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In the freshwater lakes, cyanobacteria Microcystis often cause toxic blooms. They gather into colonies — elastic little spheres, like dense jelly. The cells are glued together by a special substance based on carbon, acting as a powerful natural adhesive. Scientists tested these "jelly balls" for the first time and found their strength astonishing. Regular waves in lakes are tens of times weaker than needed to break a colony. Even a fierce storm can't smash these living blobs: they withstand forces 100 times greater than typical water mixing.

Surprisingly, when phosphorus is scarce, the colonies don't weaken: they actually get tougher. The bacteria seem to remodel their slimy matrix into a "siege mode," making it stiffer. From a physics standpoint, such a structure has low entropy — little disorder, hence its stability. This discovery explains why toxic blooms are so hard to stop and hints at future strategies: perhaps the key is learning to dismantle these miniature fortresses.