A stand-up-and-take-notice report last month in the journal Science explains that some kinds of bacteria can walk, and that those bacteria often do. The study, done by researchers from UCLA, The University of Illinois, and Notre Dame University, is:
“Bacteria Use Type IV Pili to Walk Upright and Detach from Surfaces“, Maxsim L. Gibiansky, Jacinta C. Conrad, Fan Jin, Vernita D. Gordon, Dominick A. Motto, Margie A. Mathewson, Wiktor G. Stopka, Daria C. Zelasko, Joshua D. Shrout and Gerard C. L. Wong, Science, vol. 330, no. 6001, October 8, 2010, p. 197.
BONUS: A nice report about the report, in the November 6, 2010 issue of Science News.