We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Multiscale reorganisation of colloidal aggregation by percolating bacterial networks.
AI summary Read the abstract
Scientists found that even non-swimming bacteria can act like scaffolding, causing tiny particles (like colloids) to clump together into branching networks—while the particles, in turn, help reinforce the bacterial structure. This matters because similar clumping could happen with microplastics in water or in our bodies, potentially changing how these tiny pollutants travel, settle, or interact with bacteria in nature and inside us.
Self-assembly in colloidal suspensions emerges from the interplay of local ordering and constraints imposed by the surrounding medium. While motile bacteria are known to alter colloidal dynamics, the influence of non-motile species remains largely unexplored. Here, we study suspensions of colloids and non-motile sedimenting near the wall and forming percolating networks. Using multiscale structural descriptors, we show that bacteria enhance colloidal aggregation into branch-like clusters. In turn, colloids reinforce bacterial networks by extending their elastic backbone. The analysis of mid-range ordering reveals that, unlike purely colloidal suspensions where ordering propagates across 3-4 neighbour shells, bacterial scaffolds suppress this propagation beyond the first shell. These findings highlight how non-motile bacteria reshape colloidal self-assembly across scales, while providing a quantitative framework for studying complex particle-network interactions. This approach opens pathways to understanding analogous processes in natural systems, including those involving microplastic contaminants.
More Papers Like This
Multiscale reorganisation of colloidal aggregation by percolating bacterial networks
AI summary Read the abstract
Scientists found that even "non-swimming" bacteria can act like scaffolding, causing tiny particles (colloids) to clump together into branching networks—and in turn, those particles help reinforce the bacterial structure. This matters because similar clumping could happen with microplastics in water or soil, meaning bacteria might influence how microplastic pollution spreads, sinks, or gets trapped in the environment—which could ultimately affect our exposure to these particles through water and food.
The “net-capturing” effect of bacteria on the transport of fibrous and fragmental microplastics in porous media: Revealed with the real-time pore-scale visualized and quantitative experiments
AI summary Read the abstract
Scientists discovered that bacteria living in soil and sand act like tiny "nets," physically trapping microplastic particles as water flows through the ground, sort of like how a spiderweb catches debris. This matters because it suggests natural bacteria could help prevent microplastics from traveling through soil into groundwater, which is a source of drinking water for many people. The study also found that fiber-shaped microplastics (like those shed from clothing) get stuck more easily than fragment-shaped ones, meaning different types of plastic pollution may behave differently once they enter the environment.
Microplastics as vectors for microbial transport: experimental interaction with Escherichia coli
AI summary Read the abstract
Scientists found that E. coli bacteria can stick to tiny plastic particles (microplastics) and form a protective film on their surface, essentially turning plastic into a raft that bacteria can hitch a ride on. This matters because microplastics are everywhere—in water, food, and even our bodies—and if they can ferry harmful bacteria around, they may help spread infections in ways we don't fully understand yet. The researchers also tested new tools to quickly detect these plastic-bacteria teams, which could help scientists track this potential health risk more easily in the future.
Microbial Dynamics on Different Microplastics in Coastal Urban Aquatic Ecosystems: The Critical Roles of Extracellular Polymeric Substances
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers investigated how microbial communities colonize different types of microplastics in urban coastal waters, forming distinct ecosystems known as plastispheres. They found that the type of plastic significantly shaped which bacteria grew on it and how much sticky extracellular material they produced. Understanding these microbial communities on microplastics matters because they can harbor harmful bacteria and influence how pollutants move through aquatic environments.
Molecular assembly of extracellular polymeric substances regulating aggregation of differently charged nanoplastics and subsequent interactions with bacterial membrane
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers used molecular simulations and experiments to study how bacteria produce natural coatings that change the behavior of nanoplastics in water. These biological coatings altered how nanoplastics clump together and interact with bacterial cell membranes, depending on the plastic's surface charge. Understanding these interactions is important because biological coatings in real environments could change how nanoplastics move through ecosystems and affect living organisms.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.