A. S. Presman Electromagnetic Fields and Life ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS AND LIFE ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS AND LIFE A. S. PRESMAN Department of Biophysics Moscow University, Moscow, USSR Translated from Russian by F. L. SINCLAIR Edited by FRANK A. BROWN, JR. Morrison Professor of Biology Northwestern University <:P SPRINGER SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, LLC 1970 Aleksandr Samuilovich Presman completed the course of studies in the Faculty of Physics, Moscow University, in 1941. Following World War II, Presman engaged in the study of high-frequency physics. For the last twO decades at the Institute of Labor Hygiene of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR, the Central Institute of Health Resort Studies and Physical Therapy, and elsewhere he has studied the effects of electromagnetic fields on living organisms. Since 1966 he has given a special course on this subject in the Department of Biophysics, Faculty of Biology, Moscow University. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 69-12538 ISBN 978-1-4757-0637-6 ISBN 978-1-4757-0635-2 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-4757-0635-2 The original Russian text, first published by Nauka Press in Moscow in 1968, has been corrected by the author for this edition. The present translation is published under an agreement with Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga, the Soviet book export agency. AAeKCaI-l8p CaMYU/106U4 JJ peCMaii ;)lIeKTpOlllal'HUTHhle nOlIlI U lfmBaH npupo)J;a © 1970 Springer Science+Rusiness Media New York Originally published by Plenum Press, New York in 1970 All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher PREFACE A broad region of the electromagnetic spectrum long assumed to have no influence on living systems under natural conditions has been critically re-examinjld over the past decade. This spectral region extends from the superhigh radio frequencies, through de- creasing frequencies, to and including essentially static electric and magnetic fields. The author of this monograph, A. S. Presman, has reviewed not only the extensive Russian literatur!;"l, but also al- most equally comprehensively the non-Russian literature, dealing with biological influences of these fields. Treated also is literature shedding some light on possible theoretical foundations for these phenomena. A substantial, rapidly increaSing number of studies in many laboratories and countries has now clearly established bio- logical influences which are independent of the theoretically pre- dictable, simple thermal effects. Indeed many of the effects are produced by field strengths very close to those within the natural environment. The author has, even more importantly, set forth a novel, imaginative general hypothesis in which it is postulated that such electromagnetic fields normally serve as conveyors of information from the environment to the organism, within the organism, and among organisms. He postulates that in the course of evolution or- ganisms have come to employ these fields in conjunction with the well-known sensory, nervous, and endocrine systems in effecting coordination and integration. A good case is made for the thesis that the capacities occur in their fullest state of development only in the organism as a whole, and are either not present, or not pre- sent in comparable form, at the molecular level. The present convinCing evidence that living systems are steadily buffeted and stressed by the noisy fluctuations in thenatu- ral electromagnetic fields of their environment, together with the simple experimental demonstrations that organisms behave v vi PREFACE as specialized and very highly sensitive receptive systems for di- verse parameters - strengths, frequencies, vector directions - of fields of the order of strength of the ambient natural ones, assures the subject of a permanent place among fundamental biological pro- blems. Presman has very lucidly dealt with many general questions and issues arising from this newly acquired knowledge. While imaginatively contemplating possible implications of this extraordinary biological responSiveness, he has maintained a very cautious, critical, and objective attitude. This pioneering volume presents a general concept which, if future experiments continue to support it, could be one of the most fundamental and significant contributions of the 20th century. Sel- dom in recent times does one encounter a new scientific area for exploration with such broad implications and potential applications, so suddenly thrown into the arena for scientific scrutiny, researches, and criticism. Presman's case for his hypothesis is very ably and persuasively set forth. The postulation that normal informational roles are played by these fields for living systems at three levels is systematically developed as logical, plaUSible consequences and SignIficances of the reported responsiveness of living systems to diverse experimentally applied fields, and characteristics of these responses. The resulting hypotheSis is so encompassing that an impact will be felt wherever biological regulation is concerned, and this means everywhere in biology from molecular, through de- velopmental, environmental, and behavioral, and even into the so- cial sciences. All who read this book will thereafter view the world with an increased consciousness of possible interrelations and in- teractions through means hitherto considered impossible. The author's modest hope, that the ideas which he presents will stimulate further critical discussions and researches, will un- doubtedly not be a vain one. The obvious exciting possibilities for further discoveries in this relatively unmined area, the many cur- rent mysteries of biology which could find their resolution in these terms, and the unquestionably almost limitless practical applica- tions of such additional knowledge concerning biological informa- tional