5 ms·

It seems odd that cells wouldn’t naturally move in the right directions with some purpose. Which makes me wonder if their purpose is just not understood and the

It seems odd that cells wouldn’t naturally move in the right directions with some purpose. Which makes me wonder if their purpose is just not understood and these faster healing wounds might have some yet unknown downside.

altruios 1y ago
Maybe a randomized walk is the optimal healing algorithm barring any directive force? A local maximum. It can use the endocrine signaling though... and other directive signaling. So maybe those wear with time? Maybe not just any electric signal will do, maybe frequency and amplitude are a factor as well. A 'healing signal'. Curious research. We'll see what becomes of it.
aeternum 1y ago
There is evidence from flat worms that electric fields is how cells naturally move in the right directions with purpose. However they produce the fields chemically via ion gradients. There's a very cool researcher who used this method to create flatworms with heads (or tails) on both sides. https://www.cell.com/biophysj/fulltext/S0006-3495(17)30427-7 https://www.cell.com/biophysj/fulltext/S0006-3495(17)30427-7 IMO the issue is with unhealthy people, things like poor circulation reduces the body's ability to produce the natural ion gradients and thus why the external electric field helps.
- mnadkvlb 1y ago
  Michael Levin's labs, where this research is going on, showed organ (eg. eyes) regeneration etc. I really hope these guys are going in right direction regarding regeneration based on electric fields as a proxy for gene expressions.
  - gooseyard 1y ago
    I learned of Michael Levin via Sally Adee's "We Are Electric", one of the more interesting pop-sci titles I've read in a while, the section on Levin's lab was definitely the highlight.
pedro_caetano 1y ago
They do move 'naturally' in the right direction if you think of a cell and it's membrane it can be loosely abstracted as a dielectric material and like any other dielctric can be polarized. The issue with diabetes is that over time periphery blood supply becames problematic which means healing takes way longer, sometimes never healing at all leading to necrosis (dead tissue). So you could argue that 'accelerated healing' tissue is a poorer grade tissue by some metric, e.g. connective tissue is not as flexible or strong etc. But in diabetic wounds the alternative to 'accelerated healing' tissue could literally be an amputated limb.

altruios 1y ago

Maybe a randomized walk is the optimal healing algorithm barring any directive force? A local maximum. It can use the endocrine signaling though... and other directive signaling. So maybe those wear with time? Maybe not just any electric signal will do, maybe frequency and amplitude are a factor as well. A 'healing signal'. Curious research. We'll see what becomes of it.

aeternum 1y ago

There is evidence from flat worms that electric fields is how cells naturally move in the right directions with purpose. However they produce the fields chemically via ion gradients. There's a very cool researcher who used this method to create flatworms with heads (or tails) on both sides. https://www.cell.com/biophysj/fulltext/S0006-3495(17)30427-7 https://www.cell.com/biophysj/fulltext/S0006-3495(17)30427-7 IMO the issue is with unhealthy people, things like poor circulation reduces the body's ability to produce the natural ion gradients and thus why the external electric field helps.

mnadkvlb 1y ago
Michael Levin's labs, where this research is going on, showed organ (eg. eyes) regeneration etc. I really hope these guys are going in right direction regarding regeneration based on electric fields as a proxy for gene expressions.
- gooseyard 1y ago
  I learned of Michael Levin via Sally Adee's "We Are Electric", one of the more interesting pop-sci titles I've read in a while, the section on Levin's lab was definitely the highlight.

pedro_caetano 1y ago

They do move 'naturally' in the right direction if you think of a cell and it's membrane it can be loosely abstracted as a dielectric material and like any other dielctric can be polarized. The issue with diabetes is that over time periphery blood supply becames problematic which means healing takes way longer, sometimes never healing at all leading to necrosis (dead tissue). So you could argue that 'accelerated healing' tissue is a poorer grade tissue by some metric, e.g. connective tissue is not as flexible or strong etc. But in diabetic wounds the alternative to 'accelerated healing' tissue could literally be an amputated limb.