Mutant bacteria spontaneously swarm into patterns resembling van Gogh painting

For years, scientists have studied the how the bacteria Myxococcus xanthus self-organizes into swarms through a fascinating kind of "social cooperation." Now, researchers from Rice University and the University of Washington have observed mutant forms of the bacteria banding together in an array of tiny circles that resembles Vincent van Gogh's 1889 painting "Starry Night," seen below. — Read the rest