Bacterial Vortex Experiment (VIDEO)

Brown University

Caption

When confined in a water droplet, B. subtilis bacteria collectively and spontaneously form a swirling vortex, with some bacteria moving in one direction and others moving the opposite way. Researchers from Brown University and the University of Cambridge have shown that fluid flow generated at the outer edge of the droplet accounts for the two-directional motion.

Credit

Brown University / University of Cambridge

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