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BEYOND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

The Biophoton

Revolutionby Jonathan Tennenbau m

Over the ast 0 years, backedout from the pages ofstaad textbooks, ad oy sedom represeted ithe leag pofessioa ourals, a ew, revolutio-

ary fed of bologica research has emeged the vestigatioof the spotaeous photo radatio emitted from ivig cels,

as a "wiow" oto the most fuametal life processes. Atpeset, expeimeta vestigatios related to ths "biopho-to" emissio are beg caried out about a oze a borato-ies ad isttutes, icug Germay, Italy, Switzerlad,the Netheras, Poa, Russa, Chia, Ida, ad apa.

A um ber of these research goups have joi e forces tocreate a teatioa stitute of Bophysics (B), which sow coor atig much of the reseach i this area. Over theast severa yeas, this author has had the privilege of participatig i seveal of the yeary symposia of the B, h eld iombroch, Germay.

The fact, that pacticaly a lvig processes are light emit-tesabeit u sua ll y at a extremely ow evewas frst ds

covere by the great Russia biologist Aexader Gurwtsch ithe 90s G urwitsch emostrate i 1 9 3, that whe twooio oots ae stuated i a commo plae, i such a way thatthe gowi g ti p (me rstem) of the first root pots toward apoit X aog the axs of the secod oot, at a distace of sev-eal miimeters, the the fequecy of cell divisio (mtosis)was increaed i the regio of X compared to the oppostesd e of the secod root.

Ths "mtogeetic efect" as Guwtsch cale it) was ot af-fected whe a tasparet quartz widow was placed betweethe two oots, but t dsappeared whe he replaced the quazwidow by ordiay gass or opaque materas. By a vaiety offuther expermets, Gurwitsch was able to estabish that the

phyca agen of this stimulato of the ate of mitosis i thesecod root (the mtogeetc efect), was a very weak utravio-et ight raiatio emitted from the merstem of the frst root.He caed th is " mtogeetc radiatio."

Soo, Gurwitsch ad hs coworkers were abe to demo-state that coutess other boogca obects, icl udi g aimaltssue, cutures of microorgaisms, a eve some bologicalmaterials such as boo, emt mitogeetic radiatio. Gurwitschfoud that specialy prepared cutues of yeast cells grow oagar bocks, mae the most coveet a eiable detectorsfor the study of mitogeetic emissio. Typicaly, the yeast cul-tue bocks we ivied to ajacet pairs; oe side wasbriefly expose to a expeimetal object as "souce," whie

38 Wter 1 998 999 21 st CENTURY

the other was optcaly sheded as a cotro Subsequety,both cu tures were icu bated for a certa time; the th e cel swere fixed ad the umber of mitoses (see as "buds" o theyeast cels) were couted uer a mcroscope for the exposedculture ad for the coto.

The presece (a to a esser extet, the stregth) of the mto-geetic raiatio revealed itsef i a sigificaty positive die-ece i the exposed ces relatve to the cotos. Guitsch ahis cowores deveoped ths techique to the poit, that theycou eve obtai pecra of the mtogeetic raato, by iter-polatig a iracto apparatus bewee the source ad detecto.

A Science of Theoreica BiologyFortuatey, Gurwtsch was o mere expermeter, but oe

of the greatest heoreician of bology this cetury fact, twas hs coceptio of the bioogica fie, developed i co-ectio wi th cout less experimeta stuies of embryoogy,mophogeesis ad hstoogy, which oigaly e him to hy

poheze the existece of some sor of istat radative iter-actio betwee cells. The experimeta demostratio of themitogeetic eect by the famous "oio root" experimethaie at the tme as oe of the most importat experimetadscoveies of the ceturyby o meas dstacte Guwitschfrom h s ma i goa, amely the creatio of a comprehesveSciece of Theoretical Boogy.

