Micro and Nano Robotics

Differential active adhesion and a capillary instability drive global eversion and dissemination of bacterial colonies

This study shows that chemical gradients induce eversion in bacterial colonies by triggering a capillary instability, leading to bacterial dissemination.

Spontaneous spatial sorting by cell shape in growing colonies of rod-like bacteria

This study shows that rod-like bacteria with different shapes sort spatially in growing colonies, with longer cells moving to the periphery due to mechanical interactions and nematic order.

Chlamylipo, a Chlamydomonas-in-liposome microswimmer: self-propelled swimming and associated lipid membrane flow

This paper introduces chlamylipo, a bio-hybrid microswimmer using Chlamydomonas reinhardtii in a liposome, demonstrating propulsion through membrane deformation and fluid dynamics.

Light-dependent switching of circling handedness in microswimmer navigation

This study shows Chlamydomonas reinhardtii switches swimming trajectory handedness in response to light intensity through flagellar beat plane reorientation.

Bacterial motility patterns vary smoothly with spatial confinement and disorder

This study shows bacterial motility patterns smoothly transition between run-and-tumble and hop-and-trap behaviors across varying spatial confinement and disorder.

Active surface waves drive rippling in Myxococcus xanthus colonies

The paper investigates rippling in Myxococcus xanthus colonies and finds that surface waves, not synchronized cell motility, drive the phenomenon, supported by physical modeling and experimental verification.

Adaptive surface sensing enables mammalian sperm navigation in complex environments

This study shows sperm adaptively navigate complex environments by adjusting surface interactions and scattering dynamics, enhancing their diffusivity in confined spaces.

Active segregation in binary mixtures under flow

This study shows motile bacteria induce segregation of non-motile cells in confined flow, leading to asymmetric biofilm formation through a physical mechanism involving rheotactic drift and sedimentation.

Active bacterial pattern formation in evaporating droplets

This study examines how E. coli bacteria form different patterns in evaporating droplets based on their activity and environmental conditions, revealing three types of self-organization.

Trypanosomes Modulation of Motility from Swimming to Threading Propulsion in Confined Environments

This study investigates how Trypanosoma brucei adapts its motility to navigate confined environments using high-speed video and digital holography microscopy.

Swashing motility: A novel propulsion-independent mechanism for surface migration in Salmonella and E. coli

This paper identifies a novel surface motility mechanism in Salmonella and E. coli called 'swashing' that does not require flagellar propulsion and is driven by fermentation-induced osmotic gradients.

Emergent hydrodynamic synchronization between microbeads labelingbacterial flagellar motors

This study observes phase synchronization between bacterial flagellar motors through hydrodynamic coupling, showing that stronger coupling leads to more stable phase-locking.

Spatial self-organization of confined bacterial suspensions

This study investigates how confinement affects bacterial populations by showing that Escherichia coli in quasi-2D droplets self-organize into a core-shell structure driven by oxygen dynamics and motility.

3D Agent-based modeling without chemical signaling recreatescollective behaviors seen in Myxococcus xanthus colonies

This study uses 3D agent-based simulations to show that changes in cell motility, without chemical signaling, can recreate collective behaviors and fruiting body formation in M. xanthus colonies.

Self-Propelling Adaptive Robotic Microcatheters Enabled by Scalable Fabrication for Intracorporeal Navigation

This paper introduces a scalable fabrication platform for magnetic microrobots capable of precise intracorporeal navigation, validated in multiple models and demonstrating potential for precision medicine applications.

Magnetically Controlled Microrobots for In Vivo Non-Invasive Embryo Transfer

This paper proposes a non-invasive microrobotic embryo transfer technique using magnetically actuated microcarriers to improve embryo delivery in assisted reproduction, enabling precise, image-guided delivery with minimal invasiveness.

Metachronal wave coordination encodes multimodal swimming in ciliated unicellular predators

This study shows how metachronal wave coordination in Didinium nasutum enables diverse swimming behaviors by regulating propulsion and maneuverability through dynamic ciliary patterns.

Cooperative mixing through hydrodynamic interactions in Stylonychia lemnae

This study experimentally examines how Stylonychia lemnae ciliates form feeding clusters, showing that hydrodynamic interactions enhance mixing and resource detection through collective flows.

Bioinspired Geometry-Encoded Rheotactic Navigation of Sound-Driven Microrobots

This paper introduces a sound-driven microrobot inspired by sperm cell geometry, demonstrating directional propulsion and rheotactic behavior in fluid environments.

Capillary interactions drive the self-organization of bacterial colonies

This study shows capillary forces organize bacterial colonies into dense, nematic groups and influence their collective dynamics.

A forward-engineered muscle tissue driven soft robotic swimmer

The paper builds a biohybrid robot with muscle-driven tail motion to study swimming dynamics and muscle adaptation, achieving speeds surpassing low-Reynolds number predictions.

Reinforcement Learning for Efficient Locomotion of Bio-Inspired Microswimmers in Low Reynolds Number Fluids

This paper uses reinforcement learning to discover optimal swimming gaits for bio-inspired microswimmers in low Reynolds number fluids, finding that complex geometries significantly enhance locomotion efficiency.

Sperm hyperactivation drives a circling-and-wandering migration strategy

The paper studies sperm hyperactivation in different fluid environments, identifying three migration strategies and showing how circling-and-wandering balances exploration and exploitation for effective migration.

Model-Based Reinforcement Learning for Ultrasound-Driven Autonomous Microrobots

This paper develops an AI-controlled ultrasound-driven microrobot using model-based reinforcement learning, achieving high success rates in navigation and real-time manipulation in complex environments.

Adaptation-induced oscillatory phototaxis and emergence of ordered density bands in the microswimmer Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

The paper studies oscillatory phototaxis in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, showing how adaptation leads to collective density band formation under constant light.

Run-and-tumble dynamics of E. coli is governed by its mechanical properties

The paper models E. coli run-and-tumble behavior using fluid dynamics simulations and experiments, finding that flagellar rigidity and arrangement, not number, primarily influence motility.

A Mechanical Logic for Bacterial Navigation

This study shows Caulobacter crescentus uses backward swimming controlled by mechanical forces to navigate confined environments.

Modelling trypanosome motility

This study develops a trypanosome model and uses hydrodynamic simulations to analyze how mechanical features affect swimming behavior, showing the importance of body elasticity and flagellum dynamics.

Controlling the synchronization and symmetry breaking of coupled bacterial pili on active biofilm carpets

This study investigates collective oscillations in bacterial biofilms, showing that nonreciprocal pili activity and aging-related frequency gradients drive directional wave propagation and symmetry breaking.

Breathe in, breathe out: Bacterial density determines collective migration in aerotaxis

This study shows that bacterial migration direction in oxygen gradients depends on population density, revealing a critical density threshold for collective migration.