Spiroplasma QuickTime Movie 42kb

On the micro scale, Spiroplasma's helical shape seems to be optimized for fast swimming and for efficiently converting energy into motion. It moves by sending a pair of kinks down its body as it switches its body from a right-handed spiral to a left-handed one, and vice versa. The net effect is a zig-zagging forward motion ( This animation of a swimming Spiroplasma, was created by researchers at UC Berkeley in 2005).