I the subsequet perio, Gu witsch a his growig schooof studets ad coaboatos, trasforme mtogeetic rada-tio ito a powerful experimetal techique for fudametabiologica esearch. Mtogeetc radatio attracte worlwdescetifc i terest a became, the course of the 1 930s, o eof the mai areas of bologca research i the Soviet io .

A eomous um be of iterestg a imporat resu ts werepubishe eary every maor domai of bology, icudgalso europhysiology ad cace research.

foruatey, for reasos idicate esewhee see box, p.30), Gurwitsch's work o mitogeetc radatio came uderheavy atack t he 1 930sot accdetal ly at the same tme asfuds bega to be poured ito moecular geetics a molecu-lar biology, which were bui lt up to take the omia t positio i bioogca research i the postwar perod. Ae World War ,the whoe su bject of mitogeetic radiatio ealy sappearefrom view, at east the West; whe i the Soviet io, a fewgoupsetered o stuets of Guwitschcotiue activeexperimetal work i the directos he had itated.

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he ain attac on Gu rwitsch conssted n the cai , that athe thousands of experients G urwitsch's an d other groups(inc ud ng in rance and Geran), deonstrating the itogenetc efect, wee "wrong," a nd that G urwitsch' s togeneticradiaton si p "does not exist." o oster this assertonhad credi e to anone fai i a with the q ua t of the scentsts i noed, and the ir pa nstain g ethods of worit waspointed out, that Gurwitsch's experents were excusie

ased on t he us e of blgl bjt dttr;whereas at-tepts to detect the radiation technica eans (photodetectors) had faied or iededaiguous resuts The arguentwas aso raised, that a ight adaton, so wea that it coud note detected technca deicesnoto spea of the huan ee itsefcou d h ard e expected to hae a n notice-ae efect on ioogica oects.

In fact, as we now toda, the spontaneous photon radatonof iing organiss is indeed too weagien the proes ofsens and acground noiseto hae een reia easured the inds of photodetector apparatus that were aaiae in the 930s an d 940s. n 954, howeer, a goup of taian astronoers who had een woing on the deeopent of

supersensitie ight detectors, discoeed that sprouts of wheat,corn, eans, and other pants constant radiate ight at an in-tensit of the order of 0 to 00 photons per second per squaecentieter of ing tissue. hese resuts were fist ooed on asa cuiosit n the est, ut the gae a consderae oost tothe wo of Gurwitsch's foowers in the Soiet nion.

Friz Popp's Expermensn 973 , soe of the newer Soet esuts caught the atten-

tion of the Geran iophsicst ritz Po pp and hi s co aorators. At that te, Popp was worng in cancer research; heand a group of gaduate students were tring to fnd an expa-nation for the extree powefu cacinogenc action of the

sustance 3,4enzprine, copared to the er sar, utessentia ha ess ,2enzpri ne. Popp's hpothesis was,that the anoaou s strong carcn ogenic action of the foreoecue was soehow reated to a nown, pecu i ar feature ofits asopton and eission spectra in the utaoet ange.he idea, that the carcinogeni c action of 3,4enzpne ighte caused drtly its tl chaacteisticsand not nec-essari ediated through ts cheica eactitieswent d-rect agai nst the preai ing, oecu arioogica i ndset ofost cance r esearchers

But to put the atter rather sipistica ow coud theposited tl action e accounted for, uness thee wee asouce of ight n the ce? And uness e sa photon "sig-

nas" coud trigger gross changes n the ehaior of ces? heSoet wor on "utrawea" photon radiation of ces seeedto proide the ssing n.

n order to earn ore aout this photon radiation, Popp andcoworers deeoped and perfected oer an ears, a photout p ierased expeienta apparatus with a h igh sensititand high signa/noise atio, specia suited to the easureent of "utawea" photon eission of ioogca ojects.ith the hep of ths great iproed "iophoton" detector,Popp and his coaoratos hae een ae to discoer a nuer of rearae and hig h nmlu characteristcs of theophoton radiation . ndeed, taen together, the resuts ofPopp and his growing ci rce of internationa co aorators,

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deonstate the existence of princ ipes of organi zaton of ing pocesses, which ae entire incopatie wth the asicassuptions of oecuar ioog.

