Cells trap heat in ways standard fluid physics cannot explain, study finds

Living cells cool much slower than our current understanding of heat conduction can explain, according to new research from the University of Tokyo. Researchers have used two techniques—high-speed temperature mapping and artificial heating—to observe how heat dissipates from living cells and similar-sized artificial, fluid-filled sacs (liposomes). While heat dispersed quickly from the artificial liposomes as expected, cells cooled significantly more slowly due to other biomolecules within the cell.