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.
Researchers have captured the first clear view of the hidden architecture that helps shape a simple multicellular organism, showing how cells work together to build complex life forms.
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 14, 2025
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240
Scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have reimagined the capabilities of atomic force microscopy, or AFM, transforming it from a tool for imaging nanoscale features into one that also captures ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 4, 2025
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25
In a world overrun with plastic garbage, causing untold environmental woes, University of Houston assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, Maksud Rahman, has developed a way to turn bacterial cellulose—a ...
Bio & Medicine
Jul 8, 2025
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135
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and India's National Center for Biological Sciences have found that yeast clusters, when grown beyond a certain size, spontaneously generate fluid flows powerful enough to ...
The American Academy of Microbiology, the honorific leadership group and scientific think tank of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), announced today the release of its landmark report, "Early Microbial Life: Our ...
Evolution
Jun 16, 2025
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22
A major cause of hospital-acquired infections, the super bacteria Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), not only exhibits strong resistance to existing antibiotics but also forms a dense biofilm that blocks ...
Bio & Medicine
Jun 13, 2025
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32
Biofilms are conglomerates of bacteria and other organisms, which are feared in medicine as well as other areas because they can contain pathogens and are highly resistant to treatment. Chemists at Heinrich Heine University ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 11, 2025
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24
In a recent study, researchers gained new insight into the lives of bacteria that survive by grouping together as if they were a multicellular organism. The organisms in the study are the only bacteria known to do this in ...
Astrobiology
Apr 2, 2025
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336
Scientists at Caltech and Princeton University have discovered that bacterial cells growing in a solution of polymers, such as mucus, form long cables that buckle and twist on each other, building a kind of "living Jell-O."
Bio & Medicine
Jan 18, 2025
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199
Researchers at TU Delft have discovered that E. coli bacteria can synchronize their movements, creating order in seemingly random biological systems. By trapping individual bacteria in micro-engineered circular cavities and ...
Bio & Medicine
Dec 3, 2024
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54
