Question: what do cells talk about

Helen Tunbridge answered on 18 Jun 2013:

Oh you know, the weather, what was on telly last night, what’s for tea 😉

It depends on the cell! The cells I work with talk about how the body has been infected. I work B and T cells, which are both immune cells. The B cells tell the T cells that there is an infection in the body, and that the T cell had better start making some changes sharpish! The T cell then starts making chemicals that tell other surrounding cells about the infection, and how to clear the infection.

Nerve cells can tell heart cells to make the heart beat faster, or more forcefully. Stomach cells can tell your brain that it’s now full of food, and that you can stop eating now. Different kinds of nerve cells in your skin can tell your brain that actually, that kettle you touched was really hot and it hurt quite a lot, so could you please remove your hand from the kettle now? And so on!
The human body is one huuuuge conversation. Lots of cells telling each other what to do, or how to do it, or what’s happening outside the body, or inside it!