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The Double-Aspect of Life. BIOLOGY 2018; 7:biology7020028. [PMID: 29735890 PMCID: PMC6023002 DOI: 10.3390/biology7020028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2018] [Revised: 05/02/2018] [Accepted: 05/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Life is based on two aspects: matter and a non-material, electrical component. In a dynamic system of reciprocal causality, matter and the so-called bioelectricity interact with one another, forming a functional unity. The aim of this essay is to summarize evidence for bioelectricity, for the sensitivity of biosystems to external physical factors and for the interactions of internal bioelectricity with internal biochemical structures. I propose non-material information of bioelectrical states to be just as inheritable from generation to generation as is the material genetic code.
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Endogenous physical regulation of population density in the freshwater protozoan Paramecium caudatum. Sci Rep 2017; 7:13800. [PMID: 29062014 PMCID: PMC5653844 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-14231-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2017] [Accepted: 10/06/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Studies confirm physical long-range cell-cell communication, most evidently based on electromagnetic fields. Effects concern induction or inhibition of cell growth. Their natural function is unclear. With the protozoan Paramecium caudatum I tested whether the signals regulate cell density and are electromagnetic. Up to 300 cells/mL, cell growth in clones of this study is decreasingly pronounced. Using cuvettes as chemical barriers enabling physical communication I placed 5 indicator cells/mL, the inducer populations, into smaller cuvettes that stand in bigger and contained 50, 100, 200 or 300 cells/mL. Under conditions of total darkness such pairs were mutually exposed for 48 hours. The hypothesis was that indicator cells, too, grow less the more neighbor cells there are. The bigger inducer populations were in the beginning the less they grew. The indicator populations grew accordingly; the more cells they were surrounded by the less they grew. The suppressing neighbors-effect disappeared when inner cuvettes were shielded by graphite known to shield electromagnetic radiation from GHz to PHz, i.e. to absorb energy from microwaves to light. These are the first results demonstrating non-contact physical quorum sensing for cell population density regulation. I assume rules intrinsic to electromagnetic fields interacting with matter and life.
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Choi JR, Kim D, Menouar S, Sever R, Abdalla MS. Classical analysis of time behavior of radiation fields associated with biophoton signals. Technol Health Care 2016; 24 Suppl 2:S577-85. [PMID: 27163320 DOI: 10.3233/thc-161184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Propagation of photon signals in biological systems, such as neurons, accompanies the production of biophotons. The role of biophotons in a cell deserves special attention because it can be applied to diverse optical systems. OBJECTIVE This work has been aimed to investigate the time behavior of biophoton signals emitted from living systems in detail, by introducing a Hamiltonian that describes the process. The ratio of the energy loss during signal dissipation will also be investigated. METHOD To see the adiabatic properties of the biophoton signal, we introduced an adiabatic invariant of the system according to the method of its basic formulation. RESULTS The energy of the released biophoton dissipates over time in a somewhat intricate way when t is small. However, after a sufficient long time, it dissipates in proportion (1+λ_0t)^2 to where λ_0 is a constant that is relevant to the degree of dissipation. We have confirmed that the energy of the biophoton signal oscillates in a particular way while it dissipates. CONCLUSION This research clarifies the characteristics of radiation fields associated with biophotons on the basis of Hamiltonian dynamics which describes phenomenological aspects of biophotons signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeong Ryeol Choi
- Department of Radiologic Technology, Daegu Health College, Daegu, Korea
| | - Daeyeoul Kim
- National Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Yuseong-daero 1689-gil, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, Korea
| | - Salah Menouar
- Laboratory of Optoelectronics and Compounds, Departement of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Ferhat Abbas Setif, Setif, Algeria
| | - Ramazan Sever
- Department of Physics, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - M Sebawe Abdalla
- Mathematics Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Physical Non-Contact Communication between Microscopic Aquatic Species: Novel Experimental Evidences for an Interspecies Information Exchange. JOURNAL OF BIOPHYSICS 2016; 2016:7406356. [PMID: 27042178 PMCID: PMC4793142 DOI: 10.1155/2016/7406356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2015] [Revised: 01/31/2016] [Accepted: 02/11/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Previous experiments on physical non-contact communication within same species gave rise to test for this type of communication also across the species border, which was the aim of the present study. It was found that autotrophic unicellular organisms (Euglena viridis), separated by cuvettes, affected the proliferation rate of heterotrophic unicellular organisms (Paramecium caudatum). Further, the heterotrophic unicellular organism affected also the proliferation rate of a multicellular heterotrophic organism (Rotatoria sp.) and vice versa. In the case when populations (of Euglena viridis and Paramecium caudatum) were shielded against electromagnetic fields in the optical spectrum from each other, no effects were measured. The results may support the notion that the organisation of ecosystems relies also on the exchange of electromagnetic fields from their constituting biosystems.
