Igor Jerman

WEAK MAGNETIC FIELD DECREASES HEAT STRESS IN CRESS SEEDLINGS

We studied the effects of a weak sinusoidal and extremely-low-frequency (ELF) magnetic field (50 Hz, 100 μT) on the growth of cress seedlings (Lepidium sativum) that were also exposed to heat stress conditions at 40, 42 and 45°C for 40 min. The magnetic field was applied for 12 hr before or after the heat stress. The experiments showed that the magnetic field alleviated the inhibitory effect of the heat stress when applied previously, whereas afterwards, the heat stress or the magnetic field alone did not produce any significant growth effects. The results speak in favor of the findings by some researchers showing that biological systems under mild stress produce protective factors that decrease harmful effects of stronger stress and that, under certain circumstances, an oscillating magnetic field can work as a stress-protective agent.

The principle of coherence in multi-level brain information processing

Synchronisation has become one of the major scientific tools to explain biological order at many levels of organisation. In systems neuroscience, synchronised subthreshold and suprathreshold oscillatory neuronal activity within and between distributed neuronal assemblies is acknowledged as a fundamental mode of neuronal information processing. Coherent neuronal oscillations correlate with all basic cognitive functions, mediate local and long-range neuronal communication and affect synaptic plasticity. However, it remains unclear how the very fast and complex changes of functional neuronal connectivity necessary for cognition, as mediated by dynamic patterns of neuronal synchrony, could be explained exclusively based on the well-established synaptic mechanisms. A growing body of research indicates that the intraneuronal matrix, composed of cytoskeletal elements and their binding proteins, structurally and functionally connects the synapses within a neuron, modulates neurotransmission and memory consolidation, and is hypothesised to be involved in signal integration via electric signalling due to its charged surface. Theoretical modelling, as well as emerging experimental evidence indicate that neuronal cytoskeleton supports highly cooperative energy transport and information processing based on molecular coherence. We suggest that long-range coherent dynamics within the intra- and extracellular filamentous matrices could establish dynamic ordered states, capable of rapid modulations of functional neuronal connectivity via their interactions with neuronal membranes and synapses. Coherence may thus represent a common denominator of neurophysiological and biophysical approaches to brain information processing, operating at multiple levels of neuronal organisation, from which cognition may emerge as its cardinal manifestation.

WATER STRESS REVEALS EFFECTS OF ELF MAGNETIC FIELDS ON THE GROWTH OF SEEDLINGS

We studied the effects of weak and extremely low-frequency (ELF) magnetic fields (MFs) on the growth of spruce seedlings Picea abies that were exposed simultaneously to stress conditions. The drought environmental stress conditions were simulated by watering the seedlings with polyethylene glycol (PEG) at two different concentrations: 88 and 176 g/L. The experiments showed that a weak, sinusoidal magnetic field (50 Hz, 26 and 105 μT, 12 h/day), which was computer controlled and was generated by a system of Helmholtz-like coils, inhibited the germination and the growth of seedlings, whereas under normal conditions (without PEG), the effects were either zero or stimulatory. When the seeds were soaked in water, the effects of MFs were reversed; i.e., they were stimulatory. This strongly supports some findings that biological systems under stress may demonstrate higher sensitivity to ELF EMFs. Our experiments demonstrate that the inhibition of germination was greater at the greater concentration of PEG (at 10...

On the origin of cancer: Can we ignore coherence?

A growing number of inconsistencies have accumulated within the genetically deterministic paradigm of the origin of cancer. Among them the most important are the nonspecific nature of cancer mutations and the non-cell-autonomous factors of cancer initiation and progression. Epigenetic aspects of cancer and cancer systems biology represent novel approaches to cancer aetiology and converge in the notion that cancer is characterized by a nonspecific progressive destabilization of multiple molecular pathways. The coherent behaviour of certain cellular subsystems has been theoretically predicted for a long time to have a general role in coordinating biological processes. However, it has only recently gained major scientific interest when it was measured on photosynthetic complexes at physiological temperatures and confirmed to have a direct effect over the dynamics of the energy transfer. Several theoretical and experimental considerations suggest that cancer might be associated with the absence or impairment of the proper coherent dynamics in certain biological structures, most notably in the microtubules. We review those models and suggest that impaired coherence might largely contribute to the progressive destabilization of the molecular and gene regulatory networks, thus connecting different non-genetic aspects of cancer.

