Researchers find that heart cells in developing zebrafish begin to beat abruptly and all at once. Transforming from just a few cells into a fully developed organism, equipped with working tissues and organs, is a chaotic yet highly synchronized process that requires cells to organize themselves in
Researchers discovered that heart cells begin to beat suddenly and simultaneously as calcium levels and electrical signals rise. Each heart cell can beat independently without needing a pacemaker, and the heartbeat initiation can occur at various locations within the heart.
Learning about the fundamental mechanisms underlying the heartbeat may be inherently interesting for the curious biologist, but it is also critical for understanding what is happening in situations where the cardiac system that regulates the heartbeat doesn’t develop properly, or begins to malfunction.
This was an exploratory study, the researchers noted, so they didn’t know what they would find out. Maybe a few cells would start beating, and the beating area would slowly grow, they speculated, or different parts of the heart would start beating independently and eventually merge, or the heart would start with weak beats that would strengthen over time.
Because the heart cells start beating instantaneously, they must develop the ability to beat and sense their neighbors’ beating before their very first heartbeat — something Megason compares to an army that has to start marching in sync without practicing first.
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