Scientists from MIPT, in collaboration with international colleagues, have proposed a universal mechanism for the sense of smell in bacteria. The researchers obtained the structure of the NarQ protein from Escherichia coli (E. coli), which belongs to a universal class of sensory histidine kinases that are responsible for transmitting signals to bacteria about their environment. The paper published in Science describes how bacteria communicate with one another and form biofilms on sterile surfaces or inside the human body.