Bacteria harness the lotus effect to protect themselves
Tuesday, May 16, 2017 - 09:02
in Health & Medicine
Dental plaque and the viscous brown slime in drainpipes are two familiar examples of bacterial biofilms. Removing such bacterial depositions from surfaces is often very difficult, in part because they are extremely water-repellent. A team of scientists from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now been able to show how such biofilms adapt their surface texture to repel water—similar to leaves.