Capillary aggregation and surface waves in bacterial colonies
Ricard Alert (ICREA Research Professor, University of Barcelona)
| When |
Jan 19, 2026
from 11:00 to 12:00 |
|---|---|
| Where | Salle Condorcet |
| Contact Name | Alexis Poncet |
| Attendees |
Ricard Alert |
| Add event to calendar |
vCal
iCal
|
Many bacteria inhabit hydrated environments like soil, textiles and agar hydrogels in the lab. In these environments, cells are surrounded by a water meniscus. First, I will show that the resulting capillary forces organize bacterial colonies, enabling cells to aggregate into densely packed nematic layers while still allowing them to slide past one another. Second, I will show that, when these bacterial colonies form thick multilayered films, they exhibit active surface waves. These results suggest that capillary forces may be a ubiquitous physical ingredient in shaping microbial communities in partially hydrated environments.