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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesSome bacteria respond to collisions by reversing direction—and a 2026 micro-maze experiment suggests this behavior helps them move collectively through crowded, obstacle-filled spaces. In a study of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, wild-type cells explored more of a maze and more often reached its exit than a mutant that did not sense collisions.
How does collision sensing change bacterial movement?
The study, published in Nature Microbiology on 6 October 2026, examined how P. aeruginosa moves across surfaces and responds to contact with other cells. The researchers report that wild-type bacteria reverse direction within seconds after a collision. As first author Laure Le Blanc put it in the EPFL release, “In response, they reverse direction within seconds.”
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The proposed effect depends on where cells are moving. In crowded areas, frequent collisions prompt reversals that help keep the group disordered and mobile. At a colony’s edge, where there is more open space, cells can remain aligned and move outward. In this account, physical contact is not merely an obstacle: it provides feedback that helps regulate collective movement.
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Researchers compared wild-type bacteria with a mutant that does not sense collisions and continues moving forward after contacting cells or boundaries. They used live microscopy, single-cell tracking, computer simulations and micro-maze experiments to study movement, including in confined spaces with obstacles. The EPFL release reports these maze outcomes:
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| Measure | Wild-type cells | Collision-insensitive mutant |
|---|---|---|
| Average fraction of maze explored | 92%, as reported by EPFL in 2026 | Not stated in the EPFL release |
| Cells reaching the exit within four hours | 20%, as reported by EPFL in 2026 | 1%, as reported by EPFL in 2026 |
These are different measures: 92% is the wild-type population’s average fraction of the maze explored, while 20% is the reported share of wild-type cells that reached the exit. The release also says the mutant traveled farther when alone, but became trapped in dense clusters when moving collectively. The comparison suggests that a behavior that can interrupt individual forward motion may help a population avoid jamming in a crowded maze.
What does the finding mean—and what does it not show?
EPFL presents the result as evidence that collective organization can be actively regulated through mechanical sensing, rather than arising only as a passive consequence of physical forces. Alexandre Persat, an EPFL professor, described the broader tension this way in the release: “Whether in fish schools, bird flocks or human crowds, moving as a group can offer safety and efficiency, but it can also lead to congestion and jamming,”
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The experiment concerns bacterial movement in laboratory settings. The release suggests possible relevance to infection and biofilms, but it does not establish that collision sensing causes bacterial spread through human tissue, drives biofilm formation in patients, or changes infection outcomes. It also raises robot-swarm design as a possible source of inspiration; no robotic system was tested in the study.
Which study reported the results?
Laure Le Blanc and colleagues reported the work as “Bacteria regulate collective behaviour by mechanosensing cell-cell collisions” in Nature Microbiology, published 6 October 2026 (DOI: 10.1038/s41564-026-02505-1). The EPFL release identifies contributors from the institution’s Microbial Mechanics Lab and Sangwoo Kim’s Mechanics of Soft and Biological Matter Laboratory, as well as the EPFL Institute of Bioengineering, the University of California San Diego and the EPFL Institute of Mechanical Engineering. Read the EPFL release distributed by EurekAlert!
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