No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Seeds Induced to Germinate Rapidly by Mentally Projected 'Qi Energy' Are Apparently Genetically Altered
Abstract
Mentally controlled qi energy can induce crop seeds to sprout and root for several cm within about 20 min. The RAPD method was used to compare treated groups of wheat and pea seeds and their controls using 11 selected primers. Seven primers amplified polymorphisms in wheat seeds and 5 in pea seeds. It was thought preliminarily that qi energy changed the structure of a germinationcorrelated gene site speeding up expression and advancing it in time. © 2000 Institute for Advanced Research in Asian Science and Medicine.
... Various treatments including Pranic Agriculture (Prasad et al. 2022), Biofield (Lee and Wu, 2019) and chi energy (Bai et al., 2000) involve interaction with energy fields of the plants by trained healers. These energies when applied on plants, have been proven to enhance growth and improve yield. ...
... These energies when applied on plants, have been proven to enhance growth and improve yield. For instance, pea and wheat seeds when treated with chi energy, germinated faster, against the control (Bai et al., 2000). Application of Pranic Agriculture to Improve Growth and Yield of Banana (Musa sp. ...
... Water when treated with pranic energy, the contact angle and surface tension is reduced which helps in better nutrient absorption by the plants (Ananthakeshava et al., 2021). Chi can alter the structure of mitochondria, enzyme activity and nucleotide polymerization, influence cell metabolism and affect gene expression (Bai et al., 2000). Probably, in the current work, when the pranic energy was applied on the banana suckers, the energy level in the suckers was increased and results in more energy supplied to the cells during cell division and elongation, growth and differentiation, resulting in enhanced growth of plants and increase in crop yield. ...
Background: The projection of prana to soil, seeds and seedlings to enhance plant growth is referred to as Pranic Agriculture (PA). Methods: A field study was carried out to study the influence of PA on Banana var. (Musa sps. var. Nanjangud rasabale) growth for a duration of one year. Banana suckers and agricultural land were divided into two groups namely pranic and control in half acre. The land and suckers were treated with PA and were referred to as the pranic group, while non-pranic were referred to as the control group. Growth parameters (shoot length, shoot diameter, number of leaves, leaf length and leaf diameter) were evaluated on the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th and 12th months and statistically analyzed using repeated measure ANOVA. Fruit morphology and days to flowering were analyzed using a t-test. Result: For pranic group, shoot diameter (F = 9.407, p = 0.001), leaf length (F = 7.082, p = 0.003) and leaf diameter (F = 11.459, p = .000), flowering days (t = 3.39, P=.002), fruit characteristics like fruit bunch weight (t = 8.81, p = .000), total number of fruits in bunch (t = 9.20, p = .000), fruits weight (t = 7.48, p = .000), fruit length (t = 7.94, p = .000) enhanced considerably and the results were all significant when compared to control. Further studies are needed to find out the mechanism for the improved growth in the pranic group. This study will help the farmers to get higher yields and more income by using pranic agriculture.
... Chi energy can also alter the structure of cellular organs, like mitochondria, and influence the metabolism of the cell. Chi energy can alter the molecular structure of treated cells, affect gene expression, enzyme activity and nucleotide polymerisation (Bai et al. 2000). Research on mitomycin, using Kirlian photography, was conducted. ...
... Similarly, when the pranic agricultural protocol is applied to seeds, the pranic energy level in the seeds increases, resulting in a greater germination percentage. Application of energy would increase the rate of cellular growth and division, and increase ATPase activity during germination of the dividing cells (Bai et al. 2000). These result in more energy supplied to the cells during cell division, growth and differentiation, probably resulting in enhanced growth of plants (Bai et al. 2000). ...
... Application of energy would increase the rate of cellular growth and division, and increase ATPase activity during germination of the dividing cells (Bai et al. 2000). These result in more energy supplied to the cells during cell division, growth and differentiation, probably resulting in enhanced growth of plants (Bai et al. 2000). However, the exact mechanism needs to be investigated further. ...
Both natural and anthropogenic activities have increased heavy metal (HM) contamination in the soil. HM has negative effects on the environment,
agricultural productivity and human health through the soil-crop-food
chain. The remediation of HM is needed to ensure sustainable crop growth,
and maintain the natural ecosystem on unpolluted soils. Many methods for
the remediation of polluted soils have been developed, but they are
expensive and laborious. Moreover, secondary pollution also affects the soil
microbial community. The exploitation of biological and organic amendments,
like arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi (AMF) and biochar (BC), are costeffective
and environmentally-friendly approaches to plant growth and
phytoremediation in polluted soils. The individual role of AMF and/or BC
for the remediation of contaminated soils has been reported in the literature,
but studies regarding their combined effects are still limited, and there
remains a large knowledge gap regarding their connection. This chapter
highlights the potential benefits, tolerance and implementation of AMF and
BC interactive use in the remediation of polluted soils and plant nutrition in
sustainable agriculture.
