Bacterial decision-making

Phys.Org (Dec. 8) -- For bacteria that swim, determining whether to stay the course or head in a new direction is vital to survival. A new study offers atomic-level details of the molecular machinery that allows swimming bacteria to sense their environment and change direction when needed. The study, reported in the journal eLife, represents a major step in understanding the “bacterial brain,” said University of Illinois physics professor Klaus Schulten, who led the new research. Also: R&D Magazine (Dec. 8), ScienceBlog (Dec. 8), Bioscience Technology (Rockaway, New Jersey, Dec. 9), SciCasts (Dec. 9), Science 360 (NSF, Dec. 10).