Datta Lab

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Using a transparent soil mimic and the model bacterium #Ecoli, researchers characterized how soil texture affects bacterial motility across pore scales, finding bacteria shift from run-and-tumble behavior in large pores to frequent trapping in small ones. go.aps.org/4lJCCFG

If you're attending the #APSSummit26 in Denver, please join us for a special session showcasing cutting-edge physics — astrophysical neutrinos, gravitational physics, neural networks, quantum computing, and quantum materials — and the craft of scientific synthesis. Details below!

Squishy Science Sunday is back at the APS GlobalPhysicsSummit! Join us for hands-on activities about physics, including the physics of slime, sand, and cotton candy! Find us at Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Use code APSSQUISHY26 for a discount on general admission tickets!

Scientists at Caltech and Princeton University have now shed fresh light on why antibiotics that work well in laboratory tests often fail against real infections in humans. caltech.edu/about/news/jus…

@BleueMouvements @hbozhao @QiweiYu2 We just numerically simulate the equations (described in the paper) in MATLAB!

@TheSquishyLab @hbozhao @QiweiYu2 Very interesting patterns ! I am not a biologist myself but what kind of algorithms are you using to do those ?

Excited to release our latest work, led by former postdoc @hbozhao, along with @QiweiYu2 and Andrej Košmrlj: arxiv.org/abs/2603.02595! It builds on our previous work to develop a full quantitative theory of pattern formation in chemotactic active matter. 🦠🌪️ Summary ⬇️ [1/10]

@EliasGzo Indeed! Our work did not consider hydrodynamics, but focused solely on how chemotaxis influences MIPS; exploring the interplay of all three (chemotaxis, hydrodynamics, and MIPS) will be interesting!

@TheSquishyLab John Brady’s group just published a paper showing that MIPS is also suppressed by hydrodynamic interactions (it seems like quite a fragile phenomena), did you look at how HIs modify your phase diagram? Super cool to see chemotaxis incorporated!

As always, we'd love your feedback — please share with whoever might be interested! [10/10]

Our work also provides a design blueprint for engineering self-organizing active suspensions with tunable patterns. More broadly, chemotactic MIPS is a fascinating & rich model of pattern formation in nonreciprocal active matter. [9/10]

Seeking young #ChemE #superstars! AIChE's #35Under35 Award 🏆 is back, and we're looking for the best and brightest to be tomorrow's #leaders. 🌟Know a rising star? Nominate them before the May 1 #deadline! bit.ly/46AWeFs #AllForGood #AIChEFoundation

Thrilled to see this paper published @NatureComms! Check it out at lnkd.in/ghNMs-Xd. In it, we describe how chemical dynamics control the formation & propagation of antibiotic "death fronts" in spatially-structured bacterial populations. Summary below ⬇️

It took me some time, but the article following a talk at the DFD is finally online! Clogging is widespread, but the associated physics remains poorly understood. I am trying to give a (biased) view and some fundamentals here: doi.org/10.1103/rfk8-j… @UMDResearch @PhysRevFluids

Clogging of confined particulate suspensions can occur when there are too many particles, or when they are too large or too sticky. This Invited article discusses the underlying mechanisms and highlights efforts to characterize, model, and delay clogs. go.aps.org/4rYyZ0k