chemotaxis
noun
che·mo·tax·is ˌkē-mō-ˈtak-səs 
: orientation or movement of an organism or cell in relation to chemical agents
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Instead, some bacteria raced through the maze substantially more quickly than others, largely because of varying aptitude for moving toward higher concentrations of food, a process called chemotaxis. 
Quanta Magazine, 4 Sep. 2019 Tackling the traveling salesman problem with chemotaxis is a nice example of when the suboptimal is optimal, says Bartumeus. Rachel Ehrenberg, WIRED, 11 Apr. 2011
Quanta Magazine, 4 Sep. 2019 Tackling the traveling salesman problem with chemotaxis is a nice example of when the suboptimal is optimal, says Bartumeus. Rachel Ehrenberg, WIRED, 11 Apr. 2011 Word History
Etymology
borrowed from German Chemotaxis, from chemo- chemo- + -taxis -taxis
Note: The German term was introduced by the botanist and plant physiologist Wilhelm Pfeffer (1845-1920) in "Über chemotaktische Bewegungen von Bakterien, Flagellaten und Volvocineen," Untersuchungen aus dem Botanischen Institut zu Tübingen, Band 2, Heft 3 (1888), p. 583. In an earlier publication in the same journal (Band 1, Heft 3 [1884], p. 474) Pfeffer used the form Chymitaxis.
First Known Use
circa 1887, in the meaning defined above
Medical Definition
chemotaxis
noun
che·mo·tax·is -ˈtak-səs
plural chemotaxes -ˌsēz
: orientation or movement of an organism or cell in relation to chemical agents