Bophoon Radiaon in Briefe cannot go into the atter n depth here, ut the foow

ing ef suar shou d ge the thoughtfu eader a sense of

the fundaenta ipotance and ano aou s chaacter of iophoton radiato n. T his shou d wet the reader's appetite forore ndepth discussions of these atters in cong ssues of2 1t Cntury

() t is we estaished that spontaneous, utrawea photoneission is a uqutous phenoenon thoughout nature. hisutrawea eission is copete dfferent n nature fro thefai a, uch oe speca zed phenoenon of "ouinescence," tpified firefes for exape, and whose intenst is an ordes of agnitu de age. he intensit of utra-wea eisson d ffers e great etween ce tpesundistued ania ces hang genera the owestrate of essonut aso ares great fro oent to o-

ent for an gien cuture or oganis studied. he eissionoften contans "tains" of er short (sui second) "photonusts" wth a tendenc towad recurrence, ut with constant shifting perodicities

2) udging fro experients with inteerencefiters, t he tpi-ca waeength spectu is spread oer a road and, fro thenearinfared into the u taioet; the intenst di striution arieswith tie and the oogica oect studied. Bursts in the utra-oet range tend to e found in tssue or cutures undergoingrapid ce diisions, n agreeent with Guitsch. oweer, theexact reatonsh ip etween Gu rwitschs togenetic radiationand the genera phenoenon of utrawea photon ession, asdetected with the apparatus of Popp, has not een carified

21 s CENTURY inte 99 999 39

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3 The inensiy o bophoon emsson is exemey sens-ive o viua y any i surbane o ohe hane in he b ooia sysem. or exampe, he inrouion o ox subsanesn exemey sma onenaonsonenraions owe hnhose requie o ause noeabe ees on meabosm ormorphooyare ypiay oowe by a shap burs o bophoon emisson.

(4 n spe o he obvous y nimae eaionsh p beween

bophoon emission an he booia sae o a iven obe, has poven impossbe o isove any si, mehaniaoreaion beween varaions in phoon nensy, on he onehan, an any spef known se or ype o biomoe ua evens on he ohe r.

5 On he onary, he eviene o many bophoon expemens pons o he exsene an invovemen o a orrelaionamong a large "onnuum " of eens ourin viuay s -muaneousy, no ony w hin a iven e , bu beween aenumbers o es n a issue or popuaion o mooransmsevens whih ou no possily be oreae, wihin he ex-remey sho mes nvove, by "hema messenes" osimi ar mehansms o moeua booy.

(6) One o he eares emonsaons o he above-menone a is he ama hane n he phoon em ssionbehavior o wo booa obes, when hey ae pae inoopia ommuniaon wih eah ohe.

Fo exampe, in expermens onue by Popp an ohesa he l i B aboaory in Homboih, ermany, wo uveesonan in Gonyaulax polyedra wee moune n aaenak hambers an he reaime sponaneous phoon em ssiono eah was m easue by a sepaae phoo m u p e eeo,he axes o he wo eeors ben paae. When a shuewas opene, aowin he wo uvees o "see eah ohe"aon an axis perpeniu a o he axes o he phoomu ip ies, hen h e emsson o boh uu es hane markey The

emissions beame osey oeae, wih a son enenyowa simuaneous, sho burss, as we as a enea in-rease n emission aviy.

