NewsHealth & MedicineSkin cells emit slow electric pulses after injuryThe electrical waves may help injured cells neighbors prepare to heal wounds Wounded skin cells, like the keratinocytes shown in this colored scanning electron micrograph, send out bursts of electricity, a new study finds. The signal may act as a beacon calling neighboring cells to heal the injury.Steve Gschmeissner/Science Photo Library/Getty ImagesBy Tina Hesman Saey6 seconds agoWounded skin cells scream with slow-motion electric pulses.Such electric spikes are a surprise because only nerve cells were thought to communicate this way. These signals move at a snails pace compared to nerve impulses and can be detected at least 500 micrometers away about the distance of 40 cells researchers report in the March 25 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The pulsing electrical waves may help injured cells neighbors prepare to heal wounds. Sign up for our newsletterWe summarize the week's science breakthroughs every Thursday.