Ultra-weak electromagnetic hormesis as the baseline of athermal effects in biota
Pierre Madl
Dep. of Biosciences & Medical Biology (University of Salzburg, Austria)
in cooperation with
Edge Institute (Prototyping Unit at ERS Mechatronics, Golling, Austria)
Abstract
Biophoton research began with the pioneering work of Alexander Gurwitch in the 1920s, who, as the discoverer of Mitogenetic Cell Radiation (MGR), marked the beginning of a new vision of the living state. Given the ultra-weak nature of the stimuli involved, this paper approaches MGR from a hormetic perspective. Hormesis is not considered in the classical Arndt-Schulz interpretation, where very low doses of a pharmacological substance can stimulate responses, while higher doses can inhibit or damage the biological system. Rather than being a chemical substance, MGR is first and foremost an electromagnetic phenomenon, and thus would be better placed within psychophysics as described by the Weber-Fechner principle. However, even within this vision, the peculiar phenomena of MGR being able to induce effects at the cellular level are not adequately addressed. In order to take into account the far-reaching consequences outlined by Gurwitch, this paper extends the focus from the spectral range of MGR and its ultra-weak effects to other spectral ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum, with wavelengths much longer than those assigned by Gurwitch. Here, Devyatkov's principle comes into play, which suggests that low-intensity millimeter-wave radiation can have significant biological effects even when the power of the radiation is too low to cause heating. At very low frequencies, on the other hand, Zhadin identified the ion cyclotron resonance as the driving principle of ultra-weak effects. Regardless of the spectral window in question, the low intensity of the radiation involved poses a serious challenge when identifying an underlying mechanism, especially when viewed from classical physics (1st quantization). However, recent advances in quantum field theory (2nd quantization), especially within quantum electrodynamics, offer elegant solutions and provide a consistent theoretical framework for why ultra-weak electromagnetic stimulation is able to induce measurable macroscopic effects in biota.
Speaker
Pierre Madl
University of Salzburg, Austria
Austria
Discussion
Ask question
