Bacteria have been intensely studied for many decades and as a result we have gleaned many fundamental insights into biology. However, we are still relatively in the dark regarding bacterial behavior within densely packed communities known as biofilms. I will share our recent findings regarding biofilm communities and in particular our investigation into emergent phenomena and nonlinear dynamics at the population level. Specifically, I will show emergence of metabolically driven collective oscillations that resolve a social conflict between cooperation and competition and thereby increase biofilm fitness. I will also present the discovery of a new form of bacterial cell-cell communication within biofilms that is based on ion channel mediated electrical signaling.