- I have been reading a book entitled The Field by Lynne
McTaggert, a book that could revolutionize our view of the universe once
again. One of the key notions in this book is the discovery of biophotons,
a new study in the field of biophysics that could have a far-reaching impact
on our ideas of life and consciousness in the universe.
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- What are biophotons and how were they discovered?
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- "Biophotons, or ultra weak photon emissions
of biological systems, are weak electromagnetic waves in the optical range
of the spectrum - in other words: light. All living cells of plants, animals
and human beings emit biophotons which cannot be seen by the naked eye
but can be measured by special equipment developed by German researchers.
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- This light emission is an expression of the functional
state of the living organism and its measurement therefore can be used
to assess this state. Cancer cells and healthy cells of the same type,
for instance, can be discriminated by typical differences in biophoton
emission. After an initial decade and a half of basic research on this
discovery, biophysicists of various European and Asian countries are now
exploring the many interesting applications which range across such diverse
fields as cancer research, non-invasive early medical diagnosis, food and
water quality testing, chemical and electromagnetic contamination testing,
cell communication, and various applications in biotechnology.
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- According to the biophoton theory developed on the base
of these discoveries the biophoton light is stored in the cells of the
organism - more precisely, in the DNA molecules of their nuclei - and a
dynamic web of light constantly released and absorbed by the DNA may connect
cell organelles, cells, tissues, and organs within the body and serve as
the organism's main communication network and as the principal regulating
instance for all life processes. The processes of morphogenesis, growth,
differentiation and regeneration are also explained by the structuring
and regulating activity of the coherent biophoton field. The holographic
biophoton field of the brain and the nervous system, and maybe even that
of the whole organism, may also be basis of memory and other phenomena
of consciousness, as postulated by neurophysiologist Karl Pribram and others.
The consciousness-like coherence properties of the biophoton field are
closely related to its base in the properties of the physical vacuum and
indicate its possible role as an interface to the non-physical realms of
mind, psyche and consciousness.
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- The discovery of biophoton emission also lends scientific
support to some unconventional methods of healing based on concepts of
homeostasis (self-regulation of the organism), such as various somatic
therapies, homeopathy and acupuncture. The "ch'i" energy flowing
in our bodies' energy channels (meridians) which according to Traditional
Chinese Medicine regulates our body functions may be related to node lines
of the organism's biophoton field. The "prana" of Indian Yoga
physiology may be a similar regulating energy force that has a basis in
weak, coherent electromagnetic biofields."
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- First discovered in 1923 by Russian medical scientist
Professor Alexander G.Gurvich (who named them "mitogenetic rays")
and in the 1930s widely researched in Europe and the USA, biophotons have
been rediscovered and backed since the 1970s by ample experimental and
theoretical evidence by European scientists. In 1974 German biophysicist
Fritz-Albert Popp has proved their existence, their origin from the DNA
and later their coherence (laser-like nature), and has developed biophoton
theory to explain their possible biological role and the ways in which
they may control biochemical processes, growth, differentiation etc. Popp's
biophoton theory leads to many startling insights into the life processes
and may well provide one of the major elements of a future theory of life
and holistic medical practice based on such an approach. The importance
of the discovery has been confirmed by eminent scientists such as Herbert
Froehlich and Nobel laureate Ilya Prigogine. Since 1992, the International
Institute of Biophysics, a network of research laboratories in more than
10 countries, based in Germany, is coordinating research in this field
which promises rapid development in the next decade. "(1)
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- There are so many ramifications to the study of
biophotonic emissions that it is difficult to elucidate at this time.
Biophoton studies seem to indicate that the emission is coherent and that
biophotons may be modulated and communicate information not only throughout
the body but into the extended environment. It may be the process by which
DNA actually communicates its information to protein molecules in the process
of morphogenesis. It may have relevance to extra-sensory modes of communication
with other life forms and explain many mysteries of life.
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- Here is a list of some of the properties and characteristics
of biophotons so far discovered (2):
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- "Some steps in revealing important properties of
biophotons are (1) careful measurements of the spectrum, (2) the analysis
of the photo count statistics, (3) connecting the spontaneous and delayed
"luminescence", (4) investigations of the temperature dependence
of biophotons and (5) correlating physical properties of biophoton emission
and biological parameters such as growth, differentiation, DNA -content,
and anomalies.
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- As far as results are available, a brief summary justifies
at present the following statements:
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- · The spectral distribution of biophotons
covers at least the range from 200 to 800 nm [1].
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- · The spectrum is not a line spectrum
but rather flat, following approximately the rule f(w) = constant, where
f describes the probability of occupying the phase space cells of energy
. This is a significant difference from a closed system, where f(w) is
the well-known Boltzmann distribution, where T is the absolute temperature
[2].
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- · The probability of counting 0,1,2,....,
n biophotons in a preset time interval Dt follows accurately a Poissonian
distribution p(n,Dt) = exp (-<n>) <n>n/n! , where <n>
is the mean value of photon numbers n during the preset time interval Dt[2].
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- · This Poissonian probability distribution
is fulfilled even in non-stationary biophoton emission. It holds to time
intervals down to at least Dt of 10-5 s [2].
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- · Instead of following an exponential
decay, delayed luminescence can be described rather accurately by a "hyperbolic
relaxation" of the type A/(1+tz), where A and z are constant (including
complex) values, while t is the time after external excitation [2].
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- · The temperature dependence follows
a Curie-Weiss law rather than the Arrhenius factor [3].
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- · It is evident that at least a significant
part of biophoton emission originates from DNA [4].
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- · There are manifold non-linear dependencies
of biophoton emission on cell densities [5].
- One of the leading researchers in this new field of biophotons
is Fritz-Albert Popp of the International Institute of Biophysics (Biophotonics).
Popp was one of those brilliant scientist who risked his career when he
became interested in biophotons and there potential for healing. Experiments
have even revealed that persons with deceased cells may be healed remotely
by those who transmit coherent states of information via biophoton transmission.
- Popp says, "Biophotons are photons emitted spontaneously
by all living systems.1-3 In particular, this phenomenon is not confined
to "thermal" radiation in the infrared range. It is well known
at present that biophotons are emitted also in the range from visible up
to UV. Actually, the intensity of "biophotons" can be registered
from a few photons per second and square centimeter surface area on up
to some hundred photons from every living system under investigation. The
spectral distribution never does display small peaks around definite frequencies.
Rather, the quite flat distribution within the range of at least 300 to
800 nm has to be assigned to a thermodynamical system "far away"
from equilibrium, since the probability f(n)(see Footnote) of occupying
the phase space is on average almost constant and exceeds the Boltzmann
distribution in this spectral range by at least a factor of 1010(in the
red) up to 1040 (in the UV-range). Fig. 1 displays a typical frequency
distribution of a living system, where the spectral intensity of biophotons
(at the outside of the living system) has been averaged over several measurements
and then expressed in terms of the excitation temperatures (upper figures
and lower, left figure) or the occupation probability f(n ) (lower right
figure). The term "bio-" in biophotons has been introduced4 in
the same way as it has been done in the term "bio-luminescence",
pointing to the biological source of the emission, and the term "photons"
in the word ,,biophotons" has been chosen to express the fact that
the phenomenon is characterized by measuring single photons, indicating
that this phenomenon has to be considered as a subject of quantum optics
rather than of "classical" physics." (3)
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- Though biophoton emissions are weak and various instruments
are needed to detect these biophotons, the possibility exists that it may
give rise to methods of detecting extraterrestrial life forms and determining
their vital signatures.
- "Whereas an incoherent source relaxes according
to an exponential relationship between light intensity and time of measurement,
a coherent emission decays according to a hyperbolic relationship. Popp
et al. and others have done considerable research to measure the kinetics
of the decay of biological light emission from many organisms, with the
result that almost all of the decay curves show a hyperbolic relationship.
Although hyperbolic decay might also be observed for systems with a large
number of independent emitters, Popp and Li10 maintain that under the particular
conditions in which they have measured hyperbolic decay for light from
organisms, the long-lasting hyperbolic decay observed for induced light
emission is a sufficient condition for coherence." (4)
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- It is possible that biophotons may even be carriers of
psi information and that a coherent coupling can be established between
two conscious life forms resulting in a transference of information from
a higher potential field to a field at lower potential. Even though this
is conjecture at this point, it suggests other means by which disparate
life forms can communicate. We know there is a process by which trees communicate
and even signal each other in the face of danger. We may be exchanging
information with pets and other animals through biophotonic communication.
This may be how some people who have a green thumb affect plants they
care for. The possibilities have not been fully explored, but I suspect
that biophotonics will be a growing science in the 21st century.
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- (1) http://www.transpersonal.de/mbischof/englisch/webbookeng.htm
- (2) http://www.lifescientists.de/ib0205e_1.htm
- (3) http://www.datadiwan.de/iib/ib0204e_1.htm
- (4) http://www.noetic.org/Ions/publications/review_archives/26/issue26_10.html
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