Video: Communicating science

Video feature: 'Communicating Science' .

How many different ways do creatures communicate with one another? Howard Stone, Princeton's Donald R. Dixon and Elizabeth W. Dixon Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and Bonnie Bassler, Princeton's Squibb Professor in Molecular Biology, enlist the help of elementary school students to explain the science of communication behind sound waves, pheromones, bioluminescence and more.

Science of light — and pickles — illuminate the holidays .

Children let out "oohs" and "ahhs" the moment the big gas flame hit samples of lithium, sodium, copper and phosphorus on a lab table at Princeton University. It was just the reaction that Professor Howard Stone was seeking. Stone, the Donald R. Dixon '69 and Elizabeth W. Dixon Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Princeton, was leading the fourth annual Holiday Science Lecture for a packed audience of parents and children in McDonnell Hall on Saturday, Dec. 15.

Pop goes the science: Fast fun fills annual holiday lecture .

Howard Stone, the Donald R. Dixon '69 and Elizabeth W. Dixon Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, delivered his fifth annual Holiday Science Lecture to two packed audiences on Dec. 14. A mix of hard science and silly fun, the annual lecture has become a tradition in the Princeton area. The topic of this year's talk was "Faster Than the Blink of an Eye."

Schmidt fund awards to support two new research technologies .

Two new research technologies — a microscope for probing bacterial biofilms and an instrument to measure the properties of ultrathin plastics — have been awarded funding at Princeton University through the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Transformative Technology Fund.

Scientists get their first look into how bacteria construct a slimy biofilm fortress .

Princeton researchers have for the first time revealed the mechanics of how bacteria build up slimy masses, called biofilms, cell by cell. When encased in biofilms in the human body, bacteria are a thousand times less susceptible to antibiotics, making certain infections, such as pneumonia, difficult to treat and potentially lethal.

Researchers find a way to peel slimy biofilms like old stickers .

Slimy, hard-to-clean bacterial mats called biofilms cause problems ranging from medical infections to clogged drains and fouled industrial equipment. Now, researchers at Princeton have found a way to cleanly and completely peel off these notorious sludges. The collaborative work bridges molecular biology, materials science and mechanical engineering.

How bacterial communication 'goes with the flow' in causing infection, blockage .

New work from Princeton University researchers shows that the effectiveness of bacteria's ability to keep in touch is influenced by the physical characteristics and flow of fluid in the environments they're invading. The findings provide a better understanding of where and when in a system scientists can interfere with bacterial communication to help prevent infections and blockages.