6 Bacteria With Wild Superpowers

You might just think of bacteria as the little beasties that get us sick—but bacteria are so much more! Through evolution, bacteria have developed some pretty incredible abilities. While they may never star in a big summer movie, here are six bacteria with amazing superpowers. Join Michael Aranda for a new episode of SciShow! Thank you to Derek Lovley for the use of his photo of Geobacter metallireducens. You can see more of his research here: http://geobacter.org/ ---------- Support SciShow by becoming a patron on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/scishow ---------- Dooblydoo thanks go to the following Patreon supporters: Kelly Landrum Jones, Sam Lutfi, Kevin Knupp, Nicholas Smith, D.A. Noe, alexander wadsworth, سلطا الخليفي, Piya Shedden, KatieMarie Magnone, Scott Satovsky Jr, Charles Southerland, Bader AlGhamdi, James Harshaw, Patrick Merrithew, Patrick D. Ashmore, Candy, Tim Curwick, charles george, Saul, Mark Terrio-Cameron, Viraansh Bhanushali, Kevin Bealer, Philippe von Bergen, Chris Peters, Justin Lentz ---------- Looking for SciShow elsewhere on the internet? Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/scishow Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/scishow Tumblr: http://scishow.tumblr.com Instagram: http://instagram.com/thescishow ---------- Sources: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC33863/ http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/articles/04_02/geobacter.shtml https://www.nature.com/articles/416767a http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150730-ten-bacteria-with-superpowers http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/articles/07_02/deinococcus.shtml https://phys.org/news/2016-03-newly-bacteria-plastic-bottles.html http://science.sciencemag.org/content/351/6278/1154 http://science.sciencemag.org/content/351/6278/1196 http://www.nature.com/news/2006/060410/full/news060410-1.html https://www.livescience.com/18381-bacterial-glue-stickiest-substance-nsf-ria.html http://www.indiana.edu/~rcapub/v29n1/glue.shtml https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/lab-rat/sticky-bacteria-and-the-benefits-of-staying-still http://www.pnas.org/content/103/15/5764 https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13666-sexually-transmitted-bug-is-the-strongest-organism/ http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.0060087 https://www.livescience.com/54901-free-radicals.html http://www.rcn.montana.edu/Organisms/Detail.aspx?id=290 https://www.nature.com/scitable/blog/microbe-matters/aquifex_to_the_rescue ---------- http://www.sciencephoto.com/set/1446/batteries-from-bugs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinococcus_radiodurans#/media/File:Deinococcus_radiodurans.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_irradiation#/media/File:HD.6B.452_(11984638133).jpg https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap060122.html http://www.thinkstockphotos.com/image/stock-photo-shawarma-sandwich-fresh-roll-of-thin-lavash/629227772/popup?sq=shawarma/f=CPIHVX/s=DynamicRank http://www.thinkstockphotos.com/image/stock-photo-23642036/87492882/popup?sq=M%7CImages%20similar%20to:%2087475842%7C87475842/f=CPIHVX/s=DynamicRank http://www.thinkstockphotos.com/image/stock-photo-stack-of-plastic-bottles-ready-for-recycling/493380692/popup?sq=M%7CImages%20similar%20to:%20845970686%7C845970686/f=CPIHVX/s=DynamicRank http://www.thinkstockphotos.com/image/stock-photo-row-of-empty-plastic-bottles/sb10067658u-001/popup?sq=plastic/f=CPIHVX/s=DynamicRank http://www.thinkstockphotos.com/image/stock-photo-madagascar-day-gecko/453286385/popup?sq=geko/f=CPIHVX/s=DynamicRank http://www.thinkstockphotos.com/image/stock-illustration-metal-tube-of-super-glue/492314334/popup?sq=super%20glue/f=CPIHVX/s=DynamicRank http://www.thinkstockphotos.com/image/stock-illustration-vector-car-template-isolated-on-white/693332572/popup?sq=car/f=CIHVX/s=DynamicRank http://www.thinkstockphotos.com/image/stock-photo-differentiation-of-bacteria/532562968/popup?sq=M%7CImages%20similar%20to:%2081295672%7C81295672/f=CPIHVX/s=DynamicRank http://www.thinkstockphotos.com/image/stock-photo-grand-prismatic-spring/98274398/popup?sq=yellowstone%20bacteria%20mat/f=CPIHVX/p=4/s=DynamicRank http://www.thinkstockphotos.com/image/stock-photo-bacteria-mat-at-fountain-paint-pots-trail/899225196 http://www.thinkstockphotos.com/image/stock-photo-explosion-of-colours-in-yellowstone/523049376/popup?sq=yellowstone%20bacteria/f=CPIHVX/s=DynamicRank https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gonococcal_urethritis_PHIL_4085_lores.jpg http://www.thinkstockphotos.com/image/stock-photo-bacteria-gonococcus-or-meningococcus/619762406/popup?sq=K%7Cgonorrhea%20bacterium%7C66104/f=CPIHVX/s=DynamicRank http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.0060087 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Neisseria_gonorrhoeae_Growth_on_New_York_City_Agar_Plate.jpg http://www.thinkstockphotos.com/image/stock-illustration-money-super-hero-or-heroic-gold-coin/499307620 http://www.thinkstockphotos.com/image/stock-illustration-flat-design-germs-and-bacteria-icons/696251788