Living cells are not just chemical factories. New research suggests they may also be tiny power generators, producing electrical signals simply through motion. Subtle movements of the cell membrane, driven by active molecular processes, could create voltage spikes similar to those used by nerve cells. This emerging idea may transform how we understand biology—and inspire a new generation of intelligent, bio-inspired materials.
Electricity is usually associated with batteries, power plants, and electronic devices. In biology, we mostly think of electrical signals in a very specific context: nerve cells firing action potentials to transmit information in the brain and nervous system. These signals are typically explained through well-known mechanisms involving ion channels, pumps, and carefully maintained chemical gradients.
But what if cells can generate electricity in a more direct and physical way—simply by moving?
A new theoretical framework developed by scientists suggests exactly that. According to this work, living cells may be able to generate electrical signals through tiny motions of their membranes. These motions are not random accidents. They are driven by active biological processes that constantly consume energy inside cells. When combined with the unique physical properties of cell membranes, these movements can create measurable electrical voltages.
This idea opens a new window into how cells function, how they move ions, how neurons may fire, and how biology might inspire new kinds of smart materials.
The Cell Membrane: More Than a Passive Barrier
Every living cell is surrounded by a membrane—a thin, flexible layer made mainly of lipids and proteins. For decades, biology textbooks described this membrane as a selective barrier. Its job was to control what enters and leaves the cell, protect the internal environment, and host important proteins such as receptors and ion channels.
While this description is correct, it is incomplete.
Modern research shows that the cell membrane is highly dynamic. It bends, stretches, ripples, and fluctuates constantly. These motions happen on very small scales—nanometers in space and milliseconds in time—but they are real and continuous.
The membrane is also active. It does not move only because of thermal noise or random collisions with molecules. Instead, it is constantly pushed and pulled by biological activity inside the cell.
This active nature of the membrane is the key to understanding how motion might turn into electricity.
Energy at the Molecular Level: The Role of ATP
To understand why cell membranes move, we must look inside the cell. Cells survive and function by using energy, and their main energy currency is a molecule called ATP (adenosine triphosphate).
When ATP is broken down—a process known as ATP hydrolysis—energy is released. This energy powers many essential processes, including:
Motor proteins that move along cellular structures
Proteins that change shape to perform work
Pumps that transport ions across membranes
All of these processes involve forces. Proteins push, pull, twist, and bend nearby structures. Since many of these proteins are embedded in or attached to the cell membrane, their activity directly affects the membrane’s shape.
As a result, ATP-driven activity causes the membrane to continuously deform. These deformations are not large enough to see with the naked eye, but at the molecular scale, they are significant.
Introducing Flexoelectricity: When Bending Creates Voltage
The crucial physical concept behind this new theory is flexoelectricity.
Flexoelectricity is a property of certain materials where bending or deformation produces an electrical response. In simple terms, if you bend the material, positive and negative charges shift slightly, creating a voltage.
This effect is well known in some synthetic materials and liquid crystals. What makes the new research exciting is the idea that biological membranes—soft, flexible, and electrically active—can also exhibit flexoelectric behavior.
Cell membranes are made of lipid molecules with charged or polar parts. When the membrane bends, the arrangement of these charges changes. This can create an electrical difference between the two sides of the membrane.
In other words, motion becomes electricity.
A New Theoretical Framework
The research team, led by Pradeep Sharma, developed a mathematical model to describe how active membrane motions can generate electrical signals. Their approach combines ideas from physics, biology, and mechanics into a single framework.
The model links three main ingredients:
Active biological forces produced by molecular processes like ATP hydrolysis
Mechanical deformation of the cell membrane caused by these forces
Electrical response resulting from flexoelectric effects
By carefully connecting these elements, the researchers showed that living membranes are capable of generating voltage fluctuations without relying solely on traditional ion channel mechanisms.
This does not replace existing biological explanations. Instead, it adds a new physical layer to our understanding of how cells work.
Voltage Levels That Rival Neurons
One of the most striking results of the model is the size of the predicted electrical signals.
According to the calculations, membrane motions can generate voltage differences of up to 90 millivolts across the cell membrane. This number is remarkable because it is very close to the voltage changes observed in neurons during action potentials.
Neurons typically operate with voltage changes in the range of tens of millivolts. These signals rise and fall rapidly, allowing nerve cells to communicate with great speed and precision.
The new theory suggests that membrane-driven flexoelectric effects could naturally produce voltages of the same order of magnitude.
Matching the Speed of Nerve Signals
It is not only the size of the voltage that matters, but also how fast it appears and disappears.
Neuronal action potentials occur on the timescale of milliseconds. Any physical mechanism proposed to contribute to neuronal signaling must operate just as quickly.
The theoretical framework shows that membrane fluctuations driven by active processes can generate voltage spikes on millisecond timescales. The shape of these voltage curves closely resembles the familiar rise-and-fall pattern of action potentials.