... Sui (2015) specifies that basically, there are three major sources of prana namely, solar prana (from sunlight), air prana (from air) and ground prana (from soil). Prana can also be referred to as chi or bioplasmic energy (Bai et al., 2000). The word bioplasmic comes from bio which means life and plasma which is the fourth state of matter. ...
... There was an increase in yield of 10.7% in pranic treated as against control group. The reason behind such improvements in pranic healed group can be attributed to the fact that external pranic healing can alter the molecular structure of treated cells, affect nucleotide polymerization, gene expression and enzyme activity as described by Bai et al., (2000). It should also be noted that application of enery/chi would help in increased rate of cellular growth and division. ...
... It also increases ATPase activity during seed germination of the dividing cells. These results in more energy supply to the cells during cell division, growth and differentiation Bai et al., (2000) resulting in enhanced Eco. Env. ...
Pranic agriculture is an emerging science in which pranic healing techniques are applied during the developmental stages of plants to enhance their growth. The present study aimed to understand the effectiveness of pranic treatment in improving the physical qualities of pole beans against non pranic treated pole beans referred to as control groups. Physical parameters including seeds germination, flower initiation, time taken for fruit development and fruit yield of pole beans were studied. There was increase in quantity of seed germination by 3.6 % (p<.001) in pranic treated seeds against the control. Also, a reduction in time duration to flowering and flowering to fruit set by 2.2% (p<.001) and 3.2% (p=.002) respectively was noticed in pranic treated groups when compared to control. Pranic treated pole beans also reported higher yield (0.49 kg) versus control (0.44 kg) per plant having a statistically significant difference of (p=.002). Thus Pranic healing was found to be very effective in increasing the overall quality of pole beans. Further studies are warranted to evaluate the nutritional composition and sensory analysis of pranic treated pole beans against the control.
... Sui (2015) specifies that basically, there are three major sources of prana namely, solar prana (from sunlight), air prana (from the air) and ground prana (from soil). Prana can also be referred to as Chi or bioplasmic energy (Bai et al., 2000). Every object including human beings, plants and trees are surrounded by an energy field. ...
... Seeds of peas and wheat, when treated with Chi energy, germinated faster since qi energy may influence the structure of a germination correlated gene. Chi energy can also alter the structure of cellular organs like mitochondria and influence the metabolism of the cell, altering the molecular structure of treated cells, affect nucleotide polymerization, gene expression and enzyme activity (Bai et al., 2000). Healers have been shown to produce large magnetic fields from their hands (Tiller, 1995). ...
http://www.envirobiotechjournals.com/article_abstract.php?aid=10134&iid=287&jid=3
... Also, cucumber antioxidant and polyphenol content in pranic treated cucumber was higher, than untreated cucumber (Keerthika et al., 2015). Seedlings germination of wheat and pea improved significantly when energy was projected (Bai et al., 2000). ...
... It also increases ATPase activity during seed germination of the dividing cells. These results in more energy supply to the cells during cell division, growth and differentiation probably resulting in enhanced growth of pranic treated cucumber (Bai et al., 2000). ...
Pranic agriculture is a traditional science in which pranic healing is applied to plants to enhance plant growth. This study aimed to recognize the usefulness of pranic healing in improving the external morphology and yield of European cucumber against the control. Physical parameters like germination of seeds, days to flowering, number of flowers per plant, number of fruits per plant, number of fruits per kilogram and finally total fruit yield per plant were studied. There was significant reduction in time duration to flowering, increase in number of fruits per plant (14%), and higher yield (18%) per plant was noticed in pranic group, when compared to control. Thus Pranic agriculture was helpful in increasing the external morphology and yield of cucumber plants.
... The crop yield was significantly related to the seedling vigour. The higher the seedling vigour, the higher is the crop yield [1]. Application of qi energy help in the increased rate of cellular growth, cell division, and ATPase activity during seed germination [16]. This results in more energy supply to the cells during cell division, growth and differentiation probably resulting in enhanced growth of plants. ...
