Alexander Pazur

• Dr. rer. nat.
• Scientific staff member at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich

Correlations between geomagnetic-field and climate parameters have been suggested repeatedly, but possible links are controversially discussed. Here we test if weak (Earth-strength) magnetic fields can affect climatically relevant properties of seawater. We found the solubility of air in seawater to be by 15% lower under reduced magneticfield (20 m...

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...

Weak magnetic and electromagnetic fields can influence physiological processes in animals, plants and microorganisms, but the underlying way of perception is poorly understood. The ion cyclotron resonance is one of the discussed mechanisms, predicting biological effects for definite frequencies and intensities of electromagnetic fields possibly by...

This article reviews phenomena of magnetoreception in plants and provides a survey of the relevant literature over the past 80 years. Plants react in a multitude of ways to geomagnetic fields-strong continuous fields as well as alternating magnetic fields. In the past, physiological investigations were pursued in a somewhat unsystematic manner and...

Weak magnetic and electromagnetic fields affect physiological processes in animals, plants, and microorganisms. Ion cyclotron resonance (ICR) is discussed as one of the sensitive mechanisms, which enable perception of the geomagnetic field and its orientation. Numerous biological effects are observed involving several small ions, showing windows of...

Seawater is the major heat transporter in our global environment, covering more than two-thirds of the surface of the earth.With an average salinity of ∼3.5%, it is a moderate electric conductor, which is permanently in motion by thermal and hydrodynamic forces. A magnetic field exerts a Lorentz force on seawater that principally influences both th...

The mode of carotenoid (Crt) binding to polypeptide and specifying its function is as yet largely unknown. Statistical analysis of major photosystems I and II suggests that aromatic residues make up a significant part of the Crt binding pockets. Phenylalanine residues ensure approximately 25%--at some carbon atoms even up to 40%--of the total conta...

The effects of weak magnetic and electromagnetic fields in biology have been intensively studied on animals, microorganisms and humans, but comparably less on plants. Perception mechanisms were attributed originally to ferrimagnetism, but later discoveries required additional explanations like the "radical pair mechanism" and the "Ion cyclotron res...

Background Previous reports indicate altered metabolism and enzyme kinetics for various organisms, as well as changes of neuronal functions and behaviour of higher animals, when they were exposed to specific combinations of weak static and alternating low frequency electromagnetic fields. Field strengths and frequencies, as well as properties of in...

Three types of liposomes in aqueous solution were subjected to a low frequency switched weak magnetic field. A differential non-linear dielectric spectroscopy (DNLDS) was performed at 40 degrees C with two planar orthogonal electrodes, positioned parallel and vertical to the earth surface. The difference of the free voltage release (FVR) signals fo...

Biological effects of weak magnetic fields are widespread, but poorly understood. Besides magnetic particles, which have been shown to be involved in only few cases, membranes are discussed as the site of perception. However, the mechanism is unknown. We have subjected pure lipid membranes to weak magnetic pulses, and found, that their electric pro...

Black lipid membranes were prepared on a Teflon septum separating electrically the two chambers of a Teflon cuvette, using the technique of Mueller et al., (Nature 194. 979 (1962)). An external, static magnetic field was applied, whose intensity varied from 0 G to 100 G at the membrane location. Field applications higher than 10 G are effecting hig...

Liquid cultures o f Chlorella kessleri, Scenedesmus armatus and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii have been grown phototrophically in weak (0.2 -2 G) alternating (7.8 Hz) magnetic fields. The data indicate, that the rate o f cell division is larger at 0.2 than at 2 G, viz. that the higher fields have inhibitory effects on cell division and that there is po...

The life on the earth all the time has interacted with a diversity of electromagnetic radiation, which sometimes is indispensible, like visible light for photosynthesis. Mostly harmful effects have been proven for UV exposition (Hollosy, 2002), or ionizing radiation. Possible influences by weak magnetic fields (MF) and low frequency electromagnetic...