The waves are omnipresent in nature and technology. Whether it’s the rise and fall of ocean tides or the swing of a clock’s pendulum, the predictable rhythms of waves create a signal that is easy to track and distinguish from other types of signals.
Electronic devices use radio waves to send and receive data, like your laptop and Wi-Fi router or cell phone and cell tower. Similarly, scientists can use a different type of wave to transmit a different type of data: signals from the invisible processes and dynamics underlying how cells make decisions.
I am one synthetic biologistit’s mine search group developed a technology that sends out a wave of engineered proteins traveling through a human cell to provide a window into the hidden activities that fuel cells when they are healthy and harm cells when they go out of control.
Waves are a powerful engineering tool
The oscillating behavior of waves is one reason they are powerful patterns in engineering.
For example, controlled and predictable changes in wave oscillations can be used to encode data, such as voice or video information. In case of radio, every station a unique electromagnetic wave that oscillates at its own frequency is attributed. These are the numbers you see on the radio dial.
Scientists can extend this strategy to living cells. My team used protein waves transform a cell into a microscopic radio station, transmitting data about its activity in real time to study its behavior.
Turning cells into radio stations
Studying the inside of cells requires a type of wave that can connect and interact specifically with a cell’s machinery and components.