Elliott
Wonder of ScienceFascinating footage of a human white blood cell chasing a bacterium captured through a microscope.
Credit: David Rogers
https://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/embryology/index.php/Movie_-_Neutrophil_chasing_bacteria
MrCopilot@wonderofscience hang on a sec, downloading the source code for Liquid wars for some minor modification...
Cyber Yuki@wonderofscience One question, tho. How does the bacterium "know" it's being chased? In fact, is the white blood cell really chasing the bacterium? Or just following a trail of something? Are they sensitive to touch? How does the white cell determine that it has to eat something?
zecuse@yuki2501 @wonderofscience I'd wager that there's a T or B cell developed protein attached to the bacteria that the white blood cell is able to follow once it detects the chemical signal nearby.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-do-white-blood-cells/
As to why it continues to follow that bacterium and appear to ignore the other one (if it was also tagged), I'd say it's analogous to how genetic algorithms work to come to a local maximum based on random chance input (my specialty is Comp Sci).
EyalL@zecuse @yuki2501 @wonderofscience to detect it wouldn't there have to be a "smell", a gradient of concentration of some molecule?
If it's just a single protein attached, how is it "detected" remotely?
Spiranthes 
🦇@yuki2501 chemotaxis..white blood cells are attracted to bacteria because of toxins secreted by them or when it comes to inflammation substances secreted by the wounded cells @wonderofscience
kolya@yuki2501 @wonderofscience Looks like the bacteria is just being pushed away, it doesn't know it's being chased and doesn't flee.
Simon and/or Garfunkel@wonderofscience I feel like we’d all respect and treat our bodies a little better if we all saw this!
StephenC
Connie Sandlin@wonderofscience Huzzah! The bacterium is toast! White blood cell for the win!
Esme Ciredutemps@wonderofscience j'ai cru qu'il ne l'attraperait jamais ><
Jay of the Iceni@wonderofscience it got him in the end! That's the dedication of the immune system, right there ❤️
Mark Jager
Albatrossity@wonderofscience Needs s sound track; maybe the Benny Hill theme song.
Dan McDonald@Albatrossity @wonderofscience
I was thinking "Bad Boys (whatcha gonna do)" - like it's an episode of Cops.
Jeff Yang@wonderofscience surprisingly thrilling
Marie E McVeigh@wonderofscience
Now, THAT is just beautiful! Chemotaxis and cytoskeleton tour de force!
Now, THAT is just beautiful! Chemotaxis and cytoskeleton tour de force!
Cliff Hensley@wonderofscience This is so cool!
Gigawatt121@wonderofscience this needs the Star Trek fight music
Anna NicholsonWow, ‘white blood cell’ sounds so innocent, but that thing is a tenacious predator!
The Spoonless Kitchen@wonderofscience I am so very happy this account migrated from the avian droppings container.
CazDoesPolitics@wonderofscience I cheered mentally when it caught the bacteria 🤣
JaneETowle@wonderofscience Jamie Raskin diagnosed with lymphoma are these white blood cells what he needs?
wytchgsd@wonderofscience anyone else got the music from “Jaws” in their head?
Odd-Egil Auran@wonderofscience It’s a fantastically satisfying clip to watch!
Benjamin Sirb, PhD ♾️@wonderofscience this makes me want to play agar.io again
ShengIntegral@wonderofscience The human body is amazing!
The Laughing Muse 
@wonderofscience I hear Pac Man sounds while watching this...
levampyre@wonderofscience Our bodies are insane! 🤩
Ben Mounsey-Wood@wonderofscience @viridian I watched this over and over - mesmerising 😯
MarkG
Wolf480pl@wonderofscience reminds me of agar.io
David Mitchell 
OK, the alt text cracks me up: “Amorphous blob chasing a dumbbell shaped speck.”
Aren’t we all sometimes just amorphous blobs?
… except when we’re dumbbells?
😆
The Doctor@wonderofscience You can imagine the Charlie Brown-like scream when the macrophage catches up to it.
WrenFunny. 🙂
I heard The Wilhelm Scream. 😱
AskPippa🇨🇦@wonderofscience The hunt is on. Very cool!
Virginicus@wonderofscience “out of my way, red boy!”
Andrew Feeney@wonderofscience "You will be assimilated into the borg."
wlf_warren@wonderofscience >> WoW, that is fascinating. Never seen that before. Thanks for the share. 😁
Susannah Shepherd 
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Son Light Life@wonderofscience Wonderful! 😊🙏
Chris Johnson@wonderofscience Absolutely amazing!
KanaMauna@wonderofscience Always bet on the shoggoth.
Giggles@wonderofscience It looks so much like Slither.io! Very cool!
Dagnabbit, Pascaline! 💥@wonderofscience Intelligence in a cell ❤ You GO cell, get that sicko!
I suddenly think of a book in which we one day discover that all our cells have intelligence?
And that cells develop the capacity to revolt if you don't take good care of your body 🤔
I would read that book!
Hans-Cees 🍋🌲🦔🦦🐝🦋🐛🚅🇸🇳🇵🇾🇹🇬🇹🇲@pascaline @wonderofscience its called cancer if they revolt....
Kenneth@pascaline Blood Music by Greg Bear is a great take on this, only we ~give~ our cells intelligence.
@Kencf618033
Oh, thank you, I like Greg Bear!
I didn't know that one yet. Now I am curious 😊
Dylan SmithPerhaps the bacterium was pushed from start to finish.
And the white blood cell? The chase was not consciously motivated, the catch was not consciously satisfying, and the episode went unremembered.
divine nonchalance