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Humans Emit Biophotons - The Light Of Our Cells

Biophotons, or ultraweak 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.

Image gallery:www.tohtech.ac.jp

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.

Biophoton Theory

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 an 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.

Biophotons: Support for Unconventional Healing Methods?

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.

Anatomic characterization of human ultra-weak photon emission in practitioners of transcendental meditation(TM) and control subjects.

Van Wijk EP, Koch H, Bosman S, Van Wijk R.

International Institute of Biophysics, Neuss, Germany. April - 2006

BACKGROUND: Research on human ultra-weak photon emission (UPE, biophoton emission) has raised the question whether a typical human emission anatomic percentage distribution pattern exists in addition to individual subject overall anatomic summation intensity differences. The lowest UPE intensities were observed in two subjects who regularly meditate. Spectral analysis of human UPE has suggested that ultra-weak emission is probably, at least in part, a reflection of free radical reactions in a living system. It has been documented that various physiologic and biochemical shifts follow the long-term practice of meditation and it is inferred that meditation may impact free radical activity. OBJECTIVE: To systematically quantify, in subjects with long-term transcendental meditation (TM) experience and subjects without this experience, the UPE emission of the anterior torso, head and neck plus the hands in an attempt to document the differences by the two groups. SUBJECTS: Subjects were 20 men reported to be healthy and nonsmokers. Each of the subjects in the meditation group had practiced TM twice daily for at least the past 10 years. METHODS: UPE in 20 subjects was recorded in a dark room using a highly sensitive, cooled photomultiplier system designed for manipulation in three directions. The protocol for multisite registration of spontaneous emission includes recording of 12 anatomic locations of anterior torso, head, and hands. RESULTS: Data demonstrate emission intensities that are lower in TM practitioners as compared to control subjects. The percent contribution of emission from most anatomic locations was not significantly different for TM practitioners and control subjects. Exceptions are the contributions of throat and palm. CONCLUSION: In subjects with long-term TM experience, the UPE emission is different from control subjects. Data support the hypothesis that free radical reactions can be influenced by Transcendental Meditation.

Anatomic characterization of human ultra-weak photon emission with a moveable photomultiplier and CCD imaging

January 2006- International Institute of Biophysics, Raketenstation, Kapellener Strasse, D-41472 Neuss, Germany, Faculty of Biology, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584CH Utrecht, The Netherlands

Department of Electronics, Tohoku Institute of Technology, 35-1 Yagiyama Kasumicho, Sendai 982-8577, Japan

Ultra-weak previous termphoton emissionnext term of a living system has received scientific attention because of its potential for monitoring oxidative metabolism and oxidative damage to tissues. Heretofore, most studies have focused only on the previous termemissionnext term from hands. The data regarding previous termemissionnext term from other anatomic locations are limited. A previous multi-anatomic site recording of four subjects quantitatively demonstrated that the previous termemissionnext term from several corresponding anatomic locations could differ by as much as a factor of 4. The data also suggested a “common” anatomic previous termemissionnext term percentage distribution pattern. This information raised the question whether such a typical anatomic percentage previous termemissionnext term exists. The objective of the present paper is to systematically replicate the previous termemissionnext term from identical anatomic locations to document whether the anatomic percentage distribution pattern is generic. Part 1 includes the recording of ultra-weak previous termphoton emissionnext term from one sample subject over the torso, head and upper extremities with a highly sensitive charge-coupled device (CCD). Part 2 includes the analysis of that data to select a series of anatomic locations that were subsequently studied with a group of 20 subjects utilizing a highly sensitive, cooled and moveable (in three directions) photomultiplier system. Total sum previous termemissionnext term of all recorded anatomic locations per subject fluctuates in this study almost 5-fold between subjects. However, the contribution of each anatomic location to the total previous termemissionnext term from each subject was approximately the same percentage for each subject and similar to the sample CCD subject. The deviation of the anatomic percentage contribution for each subject was also established. The study presents evidence that there is a “common” anatomic percentage distribution pattern of ultra-weak previous termphoton emissionnext term for corresponding locations from each subject.

Fingernails release the most light, according to a recent study that found all parts of the hand emit detectable levels of light.

Discovery News - Sept. 6, 2005 The findings support prior research that suggested most living things, including plants, release light. Since disease and illness appear to affect the strength and pattern of the glow, the discovery might lead to less-invasive ways of diagnosing patients.

Mitsuo Hiramatsu, a scientist at the Central Research Laboratory at Hamamatsu Photonics in Japan, who led the research, told Discovery News that the hands are not the only parts of the body that shine light by releasing photons, or tiny, energized increments of light.

"Not only the hands, but also the forehead and bottoms of our feet emit photons," Hiramatsu said, and added that in terms of hands "the presence of photons means that our hands are producing light all of the time."

The light is invisible to the naked eye, so Hiramatsu and his team used a powerful photon counter to "see"it.

The detector found that fingernails release 60 photons, fingers release 40 and the palms are the dimmest of all, with 20 photons measured.

The findings are published in the current Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology.

Hiramatsu is not certain why fingernails light up more than the other parts of the hand, but he said, "It may be because of the optical window property of fingernails," meaning that the fingernail works somewhat like a prism to scatter light.

To find out what might be creating the light in the first place, he and colleague Kimitsugu Nakamura had test subjects hold plastic bottles full of hot or cold water before their hand photons were measured. The researchers also pumped nitrogen or oxygen gas into the dark box where the individuals placed their hands as they were being analyzed.

Warm temperatures increased the release of photons, as did the introduction of oxygen. Rubbing mineral oil over the hands also heightened light levels.

Based on those results, the scientists theorize the light "is a kind of chemiluminescence," a luminescence based on chemical reactions, such as those that make fireflies glow. The researchers believe 40 percent of the light results from the chemical reaction that constantly occurs as our hand skin reacts with oxygen.

Since mineral oil, which permeates into the skin, heightens the light, they also now think 60 percent of the glow may result from chemical reactions that take place inside the skin.

Fritz-Albert Popp, a leading world expert on biologically related photons at The International Institute of Biophysics in Germany, agrees with the findings and was not surprised by them.

Popp told Discovery News, "One may find clear correlations to kind and degree (type and severity) of diseases."

Popp and his team believe the light from the forehead and the hands pulses out with the same basic rhythms, but that these pulses become irregular in unhealthy people. A study he conducted on a muscular sclerosis patient seemed to validate the theory.

Both he and Hiramatsu hope future studies will reveal more about human photon emissions, which could lead to medical diagnosis applications.

Ultra-weak photon emission from human hand: Influence of temperature and oxygen concentration on emission

Electron Tube Division, Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., Toyooka, Japan
Central Research Laboratory, Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., Hirakuchi, Hamakita 434-8601, Japan

June 2005

We have studied ultra-weak photon emission (UPE) from living organisms. We report here some features of the UPE from human hand by means of photon counting techniques. The intensity of the UPE depended on the position of human hand; nail, finger and palm. As the temperature declined, the intensity of the UPE from the palm decreased. Further, as oxygen concentration around the palm was lowered, the intensity of the UPE from the palm decreased. These results show the UPE from the palm partly contains emissions based on oxidation reaction on skin surface as a potential. When we used mineral oil between the photomultiplier tube and the palm, the intensity of the UPE increased twice as much, which indicates the UPE from the inside of the skin certainly exists. The fact may be explained by refractive index matching. As mentioned above, we considered the generation mechanism of photons emitted from the human hand.

History of Biophoton Emissions

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.

Current Developments in Biophoton Research

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