Invisible Messages: The Language of Cells

Your cells are reading invisible messages right now, deciding whether to grow,

move, or even self destruct. Signal transduction is how cells translate external signals

into action. It starts with reception. A signaling molecule binds to a receptor, triggering a shape

change that kicks off the entire process. Then comes transduction, where the signal gets relayed and

massively amplified through cascades. One molecule can activate thousands of proteins through

phosphorylation chains, like dominoes falling faster and faster. Second messengers

like cyclic AMP spread the signal throughout the cell. Finally, the response.

Genes turn on or off, metabolism shifts, behaviors change. Your fight or flight