https://www.iflscience.

com/our-cells-have-resonant-frequencies-and-we-might-be-able-to-hear-
them-72236

39B. Our Cells Have Resonant Frequencies, and We Might Be Able To Hear
Them

In a surprising turn of events, we have something in common with tuning forks.

HOLLY LARGE

Editorial Assistant

Edited by Laura Simmons

Researchers believe human cells have resonant frequencies between 10 to 30 and 150 to 180
kilohertz.
Image credit: Jackie Niam/Shutterstock.com

Although it’s been long suspected, researchers now appear to have confirmed that human
cells have resonant frequencies – rates of vibration matching their natural frequency that
causes the cells to vibrate with a larger amplitude.

This research has centered around observing the movement of microcantilevers, tiny
beams that are unsupported at one end. They can bend or vibrate when a load is placed
upon them, making them useful biomechanical sensors .
Previous research examining other cell characteristics had found that microcantilevers
had moved in unexpected ways, leading scientists to hypothesize that the cells placed
upon them were vibrating at a resonant frequency, causing the cantilevers to move.

The extent of what they discovered, however, was unexpected. “We could never imagine
that a living cell… could vibrate like this,” said study author Javier Tamayo, speaking
to New Scientist .

Using a 50-micrometer by 270-nanometer microcantilever made out of silicon and gold ,

the researchers picked up individual human breast cells from a dish and measured the
motion of the cantilever and cells using the reflection of a laser.

They discovered that not only did the process of picking up the cells cause them to
vibrate, but their vibration in turn caused the microcantilever to vibrate, indicating that
the cells had resonant frequencies. The researchers estimated one of these ranges to be
between 10 and 30 kilohertz, and the other between 150 and 180 kilohertz.

The former of the above frequencies is right on the border between audible sound and
ultrasound – although fairly unlikely unless you happen to be in the quietest room in the
world , this means that theoretically, it’s possible to hear our cells.

Beyond hearing what our cells have to say (at this time of year, probably along the lines
of, “Please, not another mince pie!”), the findings of this study could end up being quite
useful. As the authors write: “These results open multiple avenues in our understanding
of single cell mechanobiology and opens the door for vibrational spectrometry of living
cells in physiological conditions.”

There’s also a possibility they could be used in detecting and treating disease. Though not
involved in the study, John Allen – associate professor in the department of mechanical
engineering at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa – told New Scientist that further
research could help us detect changes in the resonant frequencies of cells affected by
disease. Yun-Feng Xiao at Peking University in China added that it could also pave the
way for using cells’ resonant frequencies against them, selectively destroying diseased
cells with sound waves.