Photobiology is the scientific study of the interactions of light
(technically,bio photons) and living organisms. The field includes the
study of photosynthesis, photomorphogenesis, visual processing,
circadian rhythms, bioluminescence, and ultraviolet radiation effects.
The division between ionizing radiation and nonionizing radiation is
typically considered to be 10 eV, the energy required to ionize an
oxygen atom.there is an extra area of physiology as kainoonath or
tanweerul asmaul husna.
A biophoton synonymous with ultraweak photon emission, low-level
biological chemiluminescence, ultraweak bioluminescence, dark
luminescence and other similar terms, is a photon of light emitted
from a biological system and detected by biological probes as part of
the general weak electromagnetic radiation of living biological cells.
Biophotons and their study should not be confused with
bioluminescence, a term generally reserved for higher intensity
luciferin/luciferase systems.
Biophotonics is the study, research and applications of photons in
their interactions within and on biological systems. Topics of
research pertain more generally to basic questions of biophysics and
related subjects - for example, the regulation of biological
functions, cell growth and differentiation, connections to so-called
delayed luminescence, and spectral emissions in supermolecular
processes in living tissues, etc.
The typical detected magnitude of "biophotons" in the visible and
ultraviolet spectrum ranges from a few up to several hundred photons
per second per square centimeter of surface area, much weaker than in
the openly visible and well-researched phenomenon of normal
bioluminescence, but stronger than in the thermal, or black body
radiation that so-called perfect black bodies demonstrate. The
detection of these photons has been made possible (and easier) by the
development of more sensitive photomultiplier tubes and associated
electronic equipment.
Biophotons were employed by the Stalin regime to diagnose cancer, and
their discoverer, Alexander Gurwitsch was awarded the Stalin Prize.
Various studies have indicated some potential for photon emission to
be used as a diagnostic technique
In the 1920s, the Russian embryologist Alexander Gurwitsch reported
"ultraweak" photon emissions from living tissues in the UV-range of
the spectrum. He named them "mitogenetic rays" because his experiments
convinced him that they had a stimulating effect on cell division.
(see Morphogenetic field) However, the failure to replicate his
findings and the fact that, though cell growth can be stimulated and
directed by radiation this is possible only at much higher amplitudes,
evoked a general skepticism about Gurwitsch's work. In 1953 Irving
Langmuir dubbed Gurwitsch's ideas pathological science.
But in the later 20th century Gurwitsch's daughter Anna, Colli,
Quickenden and Inaba separately returned to the subject, referring to
the phenomenon more neutrally as "dark luminescence", "low level
luminescence", "ultraweak bioluminescence", or "ultraweak
chemiluminescence". Their common basic hypothesis was that the
phenomenon was induced from rare oxidation processes and radical
reactions. Gurwitsch's basic observations were vindicated
Proposed mechanism
Chemiexcitation via oxidative stress by reactive oxygen species(ROS)
and/or catalysis by enzymes (i.e. peroxidase, lipoxygenase) is a
common event in the biomolecular milieu. Such reactions can lead to
the formation of triplet excited species, which release photons upon
returning to a lower energy level in a process analogous to
phosphorescence. That this process is a contributing factor to
spontaneous biophoton emission has been indicated by studies
demonstrating that biophoton emission can be attenuated by depleting
assayed tissue of antioxidants
or by addition of carbonyl derivitizing agents. Further support is
provided by studies indicating that emission can be increased by
addition of reactive oxygen species (ROS).
Since there is visible bioluminescence in many bacteria and other
cells it can be inferred that the (extremely small) number of photons
in ultra-weak bioluminescence is a random by-product of cellular
metabolism. Cellular metabolism is thought to occur in steps, each
involving small energy exchanges.(See ATP) Due to a certain degree of
randomness, according to the laws of thermodynamics (or statistical
mechanics), it must be expected that some irregular steps will
occasionally occur, "outlying states" in which, due to physiochemical
energy imbalance, a photon is emitted.
Statistical mechanics in modern biology often favours an ensemble
model of systems due to the large numbers of interacting molecules,
etc. In chaos theory, for example, it is often suggested that the
apparent randomness of systems is due to a lack of understanding of
the larger system of which the given system is a component. This has
led many who deal with large systems to employ statistics to explain
seemingly random events as outlying effects in probability
distributions.
Hypothesized involvement
in cellular communication
In the 1970s the then assistant professor Fritz-Albert Popp, and his
research group, at the
spectral distribution of the emission fell over a wide range of
wavelengths, from 200 to 800 nm. Popp proposed that the radiation
might be both semi-periodic and coherent. This hypothesis has not won
general acceptance among scientists who have studied the evidence.
Popp's group, however, constructed, tested, patented, and sought to
market a device for measuring biophoton emissions as a means of
assessing the ripeness and general food value of fruits and
vegetables.
Russian, German, and other biophotonics experts, often adopting the
term "biophotons" from Popp, have theorized, like Gurwitsch, that they
may be involved in various cell functions, such as mitosis, or even
that they may be produced and detected by the DNA in the cell nucleus.
In 1974 Dr. V.P.Kaznacheyev announced that his research team in
rays. Until 1980s, Kaznacheyev and his team carried out about 12 000
experiments. Details of experiments are described in his book (in
Russian).
Proponents additionally claim that studies have shown that injured
cells will emit a higher biophoton rate than normal cells and that
organisms with illnesses will likewise emit a brighter light, which
has been interpreted as implying a sort of distress signal. These
ideas tend to support Gurwitsch's original idea that biophotons may be
important for the development of larger structures such as organs and
organisms.
However such conclusions are debatable. Injured cells are under higher
amounts of oxidative stress, which ultimately is the source of the
light, and whether this constitutes a "distress signal" or simply a
background chemical process is yet to be demonstrated. The difficulty
of teasing out the effects of any supposed biophotons amid the other
numerous chemical interactions between cells makes it difficult to
devise a testable hypothesis. Most organisms are bathed in relatively
high-intensity light that ought to swamp any signaling effect,
although biophoton signaling might manifest through temporal patterns
of distinct wavelengths or could mainly be used in deep tissues hidden
from daylight (such as the human brain, which contains photoreceptor
proteins). There remains little evidence in the scientific literature
to support the existence of such a signaling mechanism. Recent review
article discusses various published theories on this kind of
signaling and identifies around 30 experimental scientific articles in
English in past 30 years which prove electromagnetic cellular
interactions.
Direct illumination of the brain via the ear canal as a treatment for
seasonal affective disorder is being researched by Valkee Ltd. and
University of Oulu
References
Theophanies and Lights in the Thought of Ibn 'Arabi-Osman Yahya
Biological diversity, chemical mechanisms, and the evolutionary
origins of bioluminescent systems
-A diversity of organisms are endowed with the ability to emit light,
and to display and control it in a variety of ways. Most of the
luciferins (substrates) of the various phylogenetically distant
systems fall into unrelated chemical classes, and based on still
limited data, the luciferases (enzymes) and reaction mechanisms are
distinctly different. Based on its diversity and phylogenetic
distribution, it is estimated that bioluminescence may have arisen
independently as many as 30 times in the course of evolution. However,
there are several examples of cross-phyletic similarities among the
substrates; some of these may be accounted for nutritionally, but in
other cases they may have evolved independently.
Lights Alive! at
