Breaking Ranks

Bacteria invading the human body have numbers on their side. They divide rapidly, so are often able to overwhelm our early immune defences. In this computer simulation, ranks of a bacterial army march onwards and upwards into a hostile, and stressful environment. Cells on the front line react to this oxidative stress by producing 'defensive' proteins (highlighted in bright blue), slowing down their cell division. This heroic act shields the rest of the troops as they continue to divide, move and infect the tissue. The simulation is based on a combination of machine learning and microscopy of living Escherichia coli – helping researchers to first understand and later predict the different behaviours inside groups of living cells. Working out how to break these bacterial barriers could help to ward off harmful infections.

Written by John Ankers

John Ankers

Writer

A former researcher in systems biology, John is now an online biology tutor and professional coach supporting the wellbeing of scientists and NHS professionals. He's writing, too, of course.

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• Video in third place, by Divya Choudhary - Uphoff Lab, Bacterial DNA Repair and Mutagenesis, Dept of Biochemistry, Uni of Oxford, UK
• Video category of the University of Oxford's Department of Biochemistry Centenary Scientific Imaging Competition
• Video copyright held by Divya Choudhary
• Related research published in Cell Reports, February 2023