Bacteria can move toward light because the cell body acts as a lens that is propelled by the angle of refracted light. After being struck by light, cells grow tentacle-like structures called pili that reach out to the light source and pull the cell in that direction. Just as inventions like the camera are modeled after the animal eye, so too may scientists one day employ biological principles of smaller organisms to create ever tinier devices.
Why is being called “scum” not quite the insult it once was?
Answer: Because scum can see
A recent paper published in eLife revealed that cyanobacteria and other single-celled bacteria have a mechanism for detecting and moving toward light sources. The observation that bacteria respond to light is old, but how it’s done is a new discovery, lead researcher Conrad Mullineaux told Phys.org.
Bacteria can move toward light because the cell body acts as a lens that is propelled by the angle of refracted light. After being struck by light, cells grow tentacle-like structures called pili that reach out to the light source and pull the cell in that direction. Just as inventions like the camera are modeled after the animal eye, so too may scientists one day employ biological principles of smaller organisms to create ever tinier devices.
Bacteria can move toward light because the cell body acts as a lens that is propelled by the angle of refracted light. After being struck by light, cells grow tentacle-like structures called pili that reach out to the light source and pull the cell in that direction. Just as inventions like the camera are modeled after the animal eye, so too may scientists one day employ biological principles of smaller organisms to create ever tinier devices.
