Although bacteria are single-celled creatures without a brain, they have a fifth of the genes that we humans have, and when it comes to wars for food and territory, they are as creative, diverse and violent as we are.

The guest in the current episode of HUJICAST, Dr. Assaf Levy, is the head of the Levy Laboratory in the Department of Plant Diseases and Microbiology. His research deals with bacteria wars - between themselves and between  other microorganisms. The lab combines methods from the fields of microbiology, bioinformatics, molecular biology and plant sciences.

We talked about the rapid arms race that goes on in the world of bacteria, about weapons, tactics and warfare strategies, about goals and soldiers. And about intelligence - bacteria know how to learn methods and develop resistance. Bacteria are cunning, efficient and have no time for nonsense. The question of whether there are pacifist bacteria remains open.

What can be learned from the bacteria wars? Can weapons and strategies used by bacteria be used for our benefit and for food safety?