Pranic agriculture (PA) is a traditional technique to enhance plant growth. Pranic agriculture protocol uses prana to produce faster growth, increase yield, and improve physical, nutritional, and sensory qualities of plants. It is done by the projection of prana to soil, seeds, and seedlings to improve their growth. Seeds (100 no's) each of radish, green gram and paddy were exposed to PA treatment and grown in a paper towel and seedling growth was evaluated on 10 th , 12 th and 14 th day. Seeds (100 no's) that did not receive any pranic treatment were referred to as control. For the Pranic group, percentage germination, shoot length, root length, and seedling vigour enhanced considerably when compared to control. The percentage increase in the pranic group was between 15-30%. Thus, by applying PA treatment, an increase in seed germination and vigour was noticed. By using this technique, farmers will be benefitted to enhance the growth of their crops.
... Some authors have shown that the "external qi" also enables the growth of Fab protein crystals, has an inhibitory effect on the growth of hepatitis B virus in vitro, and an inhibitory effect on the growth of human liver cancer cells (BEL-7402). Changes in the electric potential in fresh tree leaves, the acceleration of the germination and growth of plant seeds, including rice, wheat, peas, beans, peanuts, and flowers, and physical mutagen activity of a species of Streptomyces have also been reported [31,32,87,96,97,113]. ...
Practices such as “Reiki”, therapeutic touch, healing touch, and external “Qigong” have been regarded as some form of “energy medicine” or “biofield therapy”. The biofield concept has been studied and debated by researchers of distinct areas of expertise, and although the phenomenon was sometimes described as physically related to electromagnetics, other factors such as “subtle energy” and focused intention might be involved. These nonconventional practices integrate contact and non-contact techniques, and those dealing with so-called distant healing interventions are perhaps the most difficult to understand and accept. Practitioners describe these so-called nonlocal interventions as involving intentional factors and particular states of consciousness. With a spiritual mindset and a particular state of awareness, compassion is said to work out as a catalyst to produce physiological and physical changes through mechanisms that are still unknown. At the body level, these vegetative changes might be related to individual self-perception variations as part of the body neurovegetative feedback system of regulation. Further mechanisms are difficult to document and measure, and might be more accessible to research by using physical signal detectors, chemical dynamics methods, detectors using biological materials, detectors using living sensors, and detectors using the human body. The growing interest in these practices and the considerable amount of research exploring their effects and clinical applications encouraged this narrative review, which aims to provide an easy to consult partial overview of the history, theory and findings of quantitative research strategies exploring non-contact biofield-based practices. This work also aims to stimulate the reader’s mind with the raised hypotheses, catalyzing further research on the subject to confirm or deny the reported outcomes.
... Fruit yield of pranic treatment (0.49 kg) is higher than control (0.44 kg). The probable reason for the improvement was attributed for alterations in the molecular structure of treated cells, affect nucleotide polymerisation, gene expression and enzyme activity (Bai et al., 2000;yathindra et al., 2017b). ...
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.21786/bbrc/13.4/55
... It also increases ATPase activity during seed germination of the dividing cells. These results in more energy supply to the cells during cell division, growth and differentiation probably resulting in enhanced growth of plants (26) . However, the exact mechanism of how Pranic Agriculture could increase plant growth needs to be investigated. ...
Objective: The present study was aimed to understand the application of pranic agriculture (PA) on the vegetative growth of Spinach. Methods: Spinach seeds were divided into non-pranic and pranic and sown in agricultural plots and growth parameters were recorded on 14, 26, 32, and 40 days respectively. The data were analyzed using Independent t-test at the 5% (p<.05) level of significance Findings: Shoot length and the number of leaves of Pranic treated Spinach were found to be significantly (p<.001) higher when compared with non-pranic samples. Also, stem diameter, root length, and leaf lengths were all higher in pranic treated Spinach. Conclusion: Pranic agriculture has the potential to enhance Spinach growth and thus could help farmers to overcome the agrarian crisis.
... The exact mechanism of how pranic energy can enhance the shelf life still needs to be investigated. It is reported that pranic agriculture protocol can alter the molecular structure of treated cells, affect nucleotide polymerization, gene expression and enzyme activity (Bai et al., 2000). ...
http://www.envirobiotechjournals.com/article_abstract.php?aid=9892&iid=281&jid=3
... The supply of more Qi energy during rapid cell division, growth and differentiation influenced on accelerated germination. Qi Energy might have changed the DNA at the promoter or regulatory region and brought out the changes in gene expression (Bai et al., 2000). ...
