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Motility
 
 
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Motility is a biological
Biology

Biology is a branch of the natural sciences concerned with the study of living organisms and their interaction with each other and their environment ....
 term which refers to the ability to move spontaneously and actively, consuming energy in the process. It can apply to either single-celled or multicellular organisms. Motile marine animals are commonly called free-swimming. The opposite of motility is sessility
Sessility (zoology)

In zoology, sessility is a characteristic of animals which are not able to move about. They are usually permanently attached to a solid Wiktionary:substrate of some kind, such as a rock , or the Hull of a ship in the case of barnacles....
. Examples of motility include:



In cellular biology or biomedical engineering
Biomedical engineering

Biomedical engineering is the application of engineering principles and techniques to the medical field. It combines the design and problem solving skills of engineering with medical and biological sciences to help improve patient health care and the quality of life of individuals....
, motility often refers to directed cell
Cell (biology)

The cell is the structural and functional unit of all known Life organisms. It is the smallest unit of an organism that is classified as living, and is often called the building bricks of life....
 movement down gradients established in biopolymers.






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Motility is a biological
Biology

Biology is a branch of the natural sciences concerned with the study of living organisms and their interaction with each other and their environment ....
 term which refers to the ability to move spontaneously and actively, consuming energy in the process. It can apply to either single-celled or multicellular organisms. Motile marine animals are commonly called free-swimming. The opposite of motility is sessility
Sessility (zoology)

In zoology, sessility is a characteristic of animals which are not able to move about. They are usually permanently attached to a solid Wiktionary:substrate of some kind, such as a rock , or the Hull of a ship in the case of barnacles....
. Examples of motility include:

  • Sperm cells, propelled by the regular beat of their flagellum
    Flagellum

    A flagellum is a tail-like structure that projects from the cell body of certain prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, and it functions in locomotion....
  • The bacterium E. coli, which swims by roting a helical prokaryotic flagellum


In cellular biology or biomedical engineering
Biomedical engineering

Biomedical engineering is the application of engineering principles and techniques to the medical field. It combines the design and problem solving skills of engineering with medical and biological sciences to help improve patient health care and the quality of life of individuals....
, motility often refers to directed cell
Cell (biology)

The cell is the structural and functional unit of all known Life organisms. It is the smallest unit of an organism that is classified as living, and is often called the building bricks of life....
 movement down gradients established in biopolymers. Examples include:

  • movement along a chemical gradient (see chemotaxis
    Chemotaxis

    Chemotaxis, a kind of taxis, is the phenomenon in which bodily cells, bacterium, and other single-cell or multicellular organisms direct their movements according to certain chemicals in their environment....
    )
  • movement along a temperature gradient (see thermotaxis
    Thermotaxis

    Thermotaxis is the phenomenon in which a cell directs its movement according to temperature.Thermotaxis can also refer to thermoregulation....
    )
  • movement along a light gradient (see phototaxis
    Phototaxis

    Phototaxis is a kind of taxis that occurs when a whole organism moves in response to the stimulus light. This is advantageous for phototrophic organisms as they can orient themselves most efficiently to receive light for photosynthesis....
    )
  • movement along a magnetic field line (see magnetotaxis
    Magnetotaxis

    Magnetotaxis is the ability of certain motile, aquatic bacteria to sense a magnetic field and coordinate their movement in response . It was first described in 1975 by R....
    )
  • movement along a electric field (see galvanotaxis)
  • movement along the direction of the gravitational force (see gravitaxis)
  • movement along a rigidity gradient (see durotaxis)
  • movement along a gradient of cell adhesion sites (see haptotaxis
    Haptotaxis

    Haptotaxis is the directional motility or outgrowth of cells, e.g. in the case of axonal outgrowth, usually up a gradient of cellular adhesion sites or substrate-bound chemoattractants....
    )