Prof. Dr. Timo Betz (Photo: UMG/SPförtner)

First heat map for individual red blood cells

Researchers measure heat flow: from active metabolic forces inside cell to flickering cell membrane
 
Entropy is often associated with disorder and chaos, but in biology it is related to energy efficiency and is closely linked to metabolism, the set of chemical reactions that sustain life. An international research team led by the Universities of Barcelona and Padua, with the participation of MBExC member Timo Betz from the Göttingen University and scientists from the Universities Complutense and Francisco de Vitoria in Madrid, has now developed a novel methodology for the measurement of entropy production at the scale of a nanometer, meaning one-billionth of a meter. The new approach enabled the scientists to measure the heat flow, known as the entropy production rate, of single red blood cells. The research was published in Science.

 
Link to the press release article