Pranic agriculture is a newly emerging concept of sustainable and eco-friendly agriculture. Pranic agriculture techniques are applied to plants before sowing and at the time of plant development to improve growth and yield. The present study aimed to understand the influence of pranic agriculture on growth, yield, and genetic polymorphism of ridge gourd. An increase in root length by 38%, stem girth by 8%, and the number of days taken for the premier harvest was advanced and
found to be significant (p<.05) in pranic treated plots against the control. Chlorophyll content was 26% higher (p<.05) in pranic treated plants when compared to control. To find out the probable effects of pranic agriculture at molecular levels, RAPD marker analysis was carried out and average polymorphism up to 47% was observed between pranic and control treatments. Thus, pranic treatment was found to be very effective in increasing the overall growth and yield of ridge gourd. Further, in-depth studies are warranted about molecular mechanisms that are bringing changes in the plants after pranic treatment.
... It should also be noted that the application of this pranic energy would help in the increased rate of cellular growth and division. It also enhances the activity of ATPase in the bud tip cells during seed germination of the dividing cells this allows more energy supply to the cells during cell growth, division and differentiation (Bai et al., 2000). which probably results in enhanced germination and protein content of pranic treated green gram. ...
Background: Pranic agriculture comprises the natural healing method of projecting the vital energy- prana to improve the quality
and quantity of the crop. This study aimed at investigating the effectiveness of pranic energy on germination and protein content of
green gram against the control group.
Methods: The germination rate, mean germination index, the water absorption rate, soaked fresh weight, sprouted fresh weight,
radical length, radical diameter, seedling vigor index and protein content of green gram were measured after two days of germination.
Result: The pranic treated green gram had increased the germination rate of 7.17% (p<.05), germination index of 8.07% (p<.01),
water absorption rate of 26.50% (p <.01), soaked fresh weight of 21.62% (p<.05), sprouted fresh weight of 48.50% (p<.01), radical
length of 39.45% (p<.05), a radical diameter of 19.15% (p<.001), seedling vigor index of 50.56% (p<.05) and protein content of
158.60% (p<.01) compared to the control group. Thus, pranic agriculture helped increase the germination and protein content of
green gram. Further studies are warranted to evaluate the difference in the nutritional composition of pranic and control green gram
seeds.
Key words: Eco-friendly farming, Germination, Natural healing, Vital energy
... Firmness decreased during storage period. The greater amount of growth, in terms of its height and diameter and number of flowers per truss can be attributed to the fact that external pranic healing can alter the molecular structure, change DNA nucleotide polymerization, protein crystallization and enzyme activity 14 . The improved shelf life of tomatoes can also be attributed to the above observations. ...
Objectives: The aim of the present study was to understand the agronomic impact of pranic agriculture on tomato. Methods: Assessment of pranic treated tomatoes against the control group were done for their quality and quantity by measuring the overall yield, plant height, diameter of the stem, flowers, flowers per truss and also shelf life of tomatoes. Findings: Increase in height of 18.5% was noticed in pranic group plants as compared to control group. Also, pranic group plants had 12% more stem diameter than control group. Additionally, pranic group plants had 31.7% more flowers per plant when compared to control. When group-wise yield was verified, Pranic group yielded significantly with 31% more than control group. In addition, pranic treatment played a very useful role in controlling the fruit weight loss, shrinkage, titrable acidity and total soluble solids content of tomatoes during storage at room and refrigerated temperatures. Applications: Pranic agriculture impacted the quality, quantity and shelf life aspects of tomatoes, when compared to control.
... Zhai Tingxiang group explored changing uncontrollable type specific functionality to controllable type specific features; they found that BSO ability can be cultivated [9]. More marvelously, there were also a series of BSO achieved by Sun Chuling and studied by Shen Jinchuang over 15 years [10], which have arrived at certain high level. Finally even there was a strong united experimental group involved to studying the specific body functions; they also provided a joint experimental report on specific body function authenticity [11]. ...
In this work, we try to propose a soliton processing mechanism to explain the phenomena of the Breakthrough Space Obstacles (BSO) based on the concrete experimental dates and figures taken from the somatic science. Through analysis and studying, we find that the sort of bio-electromagnetic wave field (BEF) is an origin of BSO. This BEF satisfies a nonlinear quantum Maxwell equation which is proportional to the change of particle density of object. Moreover, BEF has very broad of spectrum range from 100MHz to 1GHz and possesses high amplitude of the electromagnetic response, and also has width of frequency as well strong strength. It is this BEF allowing object to transform as a big soliton to have BSO probability by the nonlinear quantum interaction.
