Biophoton
|
|
A "Biophoton" (from the Greek βιο meaning "life" and φωτο meaning "light") is a term that refers to light emitted in some fashion from biological systems. From the view of some Physicists it is more correct to attach the attribute biological to the emission process, as in bioluminescence, because no specific biologicalness can be attributed to the photons themselves, once they are emitted. Thus, it should be clearly stated, that a biophoton is not an elementary particle, but simply a normal photon emitted from a biological system.
Loose terminology has caused some confusion as to what is actually known about the phenomena of emission of photons from biological systems. There are several associated definitions of the term biophoton, some of which remain disputed and unproven, and some of which generate confusion to those in non-scientific fields. Nonetheless, it is universally accepted that biological systems emit photons. However, in cases not explained by black body radiation and bioluminescence, it is not yet clear how they are produced and if they are possibly related to higher-order biological processes.
| Contents |
Some Background
The term Biophoton is used to denote those photons that are emitted by biological probes as part of the general weak electromagnetic radiation of living biological cells. Further terms in science for this phenomenon are ultra-weak bioluminescence, dark luminescence, and ultraweak chemiluminescence.
A typical magnitude of "biophotons" can be registered in the visible and ultraviolet range from a few photons per second and square centimeter surface area, up to some hundred photons per second and square centimeter surface area <math>\left(\frac{E}{cm^{2}s}\right)<math>. This is much less than in the openly visible and well-researched phenomenon of normal bioluminescence, but much more than in the thermal, or black body radiation that so-called perfect black bodies demonstrate.
Very vaguely, though qualitatively, this amount of light has been compared to that observed from a candle viewed at a distance of 10 kilometers. The detection of these photons has been made possible due to the development of sensitive modern photomultipliers. Because of this, the existence of this radiation is no longer disputed, while its interpretation is still very much an open question.
Some have suggested that biophotons, in an elementary sense, might be quanta of light that possibly are emitted from all biological systems and could be a reflection of a particular order of matter in the biosphere. Again, this does not mean that the biophoton is any different than a normal photon, only that the way in which it is generated might be unique to biological systems. Though this far-reaching research question is often implicated in the usage of the term biophoton, most biologists have not yet seen the evidence that would justify such an implication (see below).
Some History
In the 1920's, the Russian embryologist Alexander Gurwitsch reported “ultraweak” photon emissions from living tissues in the UV-range of the spectrum. He named them “mitogenetic rays”, because he assumed that they had a stimulating effect on cell division rates of nearby tissue. However, common biochemical techniques as well as the fact that cell growth can generally be stimulated and directed by radiation, though at much higher amplitudes, evoked a general skepticism about Gurwitsch´s assumption. Consequently, the mitogenetic radiation hypothesis was largely ignored.
However, after the end of World War II some Western scientists such as Colli (Italy), Quickenden (Australia), Inaba (Japan) returned to the subject of “mitogenetic radiation”, but referred to the phenomenon as “dark luminescence”, “low level luminescence”, “ultraweak bioluminescence”, or “ultraweak chemiluminescence.” Their common basic hypothesis was that the phenomenon was induced from rare oxidation processes and radical reactions. While they added some general chemistry to the hypothesis of photon emission, they did not address the more mysterious assumption of Gurwitsch that the photons themselves, forming the so-called mitogenic rays, stimulated cellular responses.
In the 1970's the then assistant professor Fritz-Albert Popp, and his research group, at the University of Marburg (Germany) offered a slightly more detailed analysis of the topic. They showed that the spectral distribution of the emission fell over a wide range of wavelengths, from 200 to 800 nm. Popp further proposed the surprising and unprecedented hypothesis that the radiation might be both semi-periodic and coherent in the quantum mechanical sense. This hypothesis is still regarded as an outsider hypothesis in the scientific community.
Further, the term biophoton has been overtaken by several scientific groups, pseudoscientific groups, new-age groups, and so forth, located in (for example) Austria, Brazil, Chile, China, India, Italy, Japan, Poland, Russia, Switzerland, Southern Korea and USA. In fact, some claim that the existence of a so-called biophotonism has its roots in German branches of the "New Age" movement of the 1970s. According to this view the biophoton movement has resulted in a large number of business companies in the health care sector, which provide "highly advanced" medicine, such as information-loaded water, thus exploiting and perhaps even misusing what is "understood" and conjectured about biophotons. Because of this, it has at times been difficult to parse the real science from the pseudo science of the topic.
