# How Bacteria Evolved Rotary Motors | Michael Manson

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/632nm-6933948/how-bacteria-evolved-rotary-motors-michael-manson
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/632nm-6933948/how-bacteria-evolved-rotary-motors-michael-manson.md
Podcast: [632nm](https://stenobird.com/podcast/632nm-6933948)
Published: 2026-07-21T15:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://share.transistor.fm/s/5fe1f795
Audio file: https://media.transistor.fm/5fe1f795/02fbaabe.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/632nm-6933948/episodes/how-bacteria-evolved-rotary-motors-michael-manson
Duration seconds: 12370

## Resource

How do bacteria power one of the most sophisticated molecular machines in nature? In this episode, we speak with Dr. Michael Manson, one of the pioneers of bacterial motility research, whose nearly 50-year career has helped uncover how the bacterial flagellar motor works. From the first experiments proving that bacterial flagella rotate to the latest breakthroughs in cryo-EM and single-molecule biology, Manson tells the story of how scientists finally solved the mechanism behind a real working biological motor. We explore how bacteria move through chemotaxis using a biased random walk, why E. coli alternates between running and tumbling, and how individual molecules can control the direction of a spinning flagellum. Manson explains the experiments that showed proton motive force powers the flagellar motor, how the motor’s rotor and stator generate torque, why it can reverse direction almost instantly, and how bacteria adapt to changing environments by dynamically adjusting their molecular machinery. We also discuss ATP synthase, proton gradients, molecular motors, bacterial genetics, cryo-electron microscopy, ion channels, self-assembling protein complexes, nanomachines, and the history of the discoveries that transformed modern microbiology. Whether you’re interested in the bacterial flagellar motor, molecular biology, biophysics, microbiology, ATP synthase, chemotaxis, molecular machines, or the fundamental physics of life, this week we go deep into one of biology’s most remarkable inventions. Follow us for more technical interviews with the world’s greatest scientists: Twitter: https://x.com/632nmPodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/632nmpodcast?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw== LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/632nm/ab…

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