More Sandy

 

from Sandy McReynolds 

Curious that this is news (from Scientific American), since Sally Adee published "We Are Electric" in 2023 (I highly recommend it -- also reviewed in the NYRB recently), in which she documents the current researchers and programs, along with a history of the quirks and quacks that have given bio-electricity a bad name. Basically, all cells emit recognizably different measurable millivolt electrical signals, including cancer cells, bone cells, fat cells, and even when a woman ovulates. 

                   "Screaming Skin Cells”

Some cells talk to each other using electricity; neurons and heart muscle cells release electrical pulses to quickly send information and make the heart beat. For a long time, scientists thought skin cells were silent. But a new study has found that when wounded, skin cells “scream;” they emit a slow electric pulse that resembles a firing neuron. Researchers cultured epithelial cells from humans, and kidney cells from dogs in dishes fitted with electrodes and then used a laser to damage the cells. In response, the cells emitted bursts of electrical “noise” that lasted a few seconds each. 

Why this is interesting: Using electrical signaling means the skin cells might be able to communicate over longer ranges to trigger healing, says Ellen Foxman, a researcher at Yale School of Medicine. Understanding this communication could reveal why the healing  process sometimes goes wrong, such as in scarring, she says. “That’s what I’m excited about,” says Foxman. “Whenever you find a new pathway, you could study and potentially use [it] to develop a new treatment.”

What the scientists say: It’s still not certain what role this signaling plays in living organisms or what other cells do when they receive a signal from the skin cells, says Sarah Najjar, who studies gut epithelial cells at New York University. She wonders what happens downstream of this activity and if it influences neurons.

Sandy