Microbiology

Bacterial biofilms and slime molds are more than crude patches of goo. Detailed time-lapse microscopy reveals how they sense and explore their surroundings, communicate with their neighbors and adaptively reshape themselves.

With electrical signals, simple cells organize themselves into complex societies and negotiate with other colonies.

Hydrodynamics and competition guide the architectural design of biofilm fortresses.

The new experiments suggest that simple models can explain the behavior of thousands of interacting organisms.

A new look at the reasons why organisms missing pairs of genes sometimes do much better than normal.

Researchers have used the gene-editing tool CRISPR to manipulate the way that DNA coils up inside the cell — another step in the quest to understand how the genome’s 3-D structure impacts its function.

In a monumental set of experiments, spread out over nearly two decades, biologists removed genes two at a time to uncover the secret workings of the cell.

Gene drives promise to spread a trait across an entire population. But evolutionary forces are going to alter even the best-engineered plans.

The subtle mechanics of densely packed cells may help explain why some cancerous tumors stay put while others break off and spread through the body.