... Prof. Chen's findings of children's abilities to percept information on the paper without eye were based on hundreds of repeated tests on hundred different subjects, and published repeatedly in academic journals. In addition, Professor Lin Shuhui of the Capital Teacher's University, with the advanced low-light video technology, recorded the phenomena of moving objects by intention without touching them; professor Shen Jingchuan of Chinese Geology University reported his repeated verification on how extraordinary human energy could make the cooked peanut growing with new sprout in minutes (Shen & Sun 1998), which has been verified by many other scientists as well (Li et al. 1999;Bai et al. 2000); and professors Wang Xioubi and Song KongZhi of the Institute for Space Medicine used high-speed camera recorded the moment when object going through a covered bottle under the influence of human intention, which won them the second prize of scientific advancement by the National Commission of Science and Technology in Defense in 1986 (Song, 1999). These findings have been confirmed or verified by some wellknown scientists in person, including the famous Academy Member prof. ...
... Apart from light and temperature, other physical factors of the environment may affect seed germination. The effect of metals in Arabidopsis seed germination has been recently investigated (Li et al. 2005); other factors affecting germination include magnetic fields (García Reina et al. 2001), solar radiation of high intensity, microwave radiation or, even mental energy (Bai et al. 2000). In this respect, physiological analysis of seed germination is completely dependent of physical advances, discoveries and points of view. ...
10 pages, 6 figures. Seed germination is a model system for the analysis of plant development. Cell elongation and differentiation processes are under the control of hormones and submitted to the influence of environmental factors. Hormones (abscisic acid, auxin, gibberellic acid, ethylene and others) interact with each other as well as with diverse components of cell metabolism. Arabidopsis is the model system for the study of developmental processes in plants and research in this species is now helped by a multiplicity of resources (massive genome sequences available, collections of mutants and lines expressing GFP, direct observation in confocal microscopy among others). The analysis of seed germination in Arabidopsis using these tools offers a unique opportunity to dissect the interaction of hormonal pathways during development and its relationship to cellular processes. Ethylene is one of the hormones whose mechanism of action has been most thoroughly investigated and may serve a pivotal role in this analysis. An important requirement is the accurate description of phenotypes for the known mutants with altered sensitivity or response to hormones. This chapter reviews our recent description of root apex curvature as a new phenotype associated with the ethylene signal transduction pathway mutants. New Arabidopsis sequences induced during germination have been recently isolated. Their expression analysis may be a useful tool to investigate hormonal interactions during seed germination. Research in our laboratories has been supported by CICYT (Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology), INIA (Spanish Ministry of Agriculture), Junta de Castilla y León and EEC (FEDER programs). Peer reviewed
... Although the nature of qi remains unknown and there is no instrument that can measure the strength of a person's external qi, there are some intriguing reports that suggest an association between possible physical, biophysical, and/or biochemical alterations and " qi emission . " For example, it is reported that qigong emission might enable the growth of Fab protein crystals (Yan et al., 1999), inhibit tumor growth in mice (Chen et al., 1997), accelerate seed germination (Bai et al., 2000), and change the conformation of biomolecules such as polyglutamic acid, poly-lysine, and metallothioneine (Chu et al., 1998 ). Although these reports might need further verification by Western scientists, there is a growing body of scientific evidence in Western medical literature that suggests the existence of qi, as well as the healing power of qigong therapy (Agishi, 1998; Hisamitsu et al., 1996; Iwao et al., 1999; Loh, 1999; Sancier, 1999; Sancier and Chow, 1989; Wirth et al., 1997; Wu et al., 1999). ...
To exclude possible psychological effects of qigong therapy in the treatment of addiction effectively, morphine-dependence models need to be established in mice and rats.
The effects of external qi on withdrawal syndrome were examined in naloxone-precipitated mice and rats in three randomized control experiments: naloxone-precipitated test in morphine-dependent mice (n = 100 in 5 groups, 20 mice each group); conditioned position preference test in morphine-abstinent mice (n = 30 for 3 groups, 10 each); and naloxone-precipitated test with paired box in morphine-dependent rats (n = 40 for 4 groups, 10 each).
These experiments showed that morphine-dependent mice, after external qigong (EQ) therapy, had decreased incidence of jumping and lower jumping frequencies, and attenuated loss of body weight. After EQ therapy, morphine-dependent rats had reduced withdrawal scores and body weight loss was inhibited. In the conditioned place preference test, the time spent in the drug-paired box was significantly shorter for the qigong group than for the morphine group.
