Don’t Eat The Forbidden Pink Berries (Because They’re Made Of Bacteria) | IFLScience

This cluster of pink loveliness might have put you in mind of a sea of cherry blossom, or a juicy raspberry compote just waiting to ooze over your pancakes. Well, you can shelve these delightful images immediately, we’re afraid. What you’re looking at here are bacteria, and though these structures might be called “pink berries”, we can assure you that you they do not make a tasty snack.

But while they definitely belong on the list of scientific oddities that you should not eat, pink berries are still a fascinating microbial phenomenon.

Bacteria often find that there is strength in numbers. Some of the trickiest bacterial infections in humans are caused by biofilms, layers of microbes covered in a sugary coating that can colonize wounds or wrap themselves around medical devices like catheters. Being clustered together like this makes it difficult for antibiotics to get a foothold. 

Pink berries are a very specific type of bacterial aggregate that form only under certain conditions. They’re usually found coating the surface of submerged sediment in salt marshes, giving the pools a rosy tint. Read rest of the story here.

Source: Don’t Eat The Forbidden Pink Berries (Because They’re Made Of Bacteria) | IFLScience