Turbatrix aceti, a sort of millimeter-long worm-like critter known as a nematode, is responsible for these sentient squiggles.
According to Live Science, Nematodes are among the most prolific organisms on the world, with over 25,000 species documented so far.
Many of them are parasites.
Others, such as T. aceti, feed on microscopic microorganisms in almost any habitat imaginable, even vinegar jars.
As a result, T. aceti is known as the vinegar eel.
A group of scientists became interested in vinegar eels lately, not because of where they reside, but how they move; like many birds or fish, these unctuous animals migrate in coordinated swarms.
Researchers used a microscope to see colonies of thousands of vinegar eels moving within water droplets to better understand the choreography of vinegar eels in action.
Perfect Choreography on a Rhythm Known Only by Them
Their findings were published in the journal Soft Matter on January 10th.
That choreography is a sight to see, as shown by the footage of the team’s tests.
After an hour of aimlessly roving the droplet, some nematodes started to congregate in the middle. In contrast, others raced to the water’s edge, racing around the rim like vehicles in a circle.
Individual nematodes soon began to undulate their bodies, and others close began to undulate in unison.
Soon, the whole swarm was oscillating, moving in time to a rhythm that only they could hear.
The coordinated intricacy of their movement shocked lead research author Anton Peshkov, a physicist at the University of Rochester in New York.
Peshkov said :
“This is a combination of two different kinds of synchronization. Motion and oscillation.”
There Was One Last Surprise
As the swarm moved in synchrony, it pressed up against the droplet’s edge, briefly stopping it from constricting as it slowly dissipated.
When the researchers evaluated the force produced by the seething nematode horde, they discovered that the worms could move items hundreds of times their own weight.
Perhaps this video will serve as a warning not to underestimate nematodes.
A single worm in your vinegar bottle may be an annoyance, but a thousand worms in your bottle are a flash mob in the making.
Good luck putting a halt to their party.