(7) Anoher, somewha eren emonsaon o he sameprinpe s povie by sues o he srony noninear haae o he bophoon emsson o suspension uues o esor m osop anma s as a unon o he r densiy

n he ase o suspensons o aphnia magna a he sameeveo pmen sae, o exampe , he uve o he aveae oaphoon inensiy as a unon o he number o oanisms in aixevoume uvee, ispays a suession o sevea maxmaan mnima, whih s hay unesanabe we assume asimp e a ivy o he emission om he i niv ua oran-

sms, oeher wh he efes o absorpion a n opa y as heensiy hanes. Cose suy u s ou he possibi iy o hem-a ommunaon or "oison" moes as an expanaon ohs phenomenon, an srony poins o a booay sini-an resonaneneeene efe: The oa nensiy has apronoune minimum a a ensiy oesponin o he "naua" sane beween aaen anm as when popuaons ohem are v n n naua oni ons, bu has ponounemaxima in he reons where he ensy s 50 peen an 50peren o he "naura" ensy.

(8 Ahouh muh more exensve suies nee o be one,i has been oun ha he es o a eas some ane ypes(or exampe, hepaoyes vs. TC e s) i s inuis h hem

40 W ne 998 999 21 st CENTURY

seves eaive o he oresponin heahy e ypes by asrik n iferene n he uve o emission as a unon o eensiyhe ome showin monooniay inreasing emis-son wh ensy, an he aer spayin a noninea ensiyepeneny wh erease owa a m in im um .

his is inerpee, rouhy, o i n ae ha he poesses inhe popuaion o aner e s ae no oner orreae n hesrony harmon, oheren manne haraeris o heahy

ssue.9) i na y, he phoon emss on om a iven ivin sysem(oransm o uure) ispays haraerisis o opia oheene, pa ua emporal oherene, in a in ha hesoues o emissiono he exen hey an be oa e wihi nhe sysem a a are no i nepenen, bu are sony oe-ae wih eah ohe in he manner suese by he mae oa mulimode, mufrequeny ase.

One ne niaion o hs, aon o he heoeaanaysis by Fri Popp (whh anno be ea wih here is heshape o he deay ure o ih eemission by booa ob-es o owin heir exposue o i nense i h. Liv in sysemsisp ay a haraersi, hyperboli eayurve, whie noniv-

in maeras (exep some wih hhy oree nena sru-ure, suh as some rysas ypiay reemi in an eponenialeay urve. n parua, ae a moe api niia eay, heivin maeia hen has a muh sower reemssion. appearso be a ubiquious haraerisi o ivin maer, o manainan e evae eney sae o as on as possbe afer he i ni ai h exposue.

Photon Sucking'( 0 Many expermens poin o a uher anomay whi h

Popp an hi s o eaues reer o as "phoon su kn" ! U nererain rumsanes, vin oranisms, pae in he viiniyo a meium o exie aoms or moeues, appea o aivey

suppress ih emission by hose moeues How? By he iv-n poess inegraing he exe saes o he neihborinmoeues ino is own, oheren eeromane ie .

Popp kens he resu o he soa e esruve i nere-ene o waves in h s ase, hose ph ase re a ion sh ips are"appe" or "anee ou," ha wou ohewse ea oemission o phoons rom he moeu es.

The emonsaon o "phoon suki n" is a woneru hn,no eas o a beause i ees any inerpeaion in ems oNewonan , "ba s " onepions o h emission, whihae ypa y arie over no he im ae o a phoon as a kin o bue sho ou rom he emiin aom or moeue n hisase, m e seems o be reverse, an w h h e "are" wh h

onros he pah o he bu e!hs be inouon has ousse mainy on he expei-mena resus per se. have e i o Ds. ebensoh anokop, n he peein arie, o isuss he reay nees-in parhe hoe o ruial hypohesis.

References-Recent Advances in Biophoton Reseach, 992 Eds FA Popp KH i, and

Q. Gu (ivr Edg, N. : World Scintific)BiophotonicsProceedings of Inteat ional Confeence Dedicated to the

120th bithday of Alexande Gavriovich Guwitsch (1874- 1954) MoscowSept. 28ct. 2 1994 Eds L Bloussov and FA Popp (MoscowBioinform Sics)

Biophotons, 1 998 Eds JJ Chang, Fisc FA Popp (Hi ngham, MassKuw Acadmic Pblishrs)