These results suggest that qigong might have an inhibitory effect on withdrawal syndrome, and reduce the dependence potential in mice. Three different designs confirm that the impact of qigong therapy on morphine-abstinent mice and rats is reliable and substantial. Further research on the effectiveness and the mechanism of qigong therapy on addiction is warranted.
Introduction
There has been accumulating interest in the application of biofield therapy as complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to treat various diseases. The practices include reiki, qigong, blessing, prayer, distant healing, known as biofield therapies. This paper aims to state scientific knowledge on preclinical and clinical studies to validate its potential use as an alternative medicine in the clinic. It also provides a more in-depth context for understanding the potential role of quantum entanglement in the effect of biofield energy therapy.
Content
A comprehensive literature search was performed using the different databases (PubMed, Scopus, Medline, etc.). The published English articles relevant to the scope of this review were considered. The review gathered 45 papers that were considered suitable for the purpose. Based on the results of these papers, it was concluded that biofield energy therapy was effective in treating different disease symptoms in preclinical and clinical studies.
Summary
Biofield therapies offer therapeutic benefits for different human health disorders, and can be used as alternative medicine in clinics for the medically pluralistic world due to the growing interest in CAM worldwide.
Outlook
The effects of the biofield energy therapies are observed due to the healer’s quantum thinking, and transmission of the quantum energy to the subject leads to the healing that occurs spiritually through instantaneous communication at the quantum level via quantum entanglement.
Poster, Winner Best Poster Presentation
Objective:
Reviews of empirical work on the efficacy of noncontact healing have found that adopting various practices that incorporate an intention to heal can have some positive effect upon the recipient's wellbeing. However, such reviews focus on 'whole' human participants who might be susceptible to expectancy effects or benefit from the healing intentions of friends, family or their own religious groups. We proposed to address this by reviewing healing studies that involved biological systems other than 'whole' humans (e.g., studies of plants or cell cultures) that were less susceptible to placebo-like effects. Secondly, doubts have been cast concerning the legitimacy of some of the work included in previous reviews so we planned to conduct an updated review that excluded that work.
Data sources:
The following databases were searched: Swetswise, ASSIA, Psych-NET, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, British Nursing Index, Cinahl Full Text, and Informaworld.
Study selection:
Only studies in English were eligible for inclusion. All studies must have examined the effects upon a biological system of the explicit intention to improve the wellbeing of that target; 49 non-whole human studies from 34 papers and 57 whole human studies across 56 papers were included.
Data synthesis:
The combined weighted effect size for non-whole human studies yielded a highly significant r of .258, but outcomes were heterogeneous and correlated with blind ratings of study quality; 22 studies that met minimum quality thresholds gave a reduced but still significant weighted r of .115. Whole human studies yielded a small but significant effect size of r = .203. Outcomes were again heterogeneous, and correlated with methodological quality ratings; 27 studies that met threshold quality levels gave an increased r = .224.
Conclusions:
Results suggest that subjects in the active condition exhibit a significant improvement in wellbeing relative to control subjects under circumstances that do not seem to be susceptible to placebo and expectancy effects. Findings with the whole human database suggests that the effect is not dependent upon the previous inclusion of suspect studies and is robust enough to accommodate some high profile failures to replicate. Both databases show problems with heterogeneity and with study quality and recommendations are made for necessary standards for future replication attempts.
Unlabelled:
OBJECTIVE AND CONTEXT: This review was designed to assess the quality and review the outcomes of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of biofield therapies (external qigong, Healing Touch, Johrei, Reiki, and Therapeutic Touch) that report using only nonphysical touch forms of treatment. RCTs of nonphysical contact biofield therapies have the potential to contribute to an evidence base for health-promoting effects mediated through mechanisms outside the present understanding of biomedicine.
Methods:
Articles meeting inclusion criteria were identified from database and reference list searches and evaluated for a range of reporting and design items. Data were extracted to determine the range of protocol parameters and treatment outcomes. The final set of included RCTs were evaluated via a modified 5-item Jadad scale as well as by a set of 20 criteria that included items relevant to the early-phase nature of the trials and to the examination of nonphysical touch biofield therapy interventions.
Results:
Of 90 RCTs that assessed effectiveness of a biofield therapy in humans, 28 trials involving 1775 participants met additional inclusion criteria (most importantly a clearly reported use of only nonphysical contact treatment). The research designs of these 28 trials revealed marked heterogeneity in regard to condition treated, number and duration of treatments, nature of the control/comparison group, and outcome measures. Finally, 10 trials were excluded on the basis of low quality assessment scores. Twelve of the remaining 18 trials (7 Therapeutic Touch, 3 external qigong, 1 Reiki, and 1 Healing Touch) reported at least one primary outcome with statistically significant beneficial treatment outcomes.
