2014-12-11
Explanation
The Joke
The comic depicts two bacteria (or similar single-celled organisms) in a moment of panic. One exclaims "Oh god, baby, the cell wall broke!" and the other asks "Did you release any plasmids?!" The first responds, "I don't know! Maybe a little?!"
The Humor
This is an anthropomorphization joke that maps a very human scenario onto bacteria. The dialogue mirrors a classic moment of panic between two humans whose condom has broken during sex -- "Did you release any...?" "Maybe a little!" -- but translated into microbiology terms. In bacteria, plasmids are small circular DNA molecules that can be transferred between cells (a process called conjugation, which is sometimes colloquially referred to as "bacterial sex"). The cell wall breaking is analogous to a condom breaking, and the exchange of plasmids is analogous to the exchange of genetic material during reproduction. The humor comes from the perfect mapping between the awkward human situation and bacterial biology, as well as from the idea that bacteria could have the same anxious, panicky reaction to an unplanned genetic exchange.
References
- Plasmids are small, extrachromosomal DNA molecules found in bacteria that can replicate independently. They are often transferred between bacteria via conjugation.
- Bacterial conjugation is sometimes informally called "bacterial sex" because it involves the transfer of genetic material between two cells through direct contact.