Bacterial Flashmob

When it comes to herd mentality, biofilms reign supreme. These sticky sheets of bacteria behave as a collective making them much harder for the human immune system to defeat. Researchers explore their collective behaviour to better understand how biofilms work and identify vulnerabilities that could be exploited to treat infections. The team carried out live imaging of biofilms of Pseudomonas nitroreducens grown in a dish. This bug very rarely infects humans but is related to Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which commonly does. Imaging revealed wave patterns (pictured) moving along the surface of the film. Using computer modelling, they examined these ripples and found that the extension and retraction of hair-like bacterial structures called pili were driving the waves.

Written by Lux Fatimathas

Lux Fatimathas

Writer

Having pursued science through a career in research, communications and publishing, she is currently a writer and editor for a healthcare marketing agency and also juggles freelance science writing.

• Image from work by Baha Altın and colleagues
• Department of Physics, Koç University, Istanbul, Turkiye
• Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in eLife (reviewed preprint), September 2025