生物电在细胞中普遍存在，几乎所有生命体的细胞都会消耗大量能量维持膜电位，在某些细胞中甚至超过其能量预算的一半。上皮组织仅维持负30至负50毫伏的膜电压，就消耗约25%的可用能量。膜电位由离子梯度产生，储存的电势能可在瞬间释放，其反应速度远快于基因调控或蛋白合成，这使生物电成为细胞快速整合状态信息的高效机制。
这一机制在组织层面的“集体决策”中尤为关键。Jody Rosenblatt 团队在约14年前发现，上皮组织通过挤出活细胞来防止过度拥挤。最新研究显示，被挤出的细胞会在约5分钟前率先丧失膜电位，随后体积迅速缩水；一旦体积减少达到或超过17%，细胞就会被排出。健康细胞能耗能将钠离子泵出以恢复电压，而能量不足或受损的细胞则失败，从而被生物电信号“标记”为淘汰对象。
类似的电信号协调机制在进化树上反复出现。细菌生物膜在约10年前被证明可通过膜电位脉冲进行通信，协调生长并共享资源；动物胚胎发育中，电场还能引导干细胞迁移并决定器官形态。癌细胞常表现出异常膜电位，提示生物电失调可能导致多细胞协作失败。研究者认为，生物电可能与生命本身一样古老，其作用范围远未被完全揭示。
Bioelectricity is ubiquitous in cells: nearly all cells across life expend large amounts of energy to maintain membrane potential, in some cases more than half of their total energy budget. Epithelial tissues alone spend about 25% of available energy maintaining voltages between −30 and −50 millivolts. This membrane potential, created by ion gradients, stores electrical energy that can be released almost instantly, far faster than gene regulation or protein synthesis, making bioelectricity an efficient way for cells to integrate information about their state.
This mechanism plays a key role in collective decision-making in tissues. About 14 years ago, Jody Rosenblatt’s team discovered that epithelial tissues prevent overcrowding by extruding living cells. New findings show that cells selected for extrusion first lose their membrane potential roughly five minutes beforehand, then rapidly shrink; once volume loss reaches 17% or more, extrusion occurs. Healthy cells can expend energy to pump sodium ions out and restore voltage, while stressed cells cannot, allowing bioelectric signals to identify and remove weaker cells.
Similar electrical coordination recurs across evolution. About 10 years ago, bacterial biofilms were shown to communicate via membrane potential spikes, coordinating growth and resource use. In animal embryos, electric fields guide stem cell migration and influence body shape. Cancer cells often display abnormal membrane potentials, suggesting that failures in bioelectric coordination may underlie breakdowns in multicellularity. Researchers argue that bioelectricity may be as old as life itself, and its full biological significance remains largely unexplored.