Cellular respiration in intermittent magnetic fields

Electromagnetic biostimulation of living cultures for biotechnology, biofuel and bioenergy applications

The surge of interest in bioenergy has been marked with increasing efforts in research and development to identify new sources of biomass and to incorporate cutting-edge biotechnology to improve efficiency and increase yields. It is evident that various microorganisms will play an integral role in the development of this newly emerging industry, such as yeast for ethanol and Escherichia coli for fine chemical fermentation. However, it appears that microalgae have become the most promising prospect for biomass production due to their ability to grow fast, produce large quantities of lipids, carbohydrates and proteins, thrive in poor quality waters, sequester and recycle carbon dioxide from industrial flue gases and remove pollutants from industrial, agricultural and municipal wastewaters. In an attempt to better understand and manipulate microorganisms for optimum production capacity, many researchers have investigated alternative methods for stimulating their growth and metabolic behavior. One such novel approach is the use of electromagnetic fields for the stimulation of growth and metabolic cascades and controlling biochemical pathways. An effort has been made in this review to consolidate the information on the current status of biostimulation research to enhance microbial growth and metabolism using electromagnetic fields. It summarizes information on the biostimulatory effects on growth and other biological processes to obtain insight regarding factors and dosages that lead to the stimulation and also what kind of processes have been reportedly affected. Diverse mechanistic theories and explanations for biological effects of electromagnetic fields on intra and extracellular environment have been discussed. The foundations of biophysical interactions such as bioelectromagnetic and biophotonic communication and organization within living systems are expounded with special consideration for spatiotemporal aspects of electromagnetic topology, leading to the potential of multipolar electromagnetic systems. The future direction for the use of biostimulation using bioelectromagnetic, biophotonic and electrochemical methods have been proposed for biotechnology industries in general with emphasis on an holistic biofuel system encompassing production of algal biomass, its processing and conversion to biofuel.

Magnetoreception in microorganisms and fungi

The ability to respond to magnetic fields is ubiquitous among the five kingdoms of organisms. Apart from the mechanisms that are at work in bacterial magnetotaxis, none of the innumerable magnetobiological effects are as yet completely understood in terms of their underlying physical principles. Physical theories on magnetoreception, which draw on classical electrodynamics as well as on quantum electrodynamics, have greatly advanced during the past twenty years, and provide a basis for biological experimentation. This review places major emphasis on theories, and magnetobiological effects that occur in response to weak and moderate magnetic fields, and that are not related to magnetotaxis and magnetosomes. While knowledge relating to bacterial magnetotaxis has advanced considerably during the past 27 years, the biology of other magnetic effects has remained largely on a phenomenological level, a fact that is partly due to a lack of model organisms and model responses; and in great part also to the circumstance that the biological community at large takes little notice of the field, and in particular of the available physical theories. We review the known magnetobiological effects for bacteria, protists and fungi, and try to show how the variegated empirical material could be approached in the framework of the available physical models.

In vitro exposure to electromagnetic fields: changes in tumour cell properties

Two human colon cancer cell lines, Colo 205 and Colo 320 DM, have been studied for their responses to 60 Hz-generated electromagnetic fields (EMF) using soft agar cloning and monoclonal antibody binding assays to assess exposure-induced changes. Cellular responses have been studied after 24 h continuous exposure of cells concurrently to four experimental conditions; i.e. no EMF (E-M-), magnetic field only (M+, 1.0 G rms), electric field only (E+, 300 mA/m2 rms), and combined electric plus magnetic fields at these intensities (E+M+). Under these conditions, both cell lines demonstrated significantly increased colony formation in soft agar and increased expression of tumor associated antigens after exposure to E+M+ and to M+ as compared to unexposed controls.