Bacterial multicellularity as a possible source of antibiotic resistance

Knowledge about survival of micro-organisms in stressful situations not only influences the evolutionary theory in a fundamental way, but bears an extraordinary importance in finding a global solution to a very concrete urgent problem of mankind, namely bacterial resistance to antibiotics. Recent in vitro experiments demonstrate that the adaptive mutation process involving transient hypermutators could be one of the most important mechanisms whereby bacterial cells achieve the antibiotic resistance. An effective response of the mutation rates to specific selective conditions and an increasing number of conclusive evidence that bacterial cells are indeed communicative and co-operative organisms lead us to a hypothesis that the emergence of the antibiotic resistant mutants through the so-called adaptive mutation is deeply connected with the multicellular organisation of bacterial cells.

The “Autothixotropic” Phenomenon of Water and its Role in Proton Transfer

In an experimental study, significantly higher conductivity values than those of freshly prepared chemically analogous solutions were found in aged (~one year old) aqueous solutions, except for those stored frozen. The results surprisingly resemble a previously noticed phenomenon in liquid water, which develops when water is stored in closed vessels. This was observed as a disturbing phenomenon in gravimetric measurements and in luminescence spectroscopy measurements. The phenomenon was termed “autothixotropy of water” due to the weak gel-like behavior which develops spontaneously over time, in which ions seem to play an important role. Here, according to experimental results we propose that contact with hydrophilic surfaces also plays an important role. The role of the “autothixotropy of water” in proton transfer is also discussed.

Biological Influence of Ultraweak Supposedly EM Radiation from Organisms Mediated Through Water

We performed a series of experiments to examine the possibility that theoretically proposed and indirectly empirically confirmed ultraweak EM emission from living beings changes the structure of water. We have pursued three lines of experiments, one of which, presented here, tested whether and in what way water nonchemically exposed to growing and dying spruce seedlings influences the germination of seeds and the growth of seedlings of the same species. We used seeds in two different physiological states and performed additional tests with magnetically treated water (50 Hz, pure sine waveform, 25 and 100 mT). The results show that normal seeds given water exposed to dying seedlings react with significant slowing of germination and have a tendency to grow more slowly than controls (watered by sham-exposed water). The effect was similar, even if less intense, to that with magnetically treated water. Other testing groups often demonstrated significant difference from controls but its sign varied from experim...

Possible time-dependent effect of ions and hydrophilic surfaces on the electrical conductivity of aqueous solutions.

The purpose of this work was to determine the influence of mechanical and electrical treatment on the electrical conductivity of aqueous solutions. Solutions were treated mechanically by iteration of two steps: 1:100 dilution and vigorous shaking. These two processes were repeated until extremely dilute solutions were obtained. For electrical treatment the solutions were exposed to strong electrical impulses. Effects of mechanical (as well as electrical) treatment could not be demonstrated using electrical conductivity measurements. However, significantly higher conductivity than those of the freshly prepared chemically analogous solutions was found in all aged solutions except for those samples stored frozen. The results surprisingly resemble a previously observed weak gel-like behavior in water stored in closed flasks. We suggest that ions and contact with hydrophilic glass surfaces could be the determinative conditions for the occurrence of this phenomenon.

NEW BIOLOGICAL DETECTION SYSTEM FOR WEAK ELF MAGNETIC FIELDS AND TESTING OF THE PARAMETRIC RESONANCE MODEL (Lednev 1991)

A new detection system for weak, extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic fields based on bioluminescence of the autotrophic dinoflagellate Gonyaulax sp. is presented. Due to its sensitivity to external factors, this biological system has already been thoroughly investigated and used for various biological research. In our study, the system was first tested for its capacity to respond to weak ELF magnetic fields (50 Hz, 11.5 mT; 50 Hz, 1.2 mT). After its sensitivity was established, the system was used to test the parametric resonance model proposed by Lednev in 1991. Our results seem to be consistent with the model predictions, especially when monitoring real-time effects of the exposure.

INFLUENCE OF ALUMINUM IN BIOLOGIC EFFECTS OF ELF MAGNETIC FIELD STIMULATION

We studied the influence of a weak, extremely low-frequency magnetic field (MF) with a frequency of 50 Hz and a peak amplitude of 103 μT and aluminum solution (in the form of AlCl3) at different concentrations (0, 40, 70, 100, 130, 160, 400, 800, 2000, and 5000 μM) on the growth of spruce seedlings (Picea abies). The results showed that stimulatory and statistically significant MF effects on the growth of seedlings were observed only with a 100-μM aluminum solution. Slight stimulative effects were also observed within the range of concentrations between 40 and 160 μM Al3+ (all the stimulated groups taken together). Germination and fresh weight were not significantly influenced. At these concentrations the aluminum solution alone (without MF) or the MF alone (without Al3+) did not influence the growth parameters. These results suggest the importance of synergistic action of the MF with environmental factors as well as the existence of “physiologic windows” in addition to the frequency and power ones.