The discovery may explain how the widespread soil-dwelling microorganisms, which otherwise rely on an exhausting wriggle to move, ended up around the world today.
worms can jet between surfaces—with a little help from electricity, a new study finds.
The findings started with the research team noticing the microscopic worms vanishing from the bottom of the plastic petri dishes they lived in. The worms reappeared on the lids, covering a distance 10 times their body length in less than 1 second. The worms weren’t teleporting. Instead, the researchers found,The plastic dishes, it turns out, generated a small electric field.
The researchers introduced a similar electric field to bumble bees by rubbing the bees with pollen and watchedmake the same jumps. The number of worms didn’t limit the leap. Sometimes up to 80 worms pile up on top of one another in a column. Even then, one worm’s leap carried the rest across to the bumble bee in what the researchers dubbed a “multiworm transfer.”
Many far-flying insects generate electric fields when they flap their wings. Capitalizing on this charged attraction may have helped these worms colonize the world.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
2024 Kia K5 gets a tiny update, correspondingly tiny price increase - Autoblog2024 Kia K5 gets a tiny change and tiny price increase, costing $100 or $200 more than it did in 2023.
Read more »
Tiny worms discovered an ingenious way of riding on bumblebeesThe microscopic C. elegans worms were found to be able to leap, both alone and in a large group, and stick to a passing insect using an electrical charge.
Read more »
Tiny dog kicked into construction equipment in Venice suffers severe injuriesA small dog named Bart is being treated at an animal hospital for severe injuries suffered when he was brutally kicked on a Venice sidewalk.
Read more »
The ultra-tiny handbag that can only be seen with a microscope'There are big handbags, normal handbags, and small handbags, but this is the final word in bag miniaturization,' said MSCHF. Find out more at 🚀 engineering interestingengineering
Read more »
Chula Vista Mayor John McCann touts success of Tiny Homes Transition Center in fixing homelessness -CHULA VISTA (KUSI) – As the homeless crisis continues to worse across San Diego County, the city of Chula Vista is seeing success in helping get people off the street. Chula Vista recently opened San Diego County’s first Tiny Homes Transition Shelter, which has 65 units. The shelter provides residents with security & privacy, so residents can focus on seeking...
Read more »
Tiny spinning robots sorted themselves into this beautiful patternThe microbots help to explain how order arises in a disordered system — image of the week.
Read more »