Loading video... VIDEO: The cells are gliding on glass. They always go in the direction of their tapered end with speeds 2 to 4 μm per second. view more Credit: Yuya Sasajima (Osaka City University) Much of human invention and innovation has been the result of our discovery and replication of natural phenomena, from birds serving to inspire human flight, to whales allowing us to dive deep into the ocean with submarines. For the first time ever, researchers have captured at the nanometer level the gliding machinery of the bacterium Mycoplasma mobile. Their findings were published in mBio. This brings us closer to understanding the origin and operating principle of motility, which could serve as a basis for the next generation of nanoscale devices and pharmaceuticals.