Force stabilizes a bond in bacterial adhesion

National University of Singapore biophysicists have discovered how a special bacterial adhesion complex could be counterintuitively stabilized by mechanical stress at the single-molecule level.

Tiny limbs and long bodies: Coordinating lizard locomotion

Snakes and lizards have distinct body movement patterns. Lizards bend from side to side as they retract their legs to walk or run. Snakes, on the other hand, slither and undulate, like a wave that travels down the body. However, ...

New method to study cellular behavior using smart materials

Scientists from 4D-BIOMAP, an ERC research project at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), have developed a new experimental method, based on magneto-active polymers, to study cellular behavior. These compounds, which ...

Designing the perfect piece of chocolate

We like some foods, and dislike others. Of course, the way food tastes is important, but mouthfeel, and even the sound that food makes when we bite it, also determine whether we enjoy the eating experience. Is it possible ...

Two-meter COVID-19 rule is 'arbitrary measurement' of safety

A new study has shown that the airborne transmission of COVID-19 is highly random and suggests that the two-meter rule was a number chosen from a risk 'continuum', rather than any concrete measurement of safety.

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