"Our cells harness energy for essential functions such as division, wound healing, and our immune response to diseases including cancer. But until now, the mechanics of how that energy affects cell behavior—and how this relates to health outcomes—have remained elusive.
Scientists at the Yale Systems Biology Institute have discovered the thermodynamic principles underpinning energy use in our cells.
For the first time, the scholars measured how energy is arranged into different wave patterns formed in the cell's external membrane and its internal structure, or "cytoskeleton"—both components of the cell "cortex."
Before our cells divide, they generate protein "wave patterns" in two distinctive forms—one pulsing like a heartbeat and the other displaying seemingly jumbled spiral patterns.
Far from being jumbled, the scholars were surprised to reveal an organized energy system dependent on distance from thermodynamic equilibrium. They found that cells displayed an optimal advantageous state—a sweet spot between the two wave types yielding maximum energy to drive cell functionality."
Phys.org