Sperm and Algae Defy Newton's Third Law

Researchers from Kyoto University have made a remarkable scientific discovery that may challenge our understanding of the movement of microscopic organisms. Scientists have found that sperm and Chlamydomonas algae can effectively navigate through obstacles in a way that defies the laws of physics.

This groundbreaking research was reported by the Daily Mail.

According to Newton's third law, the force of action always equals the force of reaction. However, the researchers found that sperm and Chlamydomonas, which use their flagella for movement, can efficiently overcome the resistance of fluid by employing what's known as "odd elasticity." This extraordinary mechanism allows these microorganisms to avoid energy loss during movement through a liquid environment.

Under Newton's laws of motion, these movements should slow down swimmers.

A sperm's tail, for example, is expected to lose energy as it deforms relative to the surrounding environment. But by bending, the flagella prevent an equal and opposite reaction, thus preserving energy.

According to the study, "odd elasticity" is not a general term for activity in solid bodies but rather a well-defined physical mechanism that generates active forces in solid bodies or other systems, allowing for the determination of generalized elasticity without using elastic potential.

The discovery by Japanese scientists holds significance for our understanding of the micro-world. Furthermore, it opens up new possibilities for the development of cutting-edge technologies in the field of micro and nanoscale devices. Understanding these unique mechanisms of movement could be the key to creating bio-robots and micro-devices capable of functioning effectively in complex liquid environments.

This breakthrough illustrates how scientific research in the fields of microbiology and bioengineering can lead to innovative technologies that may reshape our perception of the possibilities within the microcosm.

As reported by The Gaze, a team of researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) engineered one of the most common bacteria, Escherichia coli (E. coli), to produce electricity from wastewater in a brewery, surpassing state-of-the-art bioengineered strains in this process.