Bacteria use Batman-like grappling hooks to 'slingshot' on surfaces
Monday, July 18, 2011 - 16:30
in Biology & Nature
Bacteria use various appendages to move across surfaces prior to forming multicellular bacterial biofilms. Some species display a particularly jerky form of movement known as "twitching" motility, which is made possible by hairlike structures on their surface called type IV pili, or TFP.