ArticleTrends in microbiology2011
When microbial conversations get physical.
Article in Trends in microbiology, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed.
- Quorum sensing as a promising tool for enhancing the performance of bioelectrochemical systems: a review.3 Biotech · 2025Review
- Evolutionary Trajectories of Consciousness: From Biological Foundations to Technological Horizons.Brain sciences · 2025Review
- Physical communication pathways in bacteria: an extra layer to quorum sensing.Biophysical reviews · 2025Review
- Examining Sound, Light, and Vibrations as Tools to Manage Microbes and Support Holobionts, Ecosystems, and Technologies.Microorganisms · 2024Review
- Article
- Towards the Idea of Molecular Brains.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Review
- Bioluminescence and Photoreception in Unicellular Organisms: Light-Signalling in a Bio-Communication Perspective.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Review
- Article
- Synthetic Biology for Terraformation Lessons from Mars, Earth, and the Microbiome.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Article
- Exposure to microwave irradiation at constant culture temperature slows the growth ofRSC advances · 2019Article
- Synthetic Biology Tools to Engineer Microbial Communities for Biotechnology.Trends in biotechnology · 2019Review
- Endogenous physical regulation of population density in the freshwater protozoan Paramecium caudatum.Scientific reports · 2017Article
- Happy together: microbial communities that hook up to swap electrons.The ISME journal · 2017Review
- Millimeter scale electron conduction through exoelectrogenic mixed species biofilms.FEMS microbiology letters · 2016Article
- Long range physical cell-to-cell signalling via mitochondria inside membrane nanotubes: a hypothesis.Theoretical biology & medical modelling · 2016Review
- Radiofrequency and microwave interactions between biomolecular systems.Journal of biological physics · 2016Review
- Article
- Effects of sound exposure on the growth and intracellular macromolecular synthesis of E. coli k-12.PeerJ · 2016Article
- Cell-to-cell signaling through light: just a ghost of chance?Cell communication and signaling : CCS · 2013Article
- Non-chemical and non-contact cell-to-cell communication: a short review.American journal of translational research · 2013Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
Abstract
It is widely accepted that microorganisms are social beings. Whereas communication via chemical signals (e.g. quorum sensing) has been the focus of most investigations, the use of physical signals for microbial cell-cell communication has received only limited attention. In this Opinion article, I postulate that physical modes of microbial communication could be widespread in nature. This is based on experimental evidence on the microbial emission and response to three physical signals: sound waves, electromagnetic radiation and electric currents. These signals propagate rapidly, and even at very low intensities, they provide useful mechanisms when a rapid response is required. I also make some suggestions for promising future research avenues that could provide novel and unsuspected insights into the physical nature of microbial signaling networks.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.