Research Map — Bioelectricity Research Themes
Bioelectricity & Pattern Control
Endogenous bioelectric signaling networks encode target morphology and enable plasticity. Voltage gradients across cell membranes (Vmem) carry instructive information that specifies growth, form, and organ identity.
Regeneration & Anatomical Homeostasis
Bioelectric circuits store a target morphology that guides regrowth. Work on planaria, Xenopus, and other models reveals how these circuits can be manipulated to induce regeneration of complex structures.
Cancer as a Bioelectric Problem
Cancer may be understood as a disruption of the bioelectric signaling that maintains cellular cooperation. By restoring normal Vmem patterns, it is possible to suppress or reverse tumorigenesis without genotoxic interventions.
Left-Right Asymmetry
The breaking of bilateral symmetry is driven by early bioelectric events and gap junction-mediated communication long before physical asymmetries appear.
Basal Cognition & Diverse Intelligence
All cells — not just neurons — process information, set goals, and make decisions. Bioelectric networks in non-neural tissues implement primitive cognitive functions.
Xenobots & Synthetic Morphology
Xenobots are the first living robots — entirely biological organisms designed by AI and built from frog cells. They demonstrate that cells can be reprogrammed to create novel body forms never seen in nature.
Aging as Loss of Morphostatic Information
Aging can be reframed as a progressive loss of the bioelectric information that maintains tissue organization.
Computational Modeling
Mathematical and computational approaches to modeling bioelectric circuits, predicting pattern outcomes, and designing interventions using BETSE, machine learning, and circuit-theoretic models.