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Prasad A, Rossi C, Lamponi S, Pospíšil P, Foletti A. New perspective in cell communication: potential role of ultra-weak photon emission. JOURNAL OF PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND PHOTOBIOLOGY B-BIOLOGY 2014; 139:47-53. [PMID: 24703082 DOI: 10.1016/j.jphotobiol.2014.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2013] [Revised: 03/03/2014] [Accepted: 03/06/2014] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Evolution has permitted a wide range of medium for communication between two living organism varying from information transfer via chemical, direct contact or through specialized receptors. Past decades have evidenced the existence of cell-to-cell communication in living system. Several studies have demonstrated the existence of one cell system influencing the other cells by means of electromagnetic radiations investigated by the stimulation of cell division, neutrophils activation, respiratory burst induction and alteration in the developmental stages, etc. The responses were evaluated by methods such as chemiluminescence, ultra-weak photon emission, generation of free oxygen radicals, and level of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS). The cellular communication is hypothesized to occur via several physical phenomenon's, however the current review attempts to provide thorough information and a detailed overview of experimental results on the cell-to-cell communication observed in different living system via ultra-weak photon emission to bring a better understanding and new perspective to the phenomenon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ankush Prasad
- Department of Biophysics, Centre of the Region Haná for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research, Faculty of Science, Palacký University, Šlechtitelů 11, 783 71 Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Claudio Rossi
- Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Siena, Via A. Moro, 2-53100 Siena, Italy; Centre for Colloid and Surface Science (CSGI), University of Florence, Via della, Lastruccia 3, Sesto Fiorentino, FI, Italy.
| | - Stefania Lamponi
- Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Siena, Via A. Moro, 2-53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Pavel Pospíšil
- Department of Biophysics, Centre of the Region Haná for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research, Faculty of Science, Palacký University, Šlechtitelů 11, 783 71 Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Alberto Foletti
- Laboratory of Applied Mathematics and Physics, Department of Innovative Technologies - DTI, University of Applied Sciences of Southern Switzerland-SUPSI, Manno, Switzerland
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Hable WE. Rac1 signaling in the establishment of the fucoid algal body plan. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2014; 5:690. [PMID: 25540648 PMCID: PMC4261725 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2014.00690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2014] [Accepted: 11/18/2014] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Fucoid zygotes use environmental vectors, including sunlight, to initiate a growth axis a few hours after fertilization. The first division is then transversely oriented by the growth axis, producing daughter cells of distinct fates. The tip growing rhizoid cell gives rise to the holdfast, anchoring the alga to the intertidal substratum, while the opposite thallus cell mainly generates the photosynthetic and reproductive stipe and fronds. Elaboration of this simple growth axis thus establishes the basic body plan of the adult; and elucidating the mechanisms responsible for formation of the growth axis is paramount to understanding fucoid morphogenesis. Recent studies have culminated in a model whereby sunlight, and perhaps other environmental cues, activate the signaling protein Rac1 at the rhizoid pole. Here it sets in motion nucleation of a patch of actin filaments that in turn, targets ions, proteins, and cellular processes to the future growth site. At germination, Rac1 initiates morphogenesis by inducing transformation of the patch of actin filaments to a structure that delivers vesicles to the growing tip, and a few hours later orients the spindle and cytokinetic plate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Whitney E. Hable
- *Correspondence: Whitney E. Hable, Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 285 Old Westport Road, Dartmouth, MA 02747, USA e-mail:
