As a kindergarten teacher might say, sharing is…

As a kindergarten teacher might say, sharing is caring. She might not 1 that cooperation is also a great way to form a community, and thus improve everyone's chances of survival. Humans aren't the only ones to apply this 2 —marine 3 also form cooperative populations, according to a study in the journal Science. Researchers 4 the genomes of bacteria belonging to the Vibrionaceae family. In the lab, they grouped together bacteria with similar 5 that coexist in the same micro-habitat. The scientists expected that within any given population, individuals capable of producing 6 would use these chemical weapons against others. But when they looked at 7 between different strains of Vibrionaceae, they found that only a few members of any given population could produce the bacteria-killing substances, and the rest of that community was resistant to those 8 compounds. But the antibiotics could fight off foreign populations, while leaving members of the home group unharmed. This 9 implies a bacterial social structure where individuals help the group as a whole. Crayon-hoarding toddlers might want to take note.