This timing match strengthens the idea that physical membrane effects could play a supporting role in neural activity, alongside traditional ion channel dynamics.
Moving Ions Against the Flow
Ions—such as sodium, potassium, calcium, and chloride—are essential for life. Cells carefully control where ions go, using them for signaling, energy storage, and maintaining internal balance.
Normally, ions move along electrochemical gradients. This means they flow from areas of high concentration to low concentration, or from regions of high electrical potential to low potential. To move ions against these gradients, cells usually need energy-consuming pumps.
The new model introduces an intriguing possibility.
It suggests that voltage fluctuations generated by active membrane motion could drive ions against their natural gradients. In other words, membrane activity itself may help push ions “uphill,” reducing the energy required from traditional ion pumps.
This effect depends on several membrane properties, including:
How flexible or stiff the membrane is
How strongly it responds to electric fields
The type of ions involved
If confirmed experimentally, this mechanism could reshape how scientists think about ion transport in living cells.
Beyond Single Cells: From Cells to Tissues
While the theory focuses on individual cell membranes, its implications go much further.
In tissues, cells are packed together and often communicate electrically. If membrane motion can generate electrical signals in single cells, coordinated membrane activity across many cells could lead to large-scale electrical patterns.
Such patterns may play roles in:
Sensory perception
Developmental processes
Wound healing
Brain activity
By extending the framework to collections of cells, researchers may uncover new physical explanations for how tissues process information and respond to stimuli.
A New View of Neuronal Activity
Neuroscience has traditionally focused on ion channels, synapses, and chemical signaling. These elements are undeniably crucial. However, the new theory suggests that mechanics and physics may also play a more direct role than previously thought.
Neurons are highly active cells with complex shapes and dynamic membranes. They consume large amounts of energy, constantly rearranging proteins and structures.
If membrane motion contributes even partially to neuronal voltage changes, it could help explain:
Why neurons are so sensitive to mechanical and metabolic changes
How electrical activity can be influenced by physical forces
Why disruptions in membrane properties affect brain function
This does not overturn existing neuroscience. Instead, it enriches it by adding a deeper physical foundation.
Energy Harvesting Inside Living Cells
Another exciting implication of this work is the idea of internal energy harvesting.
Living cells constantly convert chemical energy into mechanical motion. If some of that motion is converted into electrical energy through flexoelectric effects, cells may have an additional, previously unrecognized way of managing energy.
This could be especially important in environments where energy resources are limited or fluctuating. Cells that efficiently couple motion and electricity may have evolutionary advantages.
Understanding this process could also help scientists design artificial systems that mimic biological energy efficiency.
Inspiration for Bio-Inspired Materials
The impact of this research is not limited to biology.
Engineers and material scientists are increasingly interested in bio-inspired materials—systems that copy strategies used by living organisms. The idea that soft, flexible materials can generate electricity through motion is particularly attractive.
Potential applications include:
Self-powered sensors
Soft robotics with built-in electrical feedback
Smart materials that respond to mechanical stress
Energy-harvesting devices inspired by living tissue
By learning from cell membranes, scientists may develop materials that are not only flexible and resilient, but also electrically intelligent.
Bridging Physics, Biology, and Engineering
One of the most powerful aspects of this work is its interdisciplinary nature. It brings together concepts from:
Cell biology
Mechanical physics
Electrical engineering
Materials science
Such cross-disciplinary approaches are increasingly important in modern science. Living systems are complex, and understanding them often requires breaking down traditional boundaries between fields.
This framework offers a common physical language to describe phenomena that were previously studied separately.
Challenges and Future Directions
As a theoretical study, this work now awaits experimental testing. Measuring tiny voltage fluctuations caused by membrane motion is not easy, but advances in imaging and electrical measurement techniques make such tests increasingly possible.
Future research may focus on:
Direct experimental observation of flexoelectric effects in living cells
Identifying which cell types show the strongest effects
Understanding how disease or aging alters membrane-driven electricity
Exploring how cells regulate or exploit this mechanism
Each of these directions could open new chapters in both biology and physics.
Conclusion: Living Cells as Electrical Machines
The idea that living cells may generate electricity through motion challenges long-held assumptions. It suggests that cells are not just chemical and biological systems, but also physical machines that convert energy across different forms.
By showing how active membrane movements can create electrical signals comparable to those used by neurons, this research provides a new perspective on life at the smallest scales.
It hints at a deeper unity between motion, energy, and information in living systems—and points toward a future where biology inspires smarter, more adaptive technologies.
Journal Reference
Pratik Khandagale, Liping Liu, Pradeep Sharma.
Flexoelectricity and the fluctuations of (active) living cells: Implications for energy harvesting, ion transport, and neuronal activity.
PNAS Nexus, Volume 4, Issue 12, December 2025.
DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf362
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