The movement of organisms in response to electrical fields or stimuli, either moving toward (positive electrotaxis) or away from (negative electrotaxis) the electrical source.
From electro- (Greek elektron, 'amber') + taxis (Greek taxis, from tassein meaning 'to arrange'). The term was established in biology in the 19th century to describe oriented movement responses.
Bacteria and even sperm cells can sense and respond to electric fields through electrotaxis, and scientists are now researching how to harness this behavior to guide cells to specific locations for medical treatments and tissue engineering.
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