Works in Progress Podcast The evolution of bacteria
May 8, 2026
Scientists speed up Darwin’s clock by watching microbes evolve in hours. Lab experiments recreate natural selection, from Dallinger’s heat-tolerant flagellates to Lenski’s long-term E. coli project. Visual mega-plate tests show how antibiotic gradients steer resistance. Frozen samples and genomes let researchers trace genetic changes through time.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Microbes Compress Evolution Into Days
- Microbes let scientists observe evolution on human-friendly timescales.
- E. coli can have 7–10 generations overnight, so beneficial mutations spread far faster than in large organisms.
Dallinger's Heated Incubator Proof
- William Dallinger grew flagellates in a heated copper incubator to test rapid evolution hypotheses.
- His organisms evolved to survive lethal temperatures but then died when returned to lukewarm water.
LTE Creates A Frozen Evolutionary Record
- The Long-Term Evolution Experiment (LTE) tracks E. coli across tens of thousands of generations.
- Started in 1988 with 12 identical populations, daily 1% transfers and frozen samples create a living fossil record spanning ~80,000 generations.