Conclusions:
The pilot study nature of essentially all the identified nonphysical contact biofield therapy RCTs, as reflected by low sample sizes alone, precludes drawing robust conclusions. Given this perspective, the finding that two thirds of the higher-scoring trials demonstrated at least partial effectiveness favors a continued research effort, especially in light of the translational value of biofield clinical trials for studies exploring the nature and physiologic basis of biofield healing.
This paper briefly reviews five different cate-gories of major studies on external Qi (EQ) that were performed in China: physical detectors, chemical dynam-ics methods, biological detectors, life-sensors detectors, and detectors using human body. Here, the focus is on the pros and cons of each detector. The extant literature suggests that some form of bio-information (about which we know very little) plays a critical role in the effect of EQ. From physical detector to human body detector, the energy sensitivity decreases, while the bio-information sensitivity increases. Future studies should use more bio-logical or life detectors to increase our understanding of the bio-information within Qigong.
So called primitive peoples of the world share a philosophy that human interaction via ceremony or ritual can affect the natural world. Is it possible to affect the germination and growth of plants by imbuing them with an intent to stimulate or inhibit them? We conducted a double blind series of experiments to determine whether a process of meditation on the water (referred to as "treated") given to a controlled planting of green peas or wheat would affect their germination. Peas were given water treated with stimulating intent. Statistical analysis was done using contingency table, Fisher's test, and Mantel-Haenszel analysis. The germination rate of 504 seeds receiving treated water with stimulating intent was 60.3% compared to 51.8% for the 504 controls (p = 0.006, 0.047, 0.003 respectively). A similar experiment was conducted with wheat with the intent of inhibiting germination. The germination rate of 2970 wheat seeds receiving treated water with inhibitory intent was 70.7% versus 74.9% for 2970 controls (p < 0.001, 0.0001, 0.001 respectively). During the sixth run of the wheat (inhibition) experiment, the seedlings were harvested and individually weighed on the tenth day after planting to determine whether there was any difference in growth. The mass of the treated seedlings was statistically significantly lower (mean = 97 mg versus 106 mg for the controls) when compared by analysis of variance (p = 0.000056). We conclude that meditation upon the water supplied to green peas and wheat can affect their germination rates and growth.
To examine the effectiveness of external qigong on the in vivo growth of transplantable murine lymphoma cells in mice.
Qigong is a traditional Chinese health practice that is believed by many to have special preventive and healing power. Underlying the system is the belief in the existence of a subtle energy (qi), which circulates throughout the body, and when strengthened or balanced, can improve health and ward off or slow the progress of disease. To date, much of the literature showing the effects of qi are presented in the non-Western literature, and as such are viewed with considerable skepticism. In an attempt to demonstrate qi in a controlled setting, the effect of external qigong emission from a qigong healer on the in vivo growth of transplantable murine lymphoma cells in mice was explored in two pilot studies.
In study 1, 30 SJL/J mice were injected intravenously with lymphoma cells that localize and exhibit aggressive growth in the lymphoid tissues of untreated syngeneic recipients. These tumor-injected mice were divided into 3 groups: (1). qigong treatment (administered by a qigong healer); (2). sham treatment; and (3). no-treatment control. The sham group received the same number of treatments from a person without training in qigong, who imitated the motions of the qigong healer. The control group received no treatment at all. In study 1, the mice were sacrificed on the 9th or 11th days after tumor-cell injection, and in study 2, the mice were sacrificed on the 10th and 13th days. Tumor growth in lymph nodes (LN) was estimated by LN weight expressed as a percentage of total body weight.
In study 1, LNs from mice in the qigong-treated group were significantly smaller than LN from mice in either the control group or in the sham treatment group (p < 0.05), suggesting that there was less tumor growth in the qigong-treated mice. In study 2, using the same design as study 1, the same pattern of difference found in study 1 emerged: LN ratio from mice in the qigong-treated group was smaller than that in either the control group or in the sham group. However, these results did not reach statistical significance, partially as a result of larger variances in all groups in this study.
These preliminary results, while still inconclusive, suggest that qigong treatment from one particular qigong practitioner might influence the growth of lymphoma cells negatively. Further studies with different practitioners, more repeated trials, and/or different tumor models are needed to further investigate the effects of external qigong on tumor growth in mice.