and control systems, will assure that the postulations ad- PREFACE vii vanced by Presman will be thoroughly explored during the coming years. Evanston, Illinois January, 1969 Frank A. Brown, Jr. FOREWORD TO AMERICAN EDITION I am very happy to accept the proposal of the Plenum Publishing Corporation to make my book known to American scientists, who have made such a great contribution to the study of the effect of electromagnetic fields on living organisms. In the short time which has elapsed since the publication of the original edition the results of a large number of new investiga- tions have been published. Most of these results appear to fit in with my theory of the informational nature of the biological effects of electromagnetic fields. This is how it appears to me, but I may be guilty of unconscious bias in finding support for my view in the experimental data. Hence, I have resisted the temptation to make additions to the American edition of the book and have decided first to hear the criticism of readers in regard to the validity of the the- ory itself and the objectivity of its experimental substantiation. However, while my views may (and must) bethe subjectofde- bate, I do not think that anyone will question the need for a serious investigation of the role of electromagnetic fields in the evolution and vital activity of organisms. The stimulation of the interest of scientists in this problem was the main aim of my book. July 4, 1968 A. S. Presman ix In fond memory of the great naluralist Vladimir Ivanovich Vemadskii -founder of the science of the biosphere FOREWORD Most of the external physical factors which have been implicated in the evolution of life are of an electromagnetic nature. It qas now been established that throughout the reviewable geological period the biosphere has been a region of electromagnetic fields and radi- ations of all the frequencies known to us - from slow periodic vari- ations of the earth's magnetic and electric fields to gamma rays. It is fundamentally possible on the basis of general consider- ations that any of the ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum could have played some role in the evolution of life and are involved in the vital processes of organisms. This has already been demon- strated for a considerable region of the spectrum - for electromag- netic radiations in the infrared to ultraviolet range (photobiology) and from x rays to gamma rays (radiobiology). The situation is different with the vast remaining region of the spectrum, which includes electromagnetic fields (EmFs) of su- perhigh, ultrahigh, high, low, and infralow frequencies. Experi- mental investigations and theoretical considerations suggest that EmFs can have a significant biological action only when their in- tensity is fairly high and that such action can be due to only one process - conversion of the electromagnetic energy to heat. Yet there is an increasing amount of reliable experimental data which indicate that EmFs can have nonthermal effects and that living organisms of diverse species - from unicellular organ- isms to man - are extremely sensitive to Em Fs. Some of the dis- covered features of the biological action of EmFs clearly do not fit the Procrustean bed of the heat theory. Finally, it has been found that very weak natural EmFs can affect organisms of various spe- cies. All this indicates the necessity for a fundamentally new ap- proach to the problem of the biological action of EmFs and for the need to reconsider the question of the possible role of EmFs in the vital activity of organisms. xi xii FOREWORD A. S. Presman's book is the first attempt at such an approach to the problem on the basis of the concept of the informational role of EmFs in the evolution and vital activity of organisms. It should be pointed out straight away that, on the whole, the author has coped very successfully with this problem. The introduction postulates the existence of three kinds of "biological activity of EmFs" -the effect of natural environment" EmFs on the regulation of vital processes, the role of internal fields in the organism in the coordination of physiological proces- ses, and the interaction between organisms by means of EmFs. The author clearly demonstrates that it is not sufficient to consider only the energetic aspect of the interaction of EmFs with biological systems and indicates ways of investigating the informational func- tions of these fields in living nature. In the light of these basic viewpoints the bookgives athorough account of the physical aspects of the interaction of EmFs with bio- logical systems and critically analyzes practically all the known in- formation on the biological action of artificially produced and nat- ural EmFs. It should be noted that Presman has been able to ap- proach this broad review from various standpoints of natural scien- ces: He considers the biological effects of Em Fs from the physical, biological, and cybernetic viewpoints. Hence, the generalizations and conclusions regarding the main features of the biological act- ion of EmFs lire impartial and quite objective. The author puts forward some interesting and quite feasible hypotheses on the significant role of EmFs in the still unexplained mechanisms of some interconnections within organisms, between organisms, and between organisms and the environment. Of course, not all theviewsexpressed in the book are suffici- ently well substantiated and some are quite controversial. This is quite understandable, however, in the first formulation of a new bio- logical problem. The author's concept of the informational functions of EmFs in living organisms and the hypotheses expressed in this respect will undoubtedly rouse interest in a wide circle of readers and stim- ulate discussion on this problem. In addition, and this is very im- portant, the book will certainly be very useful as the first extensive review and analysis of the experimental and theoretical investiga