Cell Biology
Chemotaxis
Directed movement of an organism or cell in response to chemical gradients—toward attractants (positive chemotaxis) or away from repellents (negative chemotaxis).
Biological Context
E. coli perform chemotaxis using a 'biased random walk': when moving toward food, they suppress tumbling and run longer; when moving away, they tumble more frequently to change direction. Immune cells use chemotaxis to find infection sites. Sperm use chemotaxis to find eggs.
Business Application
Corporate chemotaxis: moving resources toward opportunity signals and away from threats. Startups pivoting toward product-market fit are performing chemotaxis—sensing market response and adjusting direction. Like E. coli, the search is partly random but biased toward positive signals.