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Tang R, Dai J. Biophoton signal transmission and processing in the brain. JOURNAL OF PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND PHOTOBIOLOGY B-BIOLOGY 2013; 139:71-5. [PMID: 24461927 DOI: 10.1016/j.jphotobiol.2013.12.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2013] [Revised: 12/13/2013] [Accepted: 12/13/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The transmission and processing of neural information in the nervous system plays a key role in neural functions. It is well accepted that neural communication is mediated by bioelectricity and chemical molecules via the processes called bioelectrical and chemical transmission, respectively. Indeed, the traditional theories seem to give valuable explanations for the basic functions of the nervous system, but difficult to construct general accepted concepts or principles to provide reasonable explanations of higher brain functions and mental activities, such as perception, learning and memory, emotion and consciousness. Therefore, many unanswered questions and debates over the neural encoding and mechanisms of neuronal networks remain. Cell to cell communication by biophotons, also called ultra-weak photon emissions, has been demonstrated in several plants, bacteria and certain animal cells. Recently, both experimental evidence and theoretical speculation have suggested that biophotons may play a potential role in neural signal transmission and processing, contributing to the understanding of the high functions of nervous system. In this paper, we review the relevant experimental findings and discuss the possible underlying mechanisms of biophoton signal transmission and processing in the nervous system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rendong Tang
- Wuhan Institute for Neuroscience and Neuroengineering, South-Central University for Nationalities, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Jiapei Dai
- Wuhan Institute for Neuroscience and Neuroengineering, South-Central University for Nationalities, Wuhan 430074, China.
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Muzzy R, Hable W. RAC1 regulates actin arrays during polarity establishment in the brown alga, Silvetia compressa. Dev Biol 2013; 383:28-38. [PMID: 24036312 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2013.09.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2013] [Revised: 08/29/2013] [Accepted: 09/03/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Multicellular development has evolved independently on numerous occasions and there is great interest in the developmental mechanisms utilized by each of the divergent lineages. Fucoid algae, in the stramenopile lineage (distinct from metazoans, fungi and green plants) have long been used as a model for early development based on unique life cycle characteristics. The initially symmetric fucoid zygote generates a developmental axis that determines not only the site of growth, but also the orientation of the first cell division, whose products have distinct developmental fates. Establishment and maintenance of this growth axis is dependent on formation of a filamentous actin array that directs vesicular movement, depositing new membrane and wall material for development of the rhizoid. What is not well known, is how formation and placement of the actin array is regulated in fucoid algae. A candidate for this function is Rac1, a small GTPase of the highly conserved Rho family, which has been implicated in controlling the formation of actin arrays in diverse eukaryotes. We demonstrate that Rac1 is not only present during formation of the filamentous actin array, but that its localization overlaps with the array in polarizing zygotes. Pharmacologically inhibiting Rac1 activity was shown to impede formation and maintenance of the actin array, and ultimately polar growth. Evidence is provided that a requirement of Rac1 function is its ability to associate with membranes via a post-translationally added lipid tail. Taken together, the data indicate that Rac1 is a necessary participant in establishment of the growth pole, presumably by regulating the placement and formation of the actin array. A role for Rac1 and related proteins in regulating actin is shared by animals, plants, fungi and with this work, brown algae, thus a conserved mechanism for generating polarity is in operation in unique eukaryotic lineages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel Muzzy
- University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Department of Biology, 285 Old Westport Rd, Dartmouth, MA 02747, USA
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Makarov VI, Khmelinskii I. External control of the Drosophila melanogaster lifespan by combination of 3D oscillating low-frequency electric and magnetic fields. Electromagn Biol Med 2013; 33:276-81. [PMID: 23977947 DOI: 10.3109/15368378.2013.817335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
We demonstrate that the lifespan of Drosophila melanogaster population is controllable by a combination of external three-dimensional oscillating low-frequency electric and magnetic fields (3D OLFEMFs). The lifespan was decreased or increased in dependence of the parameters of the external 3D OLFEMFs. We propose that metabolic processes in D. melanogaster's body are either accelerated (in the case of reduced lifespan) or slowed down (in the case of increased lifespan) in function of 3D OLFEMFs that induce vibrational motions on sub-cellular and larger scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vladimir I Makarov
- Department of Physics, University of Puerto Rico , Rio Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico , USA and
