The cell, as the most fundamental unit of life, is a microcosm of biology in which the confluence of nearly all aspects of classical physics (mechanics, statistical physics, condensed matter, and electromagnetism) plays out. This leads to a rich and complex emergent behavior that determines the entire gamut of biological functions. Specifically, at the cellular scale, mechanical forces and deformations are inextricably linked to electrical fields (and, to a lesser degree, magnetic fields). This in turn is responsible for phenomenology such as cell-cell communication, morphological evolution, cell fusion, self-assembly, cell fission, magnetoreception, endocytosis, and adhesion, among others. From the viewpoint of biomedicine, cellular response to the combined influence of electrical, magnetic, and mechanical fields has applications in cancer treatment, targeted transfer of medicine, gene therapy, and wound amelioration. As an example of the profound influence of the combined electrical-mechanical coupling, one needs to take cognizance only of the operation of ion channels that form the basis for our sensing system (such as hearing, sight, and tactile sense). The coupled mechanical and electromagnetic behavior of a cell is a highly interdisciplinary endeavor and this review provides a distillation of both the theoretical underpinnings of the subject and the pertinent biological interpretation. The key developments pertaining to this topic are reviewed, a unified mathematical framework that couples nonlinear deformation and electromagnetic behavior as germane for soft biological entities is summarized, gaps in current knowledge are pointed out, and the central issues that are pertinent to future research are commented upon.

中文翻译：

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生物细胞中机械变形与电磁场的耦合

细胞作为生命最基本的单位，是生物学的缩影，经典物理学（力学、统计物理学、凝聚态物质和电磁学）的几乎所有方面都在其中发挥作用。这导致了丰富而复杂的突发行为，决定了整个生物功能。具体来说，在细胞尺度上，机械力和变形与电场（以及较小程度的磁场）有着千丝万缕的联系。这反过来又负责细胞间通讯、形态进化、细胞融合、自组装、细胞裂变、磁感受、内吞作用和粘附等现象学。从生物医学的角度来看，细胞对电场、磁场和机械场的综合影响的反应可应用于癌症治疗、药物靶向转移、基因治疗和伤口改善。作为机电耦合组合的深远影响的一个例子，我们只需要了解构成我们传感系统（例如听觉、视觉和触觉）基础的离子通道的操作。细胞的机械和电磁耦合行为是一项高度跨学科的工作，这篇综述提供了该主题的理论基础和相关生物学解释的提炼。回顾了与该主题相关的关键进展，总结了将非线性变形和电磁行为耦合为软生物实体的统一数学框架，指出了当前知识的差距，并评论了与未来研究相关的核心问题之上。