An international group of lifescientists of different disciplines was founded and established as the [1] (http://www.lifescientists.de/) Internation Institute of Biophysics in Neuss, Germany. The institute uses the term “Biophotonics” for the science, research and applications of photons in their interactions within and on biological systems. Topics of research pertain more generally to basic questions of biophysics and related subjects (for example, the regulation of biological functions, cell growth and differentiation, connections to so-called delayed luminescence, and spectral emissions in supermolecular processes in living tissues, etc.).
See the bottom of the page for more references.
A Model for Random Emissions
In statistical mechanics and modern biology, the favored model of many systems has to do with ensemble phenomena due to a large number of interacting molecules, etc. In chaos theory, for example, it is often suggested that the appearence of randomness in systems is due to a lack of understanding of the larger scheme under which the system responds. Regardless, this has led many who deal with large systems to employ statistics to explain seemingly random events as outlying effects in distribution functions. In this way, since there is normal and openly visible bioluminescence in both many bacteria and other cells (see bioluminescnece article) which emit light by particular chemical reactions due to proteins, then it can be inferred that due to the extremely small number of photons in ultra-weak bioluminescence (the numbers given above correspond to roughly a single photon per cell per month, assuming a typical cell diameter of 10 micrometers) that these emissions are simply a random by-product of cellular metabolism, in much the same way that solar flares on some coarse level are thought of as simply random byproducts of nuclear fusion on the surface of stars.
Slightly more specifically, cellular metabolism is thought to occur in a chain of steps (which leads to dynamic cycles) in which each step involves small energy exchanges (See ATP). Thus, due to a certain degree of randomness according to the laws of thermodynamics (or statistical mechanics), it must then be expected that, very rarely, some irregular steps can occur. These are refered to as "outlying states." Thus due to occasional physiochemical energy imbalance, a photon is occasionally emitted.
According to this model there is no need to adopt a mysterious hypothesis, like the mitogenetic radiation hypothesis. But, of course, it cannot exclude it.
Hypothesized Involvement in Cellular Communication
In the absence of definite knowledge about the mechanisms that produce these photons, some of the groups around F.A. Popp in Neuss/Germany, who adopted the term "biophotons", have speculated that they may be involved in various cell functions, such as mitosis, or even that they may be produced and detected by the DNA in the cell nucleus. These speculations have not yet resulted in a testable hypothesis.
Some groups have further speculated that these emissions may be part of a system of cell-to-cell communication, which may be of greater complexity than the modes of cell communication already known, such as chemical signaling. These ideas even suggest that biophotons may be important for the development of larger structures, such as organs and organisms.
Connection to Metaphysics and Alternative Medicine
One of the interesting features of biophotons is the enormous amount of interest they have stimulated in a diverse collection of fields, from those interested in Eastern medicine, acupuncture, martial arts, biophysics, biology, chemistry, theology, theosophy, and so forth.
For example, some have claimed that one might be able to associate "biophotons" with Qi, a mystical energy source within living beings posited by some Eastern medicine and new-age religions. However, research has not yet provided a hypothesis how the existence of Qi might possibly be tested. Therefore it is regarded by many as a purely metaphysical construct. Others have postulated that these emissions are related to consciousness. Some have used these claims to slander the very terminology of "biophoton," as others have simply said that these associations cause unecessary confusion in the usage of the terminology. From the point of view of metaphysics, a science-wide metanoia may be desirable in order to transcend these biases.
See also
External links
- Marco Bischof's Bibliography on biophoton research and related subjects (http://www.lifescientists.de/publication/bibliography1-1.htm)
- G.J. Hyland's Fundaments of Coherence in Biology (http://www.biophotonen-online.de/abstract/abs2000-3.htm)
- Photonics TechnologyWorld, "Our Bodies, Our Photons (http://www.photonics.com/spectra/tech/XQ/ASP/techid.427/QX/read.htm)". October 1998 Edition.
