Gram stain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa cells

 Gram stain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa cells 

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is member of the Gamma Proteobacteria class of Bacteria. It is a Gram-negative, aerobic rod belonging to the bacterial family Pseudomonadaceae. Since the revisionist taxonomy based on conserved macromolecules (e.g. 16S ribosomal RNA) the family includes only members of the genus Pseudomonas which are cleaved into eight groups. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the type species of its group. which contains 12 other members.

Like other members of the genus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a free-living bacterium, commonly found in soil and water. However, it occurs regularly on the surfaces of plants and occasionally on the surfaces of animals. Members of the genus are well known to plant microbiologists because they are one of the few groups of bacteria that are true pathogens of plants. In fact, Pseudomonas aeruginosa is occasionally a pathogen of plants. However, Pseudomonas aeruginosa has become increasingly recognized as an emerging opportunistic pathogen of clinical relevance. Several different epidemiological studies track its occurrence as a nosocomial pathogen and indicate that antibiotic resistance is increasing in clinical isolates. 

Dr John Lilly government scientist: (1915-2001)

Dr John Lilly (1915-2001) began his career as an orthodox government research scientist: a biophysicist, inventor, neuroscientist and physician. He ended as a guru of the scientific counter-culture. The movie Altered States (1980) was partially inspired by Lilly and his drug-induced experiences in a sensory isolation tank. In his lifetime, Lilly published 19 books, notably Programming and Metaprogramming in the Human Biocomputer: Theory and Experiments (1972); and Man and Dolphin (1961) and The Mind of the Dolphin (1967), which explore the possibility of interspecies communication.