Can microswimmers swim through gel?

Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have studied how microswimmers, like bacteria or sperm, swim through fluids with both solid and liquid-like properties, e.g., gels. They found that subtle changes in a swimmer's features, its structure, and how it moves invoke a dramatically different response from the fluid. They also discovered that the similarity in size between the structure of the fluid and the swimmer led to a wide range of interesting behavior.

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