Although this has long been suspected, researchers now seem to have confirmed that human cells have resonant frequencies – vibrational rates that match natural frequencies that cause cells to vibrate at greater amplitude.
The center of this study is to observe the motion of microcantilever beams, which are tiny trabeculae that are unsupported at one end. They can bend or vibrate when a load is applied to them, which makes them useful biomechanical sensors.
Previous studies of other cellular features have found that the microcantilever moves in unexpected ways, which has led scientists to hypothesize that the cells placed on the microcantilever vibrate at resonant frequencies, causing the cantilever to move.
However, the extent of what they found was unexpected. Study author Javier Tamayo said in an interview: "We can never imagine the ...... living cellsIt will vibrate like this. ”
Using a 50-micro-by-270-nanometer microcantilever made of silicon and gold, the researchers removed individual human breast cells from a petri dish and measured the movement of the cantilever and cells using laser reflection.
They found that the process of picking up cells not only caused them to vibrate, but their vibrations, in turn, caused the microcantilever to vibrate, suggesting that the cells had resonant frequencies. The researchers estimate that one of them ranges between 10 and 30 kilohertz and the other between 150 and 180 kilohertz.
The former of the aforementioned frequencies is located exactly on the border between audible sound and ultrasound – although this is unlikely unless you happen to be in the quietest room in the world, which means that, in theory, our cells can be heard.
In addition to hearing what our cells have to say (at this time of year, it might be possible to say "please stop making meat pies!").The findings of this study could be very useful. As the authors write: "These results open up multiple avenues for our understanding of single-cell mechanobiology and open the door to vibrational spectroscopy of living cells under physiological conditions." ”
They also have the potential to be used to detect and ** disease. Aaron, an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, who was not involved in the study, told reporters that further research could help us detect changes in the resonance frequency of cells affected by the disease. Xiao of Peking University in China added that this could also pave the way for the use of cells' resonant frequencies against them, using sound waves to selectively destroy diseased cells.