“But why would it need to, even for a second? The researchers aren’t sure, but they believe that depolarizing their membranes may allow the bacteria to kick out charged molecules they’ve accumulated, such as toxins or antibiotics. In fact, Cohen says, the finding could be a potential antibiotic resistance mechanism. When the researchers put a dye molecule that, like many antibiotics, was positively charged into the bacteria, they kicked it out. Previous researchers had observed this phenomenon but couldn’t explain it.”
This is indeed cool. With video as well [http://bcove.me/qeax5utv]. Just one more example how we keep discovering things there were always discoverable and right under our noses the whole time.