- Tilbury, Gregg, Percival, Matich: "Ultraweak Cheminluminescence from Human Blood Plasma (http://www.photobiology.com/v1/tilbury/default.htm)"
- R. Vanwijk, "Bio-photons and Bio-communication (http://www.scientificexploration.org/jse/articles/pdf/vanwijk.pdf)". Journal of Scientific Exploration, Society for Scientific Exploration. (PDF)
- Delayed ultraweak bioluminescence (http://www.bion.si/raziskave/Biophotons.htm)
- F.A. Popp, et al, Recent Advances in Biophoton Research and its Application (http://www.worldscibooks.com/physics/1559.html)
- F.A. Popp, Biophotonics (http://www.biophotonik.de)
- INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF BIOPHYSICS (http://www.lifescientists.de)
References
- J.J.Chang and F.A.Popp: "Biological Organization: A Possible Mechanism based on the Coherence of Biophotons". In: Biophotons (J.J.Chang, J.Fisch and F.A.Popp, eds.), Kluwer Academic Publisher, Dordrecht-London 1998, pp. 217-227.
- A.G. Gurwitsch: "Über Ursachen der Zellteilung". Arch. Entw. Mech. Org. 51 (1922), 383-415.
- H.Fröhlich: "Long Range Coherence and Energy Storage in Biological Systems". Int. J. Quant. Chem. 2 (1968), 641-649.
- Radiofrequency and microwave radiation of biological origin – their possible role in biocommunication. Psychoenergetic Systems, Vol.3 (1979), pp.133-154.
- F.A.Popp, Q.Gu, and K.H.Li: Biophoton emission: Experimental background and theoretical approaches. Modern Physics Letters B8:1269-1296.
- Ruth,B. and F.A.Popp: Experimentelle Untersuchungen zur ultraschwachen Photonenemission biologischer Systeme. Z.Naturforsch.31
- Ruth, B. In: Electromagnetic Bio-Information (F.A.Popp, G.Becker, H.L.König and W.Peschka, eds.), Urban &Schwarzenberg, München-Wien-Baltimore 1979. This paper contains the historical background of biophotons.
- Popp, F.A.: Biophotonen. Ein neuer Weg zur Lösung des Krebsproblems. Schriftenreihe Krebsgeschehen, Vol.6, Verlag für Medizin, Dr.Ewald Fischer,Heidelberg 1976.
- Popp,F.A., Ruth,B., Bahr,W., Böhm,J., Grass,P., Grolig,G., Rattemeyer,M., Schmidt,H.G., and Wulle,P.:Emission of visible and ultraviolet radiation by active biological systems. Collective Phenomena (Gordon&Breach), Vol.3 (1981), pp.187-214.
- Rattemeyer, M., Popp,F.A., and Nagl,W.: Evidence of photon emission from DNA in living systems. Naturwissenschaften 68 (1981), 572-573.
- Popp,F.A., Gurwitsch,A.A., Inaba, H., Slawinski, J., Cilento G., van Wijk, R., Chwirot B., and Nagl,W.: Biophoton Emission (Multi-Author Review), Experientia 44 (1988), 543-600.
- Popp,F.A., Gu,Q., and Li, K.H.:Biophoton Emission: Experimentell Background and Theoretical Approaches. Modern Physics Letters B8 (1994), 1269-1296.
- Chang, J.J., Fisch, J., and Popp,F.A.:Biophotons. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht-Boston-London 1998.
- Bajpai, R.P., Popp,F.A., van Wijk, R., Niggli,H., Beloussov, L.V., Cohen,S., Jung, H.H., Sup-Soh, K., Lipkind, M., Voiekov, V.L., Slawinski, J., Aoshima, Y., Michiniewicz, Z., van Klitzing,L., Swain,J.:Biophotons (Multi-Author-Review). Indian Journal of Experimental Biology 41 (2003), Vol 5, 391-544.
- Popp,F.A., Yan,Yu: Delayed luminescence of biological systems in terms of coherent states. Physics Letters A 293 (2002), 93-97.
- Yan, Y., Popp,F.A., Sigrist,S., Schlesinger,D., Dolf,A., Yan,Z., Cohen,S., and Chotia, A.:Further analysis of delayed luminescence of plants, Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology 78 (2005),229-234.