Phys.org  August 29, 2022 Observable characteristics—phenotypes—at the cellular scale underpins homeostasis and the fitness of living systems. However, how they shape properties at the population level remains poorly understood. An international team of researchers (Luxembourg, the Netherlands) found that phenotypic noise self-regulates with growth and coordinates collective structural organization, the kinetics of topological defects and the emergence of active transport around confluent colonies. They cataloged key phenotypic traits in bacteria growing under diverse conditions. The results revealed a statistically precise critical time for the transition from a monolayer biofilm to a multilayer biofilm, despite the strong noise in the cell […]