Bacteria have many impressive abilities. They can decompose crude oil and plastic, “eat” metal, shrink tumors, and maybe even control robots. But despite everything we know about them, there’s also a lot we don’t know. For example, we still do not know whether they make a sound or what kind of sound they have.
Given their size, you might think bacteria are actually silent. But a new study published in Nature Nanotechnology has managed to capture the sound of bacteria for the first time. The recording shows the calm roar of bacterial life that could be a major breakthrough in detecting antibiotic resistance.
Ultra-thin graphene drums were used to capture the subtle sounds of Escherichia coli as the bacterium continues to live. Professor Cees Dekker of Delft University said: “What we saw was stunning! When a single bacterium adheres to the surface of a graphene drum, it produces random oscillations with amplitudes as low as a few nanometers that we can detect. We could hear the sound of a single bacterium!”
To hear these sounds, the team needed an extremely sensitive instrument, traditional recording methods wouldn’t be enough because bacteria are so small, so they decided to use graphene, which consists of a single layer of carbon atoms and is good at conducting sound and electricity.
Study leader Dr. Farbod Alijani defines the miracle material for graphene, underlining that it is very strong with its good electrical and mechanical properties and at the same time it is extremely sensitive to external forces
Thanks to this sensitivity The team succeeded in capturing the tiny vibrations of a single E. coli. The beats you can hear are thought to be the result of the bacteria’s biological processes, particularly the movement of their tails (whips) that propel them forward. These beats are quite small, with amplitudes of up to 60 nanometers
. z; At least 10 billion times smaller than a boxer’s punch when he reaches the punch bag,” he says. “Still, these nanoscale kicks can be converted into sound tracks and listened to – and that’s amazing!”
He also explored how it might affect “germ music”. As might be expected, bacteria no longer make a sound when killed. When antibiotic-sensitive E. coli is exposed, the noises it makes cease within an hour or two. kind of like a pulse, it shows we can tell if bacteria are alive and can also be used to determine whether they have acquired antibiotic resistance
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