Electrical Properties of Cells

Most cell biology is dominated by focusing on biochemistry, but electromagnetic effects also play a crucial role in regulating cell behavior. Cells maintain an electrical potential difference of a few hundred millivolts across their membranes by actively pumping charged particles. A similar potential difference is maintained across mitochondrial membranes. Electric fields seem to play an organizing role in the transport of key molecules within the cell, and in regulating the traffic of molecules between the cytoplasm and the nucleus. Additional important electromagnetic effects are associated with microtubules. The secret electric life of cells remains largely unexplored territory, but it is clear that the progress of cells from healthy to malignant is accompanied by changes in their electromagnetic signatures, thus offering possible diagnostic opportunities, and even the possibility of controlling malignant progression by manipulating electric and magnetic parameters.