A variety of animals are able to sense and react to electric fields, and living human cells will move along an electric field, for example in wound healing. Now a team lead by Min Zhao at the UC Davis Institute for Regenerative Cures has found the first actual "sensor mechanism" that allows a living cell detect an electric field. The work is published Oct. 9 in the journal Nature Communications.
"We believe there are several types of sensing mechanisms, and none of them are known. We now provide experimental evidence to suggest one which has not been even hypothesized before, a two-molecule sensing mechanism," Zhao said.
To read more, click here.