{"id":3123,"date":"2021-10-28T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-28T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/?p=3123"},"modified":"2021-10-14T05:53:10","modified_gmt":"2021-10-14T05:53:10","slug":"researchers-reveal-that-red-blood-cells-are-tiny-transmitters-of-electricity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/researchers-reveal-that-red-blood-cells-are-tiny-transmitters-of-electricity\/","title":{"rendered":"Researchers Reveal That Red Blood Cells Are \u201cTiny Transmitters\u201d of Electricity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Biology class has taught us that red blood cells, also known as erythrocytes<\/em>, are the principal carriers of oxygen (O2<\/sub>) throughout the body of all vertebrates, including humans. On its way through the capillaries inside the body, these tiny cells release oxygen, feeding the body\u2019s internal processes and keeping the organism alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Our red blood cells travel through the bloodstream and into capillaries, where they transfer oxygen to the body. (Wikimedia Commons) <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Not only that, but we\u2019ve also revealed through years of medical research that our bodies also make use of electricity for some of its processes\u2014perhaps the most famous of which being the electrical interactions between neurons in the brain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, the concept of electricity existing inside the cell has been known for a while now; ionic imbalance between intracellular and extracellular areas create what is known as membrane potential<\/em>; this, according to experts, plays a crucial role in communications between nerves and muscles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeing electrical activity outside the cell, however, is something novel\u2014and scientists from the University of Surrey found just that. Their research was recently published in the journal Scientific Reports<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the case of the Surrey research team, spearheaded by Prof. Michael Hughes, they detected membrane potential outside the cell wall; this find seemingly adds yet another detail to long-established notions about the cell, and will likely demand further research as to what roles this outside detectable potential may have in the body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Said a University of Surrey press release: \u201cThis means that cells effectively act as tiny transmitters, electrically changing the environment around them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Surrey team also found that these outside potentials exhibit circadian rhythm<\/em>, the so-called 24-hour \u201cinternal body clock\u201d followed by organisms in their daily bodily functions. As peaks of bodily function corresponding to these rhythms are also associated with a time of day when most cardiovascular diseases are known to occur, determining how the cells\u2019 outside potential responds to these rhythms is a tantalizing area for future research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
This graph shows relative levels of melatonin production throughout a 24-hour cycle of the human body. Melatonin is also known as the \u201csleep hormone,\u201d and is at its highest production when the body is usually asleep; likewise, its production also follows our circadian rhythm. Determining how other cells in the body respond to this bodily circadian rhythm may provide medical experts with new ways of understanding how the human body works. (Wikimedia Commons, 2020) <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Said Hughes: \u201cBiology is often reduced to interactions between big molecules, but cell-scale science is an essential area of study. […] By reintroducing the electrical element, we are looking for\u2014and finding\u2014a whole new way to understand how the body works.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hughes and team mention that detecting these findings in other kinds of cells may lead the way to new pathways for medical treatments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(For more body news, check out the study by South Korean scientists in creating \u201cartificial mitochondria.\u201d<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References<\/h2>\n\n\n\n