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Hable WE, Hart PE. Signaling mechanisms in the establishment of plant and fucoid algal polarity. Mol Reprod Dev 2010; 77:751-8. [PMID: 20803733 DOI: 10.1002/mrd.21199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2023]
Abstract
The establishment of polarity is a fundamental property of most cells. In tip-growing plant and in fucoid algal cells, polarization specifies a growth pole, the center of localized secretion of new plasma membrane and cell wall material, generating a protrusion with a dome-shaped apex. Although much progress has been made concerning the cellular machinery required to execute tip growth, less is known regarding the signaling mechanisms involved in selecting the growth site and regulating vectorial cell division and expansion. Fucoid algal zygotes use extrinsic cues to orient their growth axes and are thus well-suited for studies of de novo selection of an axis. This process has been investigated largely by both pharmacological and immuno-localization studies. In tip growing plant cells, polarity is often predetermined, as in the formation of root hairs or moss protonema branches. More focus has been on genomic and genetic studies to reveal the molecules involved in expressing a growth axis. Here we review the common roles of the cytoskeleton and signal transduction pathways in the formation of a developmental axis in fucoid algal cells and the control of tip growth in higher plant cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Whitney E Hable
- University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Dartmouth, Massachusetts 02747, USA.
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Cifra M, Fields JZ, Farhadi A. Electromagnetic cellular interactions. PROGRESS IN BIOPHYSICS AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2010; 105:223-46. [PMID: 20674588 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2010.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 138] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2010] [Accepted: 07/21/2010] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Chemical and electrical interaction within and between cells is well established. Just the opposite is true about cellular interactions via other physical fields. The most probable candidate for an other form of cellular interaction is the electromagnetic field. We review theories and experiments on how cells can generate and detect electromagnetic fields generally, and if the cell-generated electromagnetic field can mediate cellular interactions. We do not limit here ourselves to specialized electro-excitable cells. Rather we describe physical processes that are of a more general nature and probably present in almost every type of living cell. The spectral range included is broad; from kHz to the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum. We show that there is a rather large number of theories on how cells can generate and detect electromagnetic fields and discuss experimental evidence on electromagnetic cellular interactions in the modern scientific literature. Although small, it is continuously accumulating.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michal Cifra
- Institute of Photonics and Electronics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic.
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Abstract
Information transfer is a fundamental of life. A few studies have reported that cells use photons (from an endogenous source) as information carriers. This study finds that cells can have an influence on other cells even when separated with a glass barrier, thereby disabling molecule diffusion through the cell-containing medium. As there is still very little known about the potential of photons for intercellular communication this study is designed to test for non-molecule-based triggering of two fundamental properties of life: cell division and energy uptake. The study was performed with a cellular organism, the ciliate Paramecium caudatum. Mutual exposure of cell populations occurred under conditions of darkness and separation with cuvettes (vials) allowing photon but not molecule transfer. The cell populations were separated either with glass allowing photon transmission from 340 nm to longer waves, or quartz being transmittable from 150 nm, i.e. from UV-light to longer waves. Even through glass, the cells affected cell division and energy uptake in neighboring cell populations. Depending on the cuvette material and the number of cells involved, these effects were positive or negative. Also, while paired populations with lower growth rates grew uncorrelated, growth of the better growing populations was correlated. As there were significant differences when separating the populations with glass or quartz, it is suggested that the cell populations use two (or more) frequencies for cellular information transfer, which influences at least energy uptake, cell division rate and growth correlation. Altogether the study strongly supports a cellular communication system, which is different from a molecule-receptor-based system and hints that photon-triggering is a fine tuning principle in cell chemistry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Fels
- Swiss Tropical Institute (STI), Basel, Switzerland.
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