Lab-on-a-Chip Uses Bacteria to Help Transport Biological Cargo

Researchers have used light patterns to control the swimming speed of bacteria and direct them to form different shapes, according to a new study (“ Dynamic density shaping of photokinetic E. coli ”)  in  eLife . Controlling bacteria in this way means it could be possible to use them as microbricks for building the next generation of microscopic devices. For example, they could be made to surround a larger object such as a machine part or a drug carrier, and