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Scientists Uncover Hydrogel Pressure Mechanism That Disperses Biofilms

7/7/2026

Summary

Story summary

An international team of researchers identified a previously unknown mechanism that lets bacteria escape biofilms.
Scientists at the University of California San Diego led the study with collaborators from Pompeu Fabra University in Spain.
They showed bacteria produce a water-absorbing hydrogel that builds pressure to push cells out, and that amplifying the hydrogel caused biofilm disintegration in the lab without antibiotics, though it remains far from clinical use.

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Story summary

An international team of researchers identified a previously unknown mechanism that lets bacteria escape biofilms.
Scientists at the University of California San Diego led the study with collaborators from Pompeu Fabra University in Spain.
They showed bacteria produce a water-absorbing hydrogel that builds pressure to push cells out, and that amplifying the hydrogel caused biofilm disintegration in the lab without antibiotics, though it remains far from clinical use.