Electrical polarity in a biological material produced by a change in temperature. Pyroelectricity is probably a basic physical property of all living organisms. First discovered in 1966 in tendon and bone, it has since been shown to exist in most animal and plant tissues and in individual cells. Pyroelectricity appears to play a fundamental part in the growth processes (morphogenesis) and in physiological functions (such as sensory perception) of organisms.