@inbook{10.2307/j.ctt1nq9rt.5, ISBN = {9780300103397}, URL = {http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1nq9rt.5}, abstract = {Communication is virtually universal among living things. Even bacteria communicate. Some classes of bacteria secrete distinctive organic molecules, for which they have specialized receptors. This apparatus allows the bacteria to detect the presence of others of the same species, a system known in the literature as quorum sensing. ‘‘Bacteria, it turns out, are like bullies who will not fight unless they are backed up by their gang. An attack by a small number of bacteria would only alert the host’s immune system to knock them out. So bacteria try to stay under the radar until their numbers are enough to}, author = {Amanda Patrick}, bookauthor = {Stephen R. Anderson}, booktitle = {Doctor Dolittle’s Delusion: Animals and the Uniqueness of Human Language}, pages = {15--37}, publisher = {Yale University Press}, title = {Language and Communication}, year = {2004} }