Recently, scientists have discovered a strain of bacteria that can eat oil and have found that optimum efficiency arises when the bacteria cooperate and work together. This is the first time that it has been found that bacteria can maximize their efficiency when working together. This is a major breakthrough in understanding the behavior of bacteria and could potentially contribute to the development of new technologies to clean up oil spills. The bacteria, dubbed Synthrophobacter benzoelyticus, are able to degrade petroleum hydrocarbons faster than other strains of bacteria, and researchers believe that they might do this by forming a cooperative network when working together. This research has far-reaching implications for the clean-up of oil spills and could provide a more efficient way to keep our oceans clean.

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source: Phys.org