there was to know bacteria, they have unearthed something quite unexpected. They have found that bacteria have a mechanism their single-celled forms that can store and pass memories to future generations. The research was the ubiquitous E. coli bacterium. This is one Earth's most well-studied organisms. Researchers the University of Texas wrote how bacteria could form memories while lacking a brain: "Bacteria don't have brains, but they can gather information their environment, and if they have encountered that environment frequently, they can store it and quickly access it later their benefit."
Bacterial memory differs that in humans. It may be more akin to our muscle memory. Our bodily tissue has a sense what to do next having done it repetitively many times before. The researchers attributed bacterial memory to levels iron in their physical constitution. A researcher said: "Before there was oxygen the Earth's atmosphere, early life was utilizing iron a lot of cellular processes." He added: "Iron is not only critical the origin life on Earth, but also in the evolution life. It makes sense that cells would utilize it." He said his research could aid combating bacterial diseases, as "the more we know bacterial behaviour, the easier it is to combat them".