Scientists have long been interested in measuring external qi (EQ or wai qi) during qigong healing, and have produced a large body of literature over the past 20 years. This paper reviews the major research on measuring EQ in China and tries to help other researchers to get a picture on what has been done so as to eliminate the simple replication of already verified results. Starting with the historical background of EQ studies in China, this paper analytically reviews the major studies of EQ effects from five different categories of detectors: 1) physical signal detectors; 2) chemical dynamics methods; 3) detectors using biological materials; 4) detectors using life sensors; and 5) detectors using the human body. The focus is on the pros and cons of each detector. These studies documented some important correlates of EQ process or qi healing, which cannot be explained by psychological effect or the known biological processes. Even though the extant literature suggests that intent plays a critical role in the effect or characteristics of EQ we know little about its role in EQ effect and its relationship with qigong healing from these experiments. These studies have confirmed the existence of measurable EQ effects from various perspectives; however, none has really revealed the primary nature of EQ or how EQ healing works. Given the fact that qigong therapy is based on the dialectic view of two interdependent spheres, while modern science and medicine is based on the reductionist view of one material world, it is recommended that future studies should use more biological or life-sensor detectors to increase our understanding of the healing potentials of qigong, instead of stay at the level of verification of signals. New methodologies, new theories, and new perspectives are urgently needed for further understanding what qigong is and how EQ healing works.
Since we all belong to the Kingdom Animalia, it is not surprising that animals in general benefit from the healing art of acupuncture that helps humans. Consequently, any proposed mechanism of Qi and acupuncture for humans based on animal physiology is probably applicable to animals as well, yet none is capable of explaining most of the complicated physiological effects observed. Not much attention was paid to the effects of Qi and acupuncture on plants (Kingdom Plantae) and on enoki mushrooms (Kingdom Fungi) by the TCM community, probably because they cannot be explained in terms of neurochemistry or connective tissue structures. However, our transmission and birdcage model is in principle applicable across Kingdom boundaries, because it is based on physical properties underlying the biological structure, thus its explanatory power is not restricted by categories of biology. We estimate several possible parameters of the birdcage model for animals and plants and give a possible interpretation for the sound fertilization phenomenon.
Simple and reproducible fingerprints of complex genomes can be generated using single arbitrarily chosen primers and the polymerase
chain reaction (PCR). No prior sequence information is required. The method, arbitrarily primed PCR (AP-PCR), involves two
cycles of low stringency amplification followed by PCR at higher stringency. We show that strains can be distinguished by
comparing polymorphisms in genomic fingerprints. The generality of the method Is demonstrated by application to twenty four
strains from five species of Staphylococcus, eleven strains of Streptococcus pyogenes and three varieties of Oryza sativa (rice).
The 3-5 microns infrared spectra of the external "Qi" generated by a "Qigong" master from his palm was measured using a III-V compound semiconductor InSb detector. It was found that certain Qigong master can emit two opposite kinds of "Qi": the "facilitating" (beneficial) and "inhibiting" (destroying) "Qi". During the facilitating "Qi" emission, large amount of infrared wave were detected by a temperature rise of the air in the vicinity. When the inhibiting "Qi" was emitted, the infrared wave was absorbed from the environment resulting in a cooling of the air. The temperature rise or drop possibly reflects the fact that the blood flow to the palm was increased or decreased by dilating or constricting the blood vessels through parasympathetic or sympathetic nerves. The biochemical effects of emitted "Qi" from the same Qigong master on the human fibroblast FS-4 were investigated. The facilitating "Qi" caused 1.8% increase of the cell growth in 24 hrs, 10-15% increase of DNA synthesis and 3-5% increase of protein synthesis of the cell in a 2-hr period; while inhibiting "Qi" caused 6% decrease of cell growth in a 24 hr period, 20-23% decrease of DNA synthesis and 35-48% of protein synthesis in a 2-hr period. In addition, we found that the respiration rate of boar sperm increased 12.5-13.0% after receiving 5 min exposure in facilitating "Qi," and a decrease to 45-48% by exposure to 2-min of inhibiting "Qi." The results could be attributed to the effects of emitted "Qi" or energy containing infrared light (wave) and possibly some other types of energy.
Molecular genetic maps are commonly constructed by analyzing the segregation of restriction fragment length polymorphisms
(RFLPs) among the progeny of a sexual cross. Here we describe a new DNA polymorphism assay based on the amplification of random
DNA segments with single primers of arbitrary nucleotide sequence. These polymorphisms, simply detected as DNA segments which
amplify from one parent but not the other, are inherited in a Mendellan fashion and can be used to construct genetic maps
in a variety of species. We suggest that these polymorphisms be called RAPD markers, after Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA.