Abraham R Liboff

Oakland University · Department of Physics

The Warburg observation concerning ATP generation in cancer cells is analyzed with regard to the likely involvement of H+ resonance effects on the angular velocity of the ATP synthase rotor. It is reasonable to expect that the variety of diseases associated with mitochondrial dysfunction may in part be related to the ATP synthase rate of rotation....

Except for relatively few polarity reversals the magnitude of the magnetic dipole moment of the earth has remained constant since life first began, allowing evolutionary processes to integrate the geomagnetic field (GMF) into several biological functions. One of these, bearing the classical signature of an ion cyclotron resonance (ICR)-like interac...

Although considerable experimental evidence now exists to indicate that low-freque,]cy magnetic fileds influence living cells, the mode of coupling remains a mystery. We propose a radical new model for electromagnetic interactions with cells, one resulting from a cyclotron resonance mechanism attached to ions moving through trans-membrane channels....

A helitetrahedral model has been proposed to help explain reports of low-frequency oscillations in pure water following electromagnetic excitation at the hydronium ion cyclotron resonance frequency. The Lorentz force and the intrinsic structure constrain the motion of the H3O(+) ion so that it enjoys a unique form of proton-hopping, one whose path...

It has been established that living things are sensitive to extremely low-frequency magnetic fields at vanishingly small intensities, on the order of tens of nT. We hypothesize, as a consequence of this sensitivity, that some fraction of an individual's central nervous system activity can be magnetically detected by nearby individuals. Even if we r...

Recent observations of low-frequency electromagnetic oscillations in water suggest an inductive structural component. Accordingly, we assume a helical basis enabling us to model water as an LC tuned oscillator. A proposed tetrahedral structure consisting of three water molecules and one hydronium ion is incorporated into the Boerdijk–Coxeter tetrah...

Heretofore only observed in living systems, we report that weak-field ion cyclotron resonance (ICR) also occurs in inanimate matter. Weak magnetic field (50 nT) hydronium ICR at the field combination (7.84 Hz, 7.5 µT) markedly changes water structure, as evidenced by finding an altered index of refraction exactly at this combined field. This observ...

Current models that frame consciousness in terms of electromagnetic field theory carry implications that have yet to be fully explored. Endogenous weak extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic fields are generated by ionic charge flow in axons, dendrites and synaptic transmitters. Because neural tissues are transparent to such fields, these provide t...

We examine the hypothesis that consciousness is a manifestation of the electromagnetic field, finding supportive factors not previously considered. It is not likely that traditional electrophysiological signaling modes can be readily transmitted throughout the brain to properly enable this field because of electric field screening arising from the...

Although it is well-accepted that the geomagnetic field (GMF) plays an important role in animal navigation and migration, key problems remain unanswered. To explain the puzzling ability of hatchlings to embark on unexplored migrational journeys we hypothesize that mothers who have previously navigated the trip enable their offspring by direct trans...

Several years ago just before Christmas, in a small meeting room at the Institute of Pharmacology at the University of Rome, we had the opportunity to attend a meeting on "The role of QED in medicine" by Emilio Del Giudice and Giuliano Preparata. Before that meeting, we were more oriented towards a mechanistic view of Biochemistry and Medicine, bel...

Abstract There is an ongoing question regarding the structure forming capabilities of water at ambient temperatures. To probe for different structures, we studied effects in pure water following magnetic field exposures corresponding to the ion cyclotron resonance of H3O(+). Included were measurements of conductivity and pH. We find that under ion...

Abstract There is evidence for robust interactions of weak ELF magnetic fields with biological systems. Quite apart from the difficulties attending a proper physical basis for such interactions, an equally daunting question asks why these should even occur, given the apparent lack of comparable signals in the long-term electromagnetic environment....

Contrary to the belief that paleomagnetic reversals are not biologically significant, we find good reason to think otherwise. Attention is drawn to polarity transitions, time intervals a few thousand years long that follow the collapse of the existing geomagnetic dipole moment and precede the establishment of the new, oppositely directed moment. Th...

Only recently has the critical importance of electromagnetic (EM) field interactions in biology and medicine been recognized. We review the phenomenon of resonance signaling, discussing how specific frequencies modulate cellular function to restore or maintain health. The application of EM-tuned signals represents more than merely a new tool in inf...

Numerous reports indicate robust mitogenic responses in human lymphocytes to low-frequency electromagnetic fields. We hypothesize that these observations reflect a wider platform for immune capability than presently recognized, whereby weak electromagnetic signals play the role of antigens. This notion hinges on whether pathogenic bacteria can emit...

We advance the hypothesis that biological systems utilize the geomagnetic field (GMF) for functional purposes by means of ion cyclotron resonance-like (ICR) mechanisms. Numerous ICR-designed experiments have demonstrated that living things are sensitive, in varying degrees, to magnetic fields that are equivalent to both changes in the general magne...

Our previous findings provide strong evidence that transport of a given ionic species through a cell membrane can be precisely controlled by tuning externally applied magnetic fields to the ion cyclotron resonance (CR) gyrofrequency for the ion in question. Experiment and theory have shown that certain odd harmonics of the fundamental resonance fre...

In this article, a new model for living systems is advanced. Organisms are described in terms of an electromagnetic vector field, Π derived from the distributed charge and current densities, ρ and J, within the system, with the electric polarization vector P playing a key role. Those biochemical processes traditionally thought of as the basis for l...

It has been suggested for some time that cells “far from equilibrium” may be the most sensitive to applied extremely low-frequency (ELF) electric and magnetic fields. The problem with this statement is that it is nearly impossible to quantify these words as they apply to a biological system in such a way that the definition can become part of a mec...

To assess the possibility that specific ionic resonances can influence bone development, 8-day chick femoral rudiments were explanted to lens paper rafts in BGJb medium and exposed for 1/2 hr/day to combined 16 or 80 Hz, 2 × 10−5 T (Tesla) peak sinusoidal and various static magnetic fields tuned to calcium, magnesium, potassium (16 Hz), and combine...

We suggest that a single field vector Φ be used to characterize a living organism, where Φ is the electromagnetic field due to the time-varying electric charge distribution within the organism. This representation has interesting advantages over the traditional biological description universally given in terms of visible characteristics. The H fiel...

Wellness can be described in physical terms as a state that is a function of the organism's electric polarization vector P(r, t). One can alter P by invasive application of electric fields or by non invasive external pulsed magnetic fields (PMF) or ion cyclotron resonance (ICR)-like combinations of static and sinusoidal magnetic fields. Changes in...

Despite experimental evidence supporting ICR-like interactions in biological systems, to date there is no reasonable theoretical explanation for this phenomenon. The parametric resonance approach introduced by Lednev has enjoyed limited success in predicting the response as a function of the ratio of AC magnetic intensity to that of the DC field, e...

Based on decades of experimental evidence an excellent argument can be made for the existence of a fundamental functional relationship between living systems and electromagnetic fields. We have previously hypothesized that this relationship can be expressed in terms of a field vector whose source is the distribution of electric polarization within...

There is good experimental evidence for a specific biological interaction with ELF magnetic fields that is functionally dependent on ion cyclotron resonance (ICR) frequencies as derived from ionic charge-to-mass ratios. This evidence is gleaned from studies on an extraordinarily wide variety of biological systems. However, no reasonable underlying...

Work by Lund, Burr, Becker, and others leads to the inescapable conclusion that organisms tend to express quasisystemic electric changes when perturbed, and, conversely, will tend toward wellness either through endogenous repair currents or the application of equivalent external currents. We show that an all-inclusive electromagnetic field represen...

Absorbance measurements at 660 nm of calmodulin (CaM) dependent cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase activity under cell free conditions indicate that 30-min exposures to weak magnetostatic field intensities alters this activity, compared to zero magnetic field exposures. This effect depends nonlinearly on the concentration of free calcium, with max...

Physical parameters that are used to characterize different types of electromagnetic devices used in neurotherapy can include power, frequency, carrier frequency, current, magnetic field intensity, and whether an application is primarily electric or primarily magnetic. Currents can range from tens of microamperes to hundreds of milliamperes, magnet...

Cancer cluster studies in North Carolina identified several communities in which there existed an elevated risk of brain cancer. These findings prompted a series of case-control studies. The current article, which originated from the results of the 3rd of such studies, is focused on inclusion of the earth's own geomagnetic fields that interact with...

It is proposed that the avian magnetic compass depends on the angle between the horizontal component B(h) of the geomagnetic field (GMF) and E(r), the radial electric field distribution generated by gamma-oscillations within the optic tectum (TeO). We hypothesize that the orientation of the brain relative to B(h) is perceived as a set of electric f...

Attempts to establish extremely low-frequency (ELF) threshold sensitivity limits in biological systems are presently based on estimates of thermal noise in the cell membrane. The Weaver-Astumian (Science 247:459–462, 1990) threshold (8 × 10−3 V/m) should in principle also apply to electric fields produced by Faraday induction. However, the 60-Hz ma...

A growing body of evidence suggests that weak extremely low frequency (ELF; 1-100 Hz) electric and magnetic fields may affect the central nervous system (CNS). Exogenous ELF fields have been associated with effects involving reaction time,18,21 learning and memory,19,39 45Ca2+efflux from brain slices,3,10 and neuronal field potentials,6,7,8,9 Endog...

Several investigations have revealed that electrical activity within the central nervous system (CNS) can be affected by exposure to weak extremely-low-frequency (ELF) magnetic fields. Many of these studies have implicated CNS structures exhibiting endogenous oscillation and synchrony as optimal sites for field coupling. A particularly well charact...

Possible links between bioelectromagnetism and acupuncture are explored. The current status of research activities in bioelectromagnetism is reviewed, with particular emphasis on the emerging role of the geomagnetic field in weak-field biological interactions. We suggest that experiments be designed to study the functional dependence of acupuncture...

We consider the possibility that DC magnetic fields can interact in a resonant manner with endogenous AC electric fields in biological systems. Intrinsic electric-field ion cyclotron resonance (ICR) interactions would be more physically credible than models based on external AC magnetic fields and might be expected as an evolutionary response to th...

If it is more fundamental to formulate biological expression in terms of electromagnetic fields, does this also imply that living things are especially sensitive to the external electromagnetic environment? Specifically, we examine possible genomic effects due to reversals of the geomagnetic field. To maintain sensitivity following a reversal, the...

We recently reported that cephalic regeneration in the planarian Dugesia tigrina was significantly delayed in populations exposed continuously to combined parallel DC and AC magnetic fields. This effect was consistent with hypotheses suggesting an underlying resonance phenomenon. We report here, in a parallel series of investigations on the same mo...

Seeds of Raphanus sativus, var. Cherry Belle were exposed to combined parallel static and sinusoidal 60 Hz, 40 μT peak-peak ac fields turned to the fundamental, 2nd and 3rd cyclotron resonance harmonics for calcium and potassium ions. Other seeds were exposed to similar fields tuned to the fundamental and 5th harmonic for magnesium. Concurrent cont...

Extremely-low-frequency (ELF), low-intensity magnetic fields have been shown to influence cell signaling processes in a variety of systems, both in vivo and in vitro. Similar effects have been demonstrated for nervous system development and neurite outgrowth. We report that regeneration in planaria, which incorporates many of these processes, is al...

The metric of prime interest in power line epidemiological studies has been AC magnetic intensity. To consider also possible geomagnetic involvement, the orientation of a long straight power line is examined relative to a uniform geomagnetic field (GMF) with dip angle alpha. An expression is derived for the component of the total GMF that is parall...

If one accepts the notion that essentially all chemical reactions or conformational changes in molecules are accompanied by the transfer or spatial rearrangement of electric charge, it is hardly surprising that electric fields are effective in changing the physiological or biochemical activity of a variety of organisms. One of the principal difficu...

Rabbits with a fibular ostectomy were exposed for 28 days to magnetic fields that satisfied the ion resonance conditions for calcium or magnesium. The rabbits were exposed to whole body treatment for 1/2 hour, 3 hours, or 24 hours per day. The fibulae from the experimental and control animals were removed surgically and were subjected to force-defl...

We exposed seeds of Raphanus sativus to 60 Hz ELF fields tuned to the ion cyclotron resonance frequencies for calcium and potassium ions. Exposure lasted for 24 h/day for 21 days. Controls consisted of non-exposed seeds and seeds exposed to 60 Hz fields with a static component of zero. The seeds exposed to calcium-tuned fields were slow to germinat...

There have been many attempts to develop a theoretical explanation of the phenomena of electromagnetic field interactions with biological systems. None of the reported efforts have been entirely successful in accounting for the observed experimental results, in particular with respect to the reports of interactions between extremely low frequency (...

We have attempted to measure the electromotive forces (emfs) induced in human beings moving at a constant speed in a highly dense magnetic field. Experiments were initially conducted on a set of models, and then directly on human subjects. The models consisted of single circular loops of Tygon tubing (I.D., 0.635 cm; O.D., 0.9525 cm) filled with no...

Numerous experiments by various laboratories have demonstrated that the effects of ELF magnetic fields on living systems may be dependent upon resonance effects. Bawin and Adey (1976) and Blackman, et. al. (1984) observed such responses for calcium efflux from chick brains. Dutta, et. al. (1984) saw similar effects in neuroblastoma cells. Liboff (1...

Colonic tissue from the turtle (Pseudemys scripta) was exposed in a Ussing chamber to simultaneously applied static and time-varying magnetic fields. Transepithelial differences of potential were monitored as frequency of the AC field was varied continuously or in discrete steps from 3 to 770 Hz. Density of the DC field was varied from 10 to 220 mi...

Experiments were conducted to further investigate the effect of 60-Hz cyclotron-resonance exposures on rats performing on a multiple FR-DRL schedule. The previously reported temporary loss of DRL baseline response, when measured as a function of A.C. magnetic intensity, was found to have a threshold. Utilizing the component of A.C. magnetic intensi...

The incorporation of 45Ca in mixed human lymphocytes was measured following one-hour exposures of the cells to combined steady and periodic magnetic fields designed to probe for cyclotron resonance response in calcium incorporation. Measurements were made as a function of magnetic field frequency, up to 30 Hz, and as a function of magnetic field am...

The cyclotron resonance model for channel ion transport in weak magnetic fields is extended to include damping losses. The conductivity tensor is obtained for different electric field configurations, including the circuital field E phi normal to the channel axis. The conductivity behavior close to the cyclotron resonance frequency omega c is compar...

The hypothesis that movement of biological ions may be predicted by cyclotron resonance theory applied to cell membranes is tested in these experiments. Diatoms (Amphora coffeaeformis) were chosen as the biosystem since they move or don't move, depending on how much calcium is transported across the membrane. The experiments demonstrate that a part...

The search for mechanisms to explain electromagnetic (EM) field interactions with living systems was concentrated almost entirely in studies of electric fields in and the dielectric properties of the living systems prior to 1984. Magnetic fields had been studied as a prime mover, but primarily only high level magnetic fields such as one might find...

There is now a rich history to those experiments studying the stimulation of biological systems using extremely weak electrical and magnetic fields. In the following, we review this work, with particular emphasis on the experimental evidence in support of ion cyclotron resonance as the interaction mechanism underlying the observed effects. The numb...

The present study demonstrates that operant behavior is affected by a combination of a 60-Hz magnetic field and a magnetostatic field 2.6 X 10(-5) T (about half the geomagnetic field). Rats exposed to this combination for 30 min consistently exhibited changes in the rate and pattern of responding during the differential reinforcement of low rate (D...

We seek to extend the recent suggestion that classical cyclotron resonance of biologically important ions is implicated in weak electromagnetic field-cell interactions. The motion of charged particles in a constant magnetic field and periodic electric field is examined under the simplifying assumption of no damping. Each of the nine terms of the re...

Although considerable experimental evidence now exists to indicate that low-frequency magnetic fileds influence living cells, the mode of coupling remains a mystery. We propose a radical new model for electromagnetic interactions with cells, one resulting from a cyclotron resonance mechanism attached to ions moving through transmembrane channels. I...

Although it has been reported, in observations connected to electrically stimulated bone repair, that intramedullary electrodes not attached to any electrical source can also induce osteogenesis, there has been only one systematic attempt to study this effect per se. We have extended these studies, implanting selected metal and plastic wires longit...

Human fibroblasts have exhibited enhanced DNA synthesis when exposed to sinusoidally varying magnetic fields for a wide range of frequencies (15 hertz to 4 kilohertz) and amplitudes (2.3 X 10(-6) to 5.6 X 10(-4) tesla). This effect, which is at maximum during the middle of the S phase of the cell cycle, appears to be independent of the time derivat...

Acoustic pulses generated by the passage of 30-GeV protons through water exhibit evidence for the presence of a nonthermal source. In addition to the bipolar leading-compression signal expected from thermal shock, a tripolar leading-rarefaction component is observed. The component is dominant at 4 degree C, where the thermal signal should vanish. A...

Factors influencing the premedical requirement in physics are examined. A review is given of the various reasons why physics is important in medical education. The new Medical College Admissions Test is discussed. In looking at the rapid advances in technology in medicine, it is argued that the medical student is presently disadvantaged in physics,...

One category of applied physics presently of great interest is medical physics; in large measure this is due to the increasingly rapid transfer of physical concepts and techniques to the area of health care. The traditional entrance to the medical physics profession is at the master's level. A four-year baccalaureate applied physics program is desc...

An air-filled 906-liter thin-walled aluminum chamber of spherical geometry is used to measure the cosmic ray ionization intensity at sea level over Lake St. Clair and Lake Huron during 1973 and 1974. The objective is to verify George's (1970) work and, in general, to follow the goal of precise low-noise absolute measurements in the background level...

Despite the effectiveness of electrical currents in enhancing bone repair, there is little information in the literature on electrical parameters per se. Very little is known about the nature of the conduction mechanism or the current path between the electrodes. Without a better understanding it is difficult to establish meaningful hypotheses at t...

;Contents: Piezoelectric properties of organic polymers; Charge separation associated with dipole disordering in proteins; Electrochemical information transfer at living cell membranes; The basic biological data transmission and control system influenced by electrical forces; Differential biologic effects of pulsed and continuous electromagnetic fi...

A human congenital pseudarthrosis of the tibia, unresponsive to conventional treatment, was stimulated to healing by direct electric current. The method was modeled after prior experimental work in vivo in rabbits. X-ray photographs, histological techniques, and electron microscopy confirmed the presence of newly formed bone in the defect region.

Four peaks were observed in the differential primary weight loss with temperatures up to 1,000 C. The first and second peaks correspond to the loss of water and the volatilization of protein. The third peak results from the carbonate. The fourth peak, which occurs at 700 to 800 C, probably is related to the transformation of hydroxyapatite to β-tri...