If we fill up an Erlenmeyer flask, the liquid surface gets smaller the more liquid is underneath. This inverse correlation severely impedes oxygen transfer if the flask is filled too high.

Now, professor Richard Lenski and colleagues document the process in their analysis of 40,000 generations of bacteria grown in Erlenmeyer flasks, published this week in science journal Nature.

Our weekly pick of The X-Files season 1 greats reaches its conclusion with series finale, The Erlenmeyer Flask ...