Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 12, 2026
06:42
Magnetically Induced Rotating Rayleigh-Taylor Instability
Published on: March 3, 2017
10.1K
Instability of expanding bacterial droplets
Andrey Sokolov1, Leonardo Dominguez Rubio2, John F Brady3
1Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, 60439, USA.
Nature Communications
|April 5, 2018
Summary
Highly concentrated bacterial droplets explosively expand into surrounding fluids. This study explains the phenomenon using continuum theory, offering new insights into active matter dynamics with density gradients.
Area of Science:
- Physics
- Biophysics
- Soft Matter Physics
Background:
- Active matter, including motile bacteria and synthetic microswimmers, exhibits self-organization and large-scale structure formation.
- Research on active matter predominantly focuses on spatially homogeneous systems, with limited understanding of strongly heterogeneous active matter dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the expansion dynamics of highly concentrated bacterial droplets into bacteria-free fluid.
- To elucidate the underlying physical mechanisms driving the observed droplet instability.
Main Methods:
- Experimental observation of bacterial droplet expansion beneath a rotating macroscopic particle.
- Theoretical analysis using continuum, first-principle theory, incorporating the swim pressure concept.
Main Results:
- Observed vigorous instability of bacterial droplets, characterized as a violent explosion.
- Successfully explained the expansion phenomenon using the swim pressure concept in a theoretical framework.
Conclusions:
- The study provides crucial insights into the dynamics of active matter systems with significant density gradients.
- Findings expand the toolkit for experimental and analytical manipulation of active matter systems.
More Related Videos
06:53Generation of Natural Killer Cells from Human Expanded Potential Stem Cells
Published on: January 13, 2023
3.7K
09:54Multifunctional, Micropipette-based Method for Incorporation And Stimulation of Bacterial Mechanosensitive Ion Channels in Droplet Interface Bilayers
Published on: November 19, 2015
11.2K
Related Concept Videos
02:17Microtubule Instability
6.3K
Microtubules are hollow cylindrical filaments having a diameter of approximately 25 nm and a length that varies from 200 nm to 25 μm. GTP-bound tubulin subunits form αβ-heterodimers for microtubule assembly. These core building blocks interact longitudinally, polymerizing into protofilaments. The protofilaments then interact with one another through lateral bonding forces to form stable cylindrical microtubules. These cylindrical filaments are dynamic as they undergo repeated...
6.3K
01:33Bacterial Transformation
60.2K
In 1928, bacteriologist Frederick Griffith worked on a vaccine for pneumonia, which is caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria. Griffith studied two pneumonia strains in mice: one pathogenic and one non-pathogenic. Only the pathogenic strain killed host mice.
Griffith made an unexpected discovery when he killed the pathogenic strain and mixed its remains with the live, non-pathogenic strain. Not only did the mixture kill host mice, but it also contained living pathogenic bacteria that...
Griffith made an unexpected discovery when he killed the pathogenic strain and mixed its remains with the live, non-pathogenic strain. Not only did the mixture kill host mice, but it also contained living pathogenic bacteria that...
60.2K
01:30Bacterial Signaling
41.3K
Bacterial signaling can occur within bacteria (intracellular) or between bacteria (intercellular). At times, a group of bacteria behaves like a community. To achieve this, they engage in quorum sensing, the perception of higher cell density that causes changes in gene expression. Quorum sensing involves both extracellular and intracellular signaling. The signaling cascade starts with a molecule called an autoinducer (AI). Individual bacteria produce AIs that move out of the bacterial cell...
41.3K
00:43Bacterial RNA Polymerase
32.9K
Unlike eukaryotes, bacteria use a single RNA Polymerase (RNAP) to transcribe all genes. The different subunits of bacterial RNAPhave distinct functions. The multisubunit structure of the bacterial RNAP helps the enzyme to maintain catalytic function, facilitate assembly, interact with DNA and RNA, and self-regulate its activity.
In most genes, the transcription site is a single base present upstream of the coding sequence. Though RNAP is a catalytically efficient enzyme, it does not recognize...
In most genes, the transcription site is a single base present upstream of the coding sequence. Though RNAP is a catalytically efficient enzyme, it does not recognize...
32.9K
01:17Transmission-based Precautions I: Contact, Enteric, and Droplets
4.7K
Transmission-based precautions are for patients known to be infected or suspected to be infected or colonized with organisms that pose a significant risk to others. Some transmission-based precautions include contact, enteric, and droplet.
Contact Precautions:
Contact precautions are the measures taken to prevent the transmission of infectious agents, especially epidemiologically important microorganisms such as MRSA or influenza, primarily transmitted through direct or indirect contact with an...
Contact Precautions:
Contact precautions are the measures taken to prevent the transmission of infectious agents, especially epidemiologically important microorganisms such as MRSA or influenza, primarily transmitted through direct or indirect contact with an...
4.7K
01:53Bacterial Transcription
36.6K
RNA polymerase (RNAP) carries out DNA-dependent RNA synthesis in both bacteria and eukaryotes. Bacteria do not have a membrane-bound nucleus. So, transcription and translation occur simultaneously, on the same DNA template.
Transcription can be divided into three main stages, each involving distinct DNA sequences to guide the polymerase. These are:
Transcription can be divided into three main stages, each involving distinct DNA sequences to guide the polymerase. These are:
36.6K