Quorum Sensing & Quenching

You know how they talk about needing to be exposed to a certain amount of a disease before you’re likely to catch it?

There are several reasons why this can be the case. One of them has to do with a kind of bacteriological language called "quorum sensing." What happens is this: You get a bunch of the bacteria in your body and they send out molecules that announce their presence to each other. They’re like dogs howling, trying to hear other dogs out in the night.

If the bacteria hear enough howls coming back to them, they decide that a "quorum" is present. A quorum is like a hunting pack, and the bacteria turn aggressive. They start thrashing your body with a disease.

Streptococcus pneumoniae (the ugly critter up top) works like this.

What’s the logical response for humans to attempt?

Stop them from doing it!

This process is known as "quorum quenching." It is an attempt to distrupt the bacteria from sensing the tiny, molecular howls they send out to each other.

That’s one kind of "language" I hope our doctors get a real good handle on.

McCoy? Crusher? Pulaski? Brashir? Doctor? Phlox? Franklin? Frasier? — Y’all listening?

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Author: Jimmy Akin

Jimmy was born in Texas, grew up nominally Protestant, but at age 20 experienced a profound conversion to Christ. Planning on becoming a Protestant seminary professor, he started an intensive study of the Bible. But the more he immersed himself in Scripture the more he found to support the Catholic faith, and in 1992 he entered the Catholic Church. His conversion story, "A Triumph and a Tragedy," is published in Surprised by Truth. Besides being an author, Jimmy is the Senior Apologist at Catholic Answers, a contributing editor to Catholic Answers Magazine, and a weekly guest on "Catholic Answers Live." View all posts by Jimmy Akin