Sea-urchin spines generate electrical signals in flowing water

Nature News · Feb 25, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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NEWS AND VIEWS 25 February 2026 The spines of sea urchins can generate a voltage when water moves around them — a phenomenon that could be used to design underwater flow sensors. By Pupa U. P. A. Gilbert0 Pupa U. P. A. Gilbert Pupa U. P. A. Gilbert is in the Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA, and the Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA. Few animals have been as valuable to science as sea urchins. These spiky invertebrates have been used to study fertilization and embryogenesis, and the mechanical properties of their spines have been long admired1. Now, writing in Nature, Chen et al.2 report that sea-urchin spines, which are made up of a ‘stereom’ structure that includes interconnected struts and holes3, can generate voltages in response to water flow. This phenomenon, called mechanoelectrical sensing, arises because of size gradients in the stereom. Sea urchins were known to be sensitive to touch, changes in light intensity, temperature and the orientation of their bodies, but mechanoelectrical sensing, which, the authors argue, makes the spines sensitive to water flow, has not been observed before. The principle behind this could be used to make devices for underwater flow sensing. Access options Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription 27,99 € / 30 days cancel any time Subscribe to this journal Receive 51 print issues and online access 185,98 € per year only 3,65 € per issue Rent or buy this article Prices vary by article type from$1.95 to$39.95 Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout Additional access options: Log in Learn about institutional subscriptions Read our FAQs Contact customer support doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-00374-6 ReferencesYang, T. et al. Nature Commun. 13, 6083 (2022).Article PubMed Google Scholar Chen, A. et al. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10164-9 (2026).Article Google Scholar Finnemore, A. S. et al. Adv. Mater. 21, 3928–3932 (2009).Article Google Scholar Beniash, E., Aizenberg, J., Addadi, L. & Weiner, S. Proc. R. Soc. B. 264, 461–465 (1997).Article Google Scholar Politi Y., Arad, T., Klein, E., Weiner, S. & Addadi, L. Science 306, 1161–1164 (2004).Article PubMed Google Scholar Killian C. E. et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 131, 18404–18409 (2009).Article PubMed Google Scholar Gilbert, P. U. P. A. et al. Sci. Adv. 8, eabl9653 (2022).Article PubMed Google Scholar Stifler, C. A., Killian C. E. & Gilbert, P. U. P. A. Cryst. Growth Des. 21, 6635–6641 (2021).Article Google Scholar Albéric, M. et al. J. Struct. Biol. X 1, 100004 (2019).Article PubMed Google Scholar Politi, Y. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 105, 17362–17366 (2008).Article PubMed Google Scholar Download references Competing Interests The author declares no competing interests. Related Articles Read the paper: Echinoderm stereom gradient structures enable mechanoelectrical perception Ultrasound-driven artificial muscles can grasp, flex and swim Squid-inspired jet devices deliver drugs without a need for needles See all News & Views Subjects Latest on: Materials science Physical chemistry Biophysics The secret of squeaky basketball shoes News & Views 25 FEB 26 Light-confining device can control superconductivity — even in the dark News & Views 25 FEB 26 Uncovering origins of heterogeneous superconductivity in La3Ni2O7 Article 25 FEB 26 Solar cells that combine multiple perovskite layers surpass 30% efficiency News & Views 11 DEC 25 Darleane C. Hoffman obituary: chemist who expanded the periodic table Obituary 03 DEC 25 Triplets electrically turn on insulating lanthanide-doped nanoparticles Article 19 NOV 25 Whistle while you whinny: researchers identify two sounds straight from the horse’s mouth News 23 FEB 26 Accurate predictions of disordered protein ensembles with STARLING Article 18 FEB 26 Integrated structural dynamics uncover a new B12 photoreceptor activation mode Article 04 FEB 26