E. coli found to exhibit lefthandedness
Bacteria with flagella move to the left in order to advance through the human body; unusual movement allows E. coli to find crevices in cells and hitch a ride; catheterization infections explained
It has long been known that organisms other than human beings exhibit left-handedness — a source of pride, perhaps, for those southpaws who feel that the world discriminates against them. They may or may not, however, take solace from a recent report that bacteria such as E. coli also exhibit a tendency to “swim to the left,” a discovery that may explain high incidents of infections related to catheter insertions and provide useful data for combating infectious disease.
“Each cell normally has two to six flagella that can rotate together as a bundle and act as a propeller to drive the cell forward. Away from any boundaries, the cells swim in a straight line, but near a surface, opposing forces of flow and bacterial forward motion cause the bacteria to continuously swim to one side
