Tag: flagella
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Active mechanical forces drive how bacteria switch swimming direction
Overview: A new angle on an age-old question Bacteria have long fascinated scientists for their remarkable ability to navigate complex environments. A recent study has shed light on a foundational mystery: how active mechanical forces influence the way swimming bacteria switch direction. By focusing on the physical interactions between a bacterium’s rotating flagella and its…
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How Active Mechanical Forces Drive Bacteria to Change Their Swimming Direction
Introduction: A new mechanism behind a familiar motion Bacteria swim by rotating tiny tail-like structures called flagella. For decades, scientists have relied on chemical signals and molecular timers to explain why these microorganisms switch from go-straight to tumble-and-reorient. Recent research, however, points to active mechanical forces within the cell as a key driver of swimming-direction…
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Bacteria Move Without Flagella: Sugar-Fueled Currents and Molecular Gearboxes
Unveiling a New Kind of Bacterial Motion Bacteria are renowned for their tiny flagella — whip-like propellers that broadcast their desire to roam. Yet a growing body of research from Arizona State University is changing that narrative. Scientists are documenting how bacteria can move without traditional flagella, employing less obvious tools such as sugar-fueled currents…
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Flagella-Free Bacteria Movement: Sugar Currents and Gearboxes
What’s new in bacterial movement For decades, scientists have described bacterial motion as a simple story of tiny propellers—the flagella—that propel single cells through liquids. But fresh research from Arizona State University is reshaping that narrative. The studies uncover how some bacteria can move without their flagella, harnessing sugar-fueled currents and intricate molecular gear systems…
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Bacteria Without Flagella: Sugar Currents Move Cells
New Ways Bacteria Move: Beyond the Flagellum For decades, scientists have linked bacterial movement to the flagellum, the whip-like propeller that propels many microbes through liquid environments. Yet a wave of new research from Arizona State University shows that bacteria can glide, crowd, and disperse using mechanisms that do not rely on flagella. By harnessing…