'Rosetta Stone' Of Bacterial Communication Discovered

Unfortunately the article fails to make clear what contribution these researchers made.

As the article states, quorum sensing is not new (I learned about it through HN some time ago, via this video http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/bonnie_bassler_on_how_bac...).

The researchers claim to have discovered the "common root" of all quorum sensing, which they dub "sensing potential." However, their definition of sensing potential essentially devolves into a restatement of quorum sensing. The closest they come to identifying a mechanism is stating that the volume ratio of bacteria to environment matters. This in itself is hardly a breakthrough, and certainly does not describe a mechanism, an analysis, or an analysis framework (all terms thrown out in the article).

I'm guessing the fault likes not with the scientists, but with the writeup. It reads more like business journalism than like science-- a breathless announcement of some undefined boundless potential, couched in terms that make it impossible to understand just what is new, useful, or remarkable.