Microbial multicellular systems are physical assemblies of genetically identical or heterogeneous microorganisms that exhibit coordinated organization, spatial structuring, and division of labor beyond single-cell behavior. These systems include biofilms, filaments, aggregates, and fruiting bodies, where cell–cell adhesion, extracellular matrix production, and chemical signaling (e.g., quorum sensing, diffusible morphogens) generate emergent mechanical and physiological properties. As physical systems, they are characterized by collective dynamics such as pattern formation, phase-like transitions between dispersed and clustered states, and mechano-chemical feedbacks that regulate growth, differentiation, and resource allocation, making them key model systems for studying self-organization, robustness, and multicellularity in active matter.
Social amoebae are unicellular organisms that act in concert, requiring extensive communication. Pierre Stallforth and colleagues studied modes of communication among cells of the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum, using ...
Bio & Medicine
Jul 28, 2026
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Imagine a smart bandage that could continuously monitor an infected wound, alerting doctors when bacteria spread or when treatment begins to work. That vision is one step closer to reality with new research from Virginia ...
Bio & Medicine
Jul 28, 2026
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Microbes in the gut, lungs and biofilms do not simply exist as perfectly mixed populations; instead, they grow in layered and clustered three-dimensional (3D) arrangements. This spatial organization shapes how nutrients and ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 22, 2026
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How life started on our own planet may not seem as interesting as finding evidence of life on Mars or the icy moons Europa or Enceladus. But the search for the first eukaryotes on Earth remains as important to astrobiology ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 20, 2026
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Researchers at Queen Mary University of London have discovered that tiny photosynthetic bacteria band together into protective "herds" when attacked by predators—a survival strategy that could also influence how carbon is ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 15, 2026
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Faster and more effective ways to treat Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterium identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the most life-threatening pathogens, could be possible thanks to a first-of-its-kind ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 14, 2026
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Newly developed microparticles can infiltrate stubborn bacterial matrices and release tiny oxygen bubbles to clean surfaces and wounds more efficiently than hydrogen peroxide or other cleaning agents alone, researchers at ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Jul 9, 2026
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Popular science fiction is no stranger to escape-pod scenarios, typically featuring characters who narrowly avoid their demise by jettisoning from a spaceship—think R2-D2 and C-3PO shooting away from a rebel spaceship in ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 7, 2026
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Research has revealed how bacteria rely on circadian clocks to control the spread of their multicellular colonies. The findings provide important clues as to how we might improve soil health and plant growth. They may also ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 26, 2026
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When bacteria are under antibiotic attack, it is not "every man for himself." Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and colleagues from collaborating institutions have discovered that bacterial populations work as a team ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 25, 2026
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