Becoming a full-fledged organism out of a handful of cells, complete with functioning tissues and organs, is a messy yet highly synchronized process that requires cells to organize themselves in a precise manner and begin working together.
This process is especially dramatic in the heart, where static cells must start beating in perfect unison.
Now, a cross-school collaboration led by researchers at Harvard Medical School and Harvard University has provided a glimpse into exactly how cells in the heart start beating.
In a study conducted in zebrafish, the team discovered that heart cells start beating suddenly and all at once as calcium levels and electrical signals increase. Moreover, each heart cell has the ability to beat on its own, without a pacemaker, and the heartbeat can start in different places, the researchers discovered. The findings are published Sep. 27 in Nature.