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.
Microorganisms live in biofilms—the equivalent of microbial "cities"—everywhere on Earth. These city-like structures protect and house microbial communities and play essential roles in enabling human and plant health on our ...
Space Exploration
Jan 22, 2026
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Scientists at Nagoya University in Japan have identified the genes that allow an organism to switch between living as single cells and forming multicellular structures. This ability to alternate between life forms provides ...
Evolution
Jan 7, 2026
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In an opinion piece published in Microbiology Australia, a James Cook University team led by Dr. Yaoqin Hong recently introduced a new theory to help scientists engineer biofilms, which are the gluey scaffolds made by bacteria ...
Cell & Microbiology
Dec 22, 2025
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Complex life began to develop earlier, and over a longer span of time, than previously believed, a new study has revealed. The research sheds new light on the conditions needed for early organisms to evolve and challenges ...
Evolution
Dec 3, 2025
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Cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, occur worldwide in many varieties, including in single-cell form and in chains called filaments. While these tiny life forms can strongly influence many ecosystems, the details ...
Cell & Microbiology
Nov 20, 2025
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Plant a seed and, if the conditions are right, the seed grows. The process seems simple enough at first glance and is something many of us may feel like we learned in elementary school.
Cell & Microbiology
Nov 3, 2025
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Caltech researchers have reintroduced a classic technique to image the formation and growth of individual cells that make up biofilms, sticky masses of millions of cells that are often responsible for antibiotic-tolerant ...
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 30, 2025
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The bacterium known as Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an unwelcome visitor in the human body. Serious infections can result when a bunch of these bugs settle together on a surface to form a biofilm—a community of microbes like ...
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 28, 2025
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Even in an environment as seemingly simple as a drop of water, bacteria can organize themselves into complex patterns or arrangements. Through experiments, theory, and computational modeling, scientists from Caltech and Princeton ...
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 14, 2025
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The cellular slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum is a soil microbe that produces diverse natural products with potential antibiotic activity. Previously, three chlorinated compounds had been detected in Dictyostelium, but ...
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 8, 2025
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