11.- DO CELLS MAKE NOISE ?

-You have to listen very, very closely, but yes, cells produce a symphony of sounds. Although they won't win a Grammy anytime soon, the various audio blips produced by cells are giving scientists insight into celular biomechanics and listening to cells could even help scientists detect cancers without painful biopsies .

-Researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles , studying baker's yeast cell , discovered that the cell walls vibrate 1,000 times per second. These motions are too slight and fast to be caught on video, but when converted into sound, they create what the scientists describe as a high frequency scream. ( It is not loud enough to hear with the naked ear). Researchers theorize that molecular motors that transport proteins around the cell cause the walls to vibrate.

-So far, scientists have not observed mammalian cells that audibly scream on their own, at least, in part because animal cells membranes which have ondulations , are less probable to vibrate than the rigid cell walls of yeast and plants. But human cells "complain" when they receive light, and this phenomenon could be surprisingly useful for science, especially for cancer research.

- SO , HOW DO WE LISTEN TO THEM ?

There are multiple ways to listen to human cells : 

• Firstly zapping them with infra-red light generates thousands of simultaneous notes.
• Also ultra-sound , that may normally be used to study developing the foetus while still in their mother’s womb, but high-frequency waves can also be used to trigger cells to speak, allowing scientists to listen to how they respond.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/today/tomfeilden/2008/10/do_cells_think_and_is_this_wha.html

LUCIA SORDO SANZ