Week 4

            The talk by Bonnie Bassler was very thought provoking. What I liked the best was the connection she made between intercellular communication and multicellular organisms. It makes perfect sense that this would lead to multicellular organisms, because the cells inside multicellular organisms still have to communicate with each other. I also liked the introduction where she talks about the number of bacteria on a single human. The number of bacterial cells on a human is ten times that of human cells, I find that to be an impressive amount. This is a symbiotic relationship that seems to get little attention.

            I had a lot of fun building simple circuits on Thursday. The little bit of circuit building I did left me wanting to do more. I am excited to start creating my sensor, however I still have not chosen a specific sensor yet. I am considering a light sensor that will measure light intensity. Next class I want to try building a circuit only from the circuit diagram, not the step-by-step instructions in the book. One thing I am confused about is the need for so many resistors even in simple circuits. Why doesn’t a single resistor proved ample resistance? I am sure it will all make sense as I become more immersed in the subject. In any case, I can’t wait till next class.