It's counterintuitive but true: Some microorganisms that use flagella for locomotion are able to swim faster in gel-like fluids such as mucus. Research engineers have now figured out why. It's the ...

Inspired by a pond microorganism that retracts its spiral stalk using geometry alone, soft gel helices now wind and unwind on their own to amplify motion. (Nanowerk Spotlight) When Vorticella, a ...