Biological Coherence and Response to External Stimuli

274 Pages·1988·9.583 MB·English

by  H. Fröhlich (auth.), Prof. Dr. Herbert Fröhlich (eds.)

Herbert Frohlich (Ed.)
Biological Coherence
and Response
to External Stimuli
With 97 Figures
Springer-Verlag
Berlin Heidelberg New York
London Paris Tokyo
Prof. Dr. HERBERT FROHLICH
Department of Physics
Oliver Lodge Laboratory
Oxford Street
Liverpool L69 3BX
England
ISBN -13: 978-3-642-73311-6 e-ISBN -13: 978-3-642-73309-3
DOl: 10.1007/978-3-642-73309-3
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data. Biological coherence and response to
external stimuli/Herbert Frohlich (ed.). p. cm. Includes bibliographies. 1. Biomolecules -
Effect ofradiation on. 2. Coherent states. 3. Biophysics. 1. Frohlich, H. (Herbert), 1905-
[DNLM: 1. Biophysics. 2. Electromagnetics. QT 34 B604] QP514.2.B575 1988 574.19'15 -
dc19 DNLM/DLC 88-4524
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© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1988
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1988
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2131/3130-543210
Preface
The existence of coherent excitations in active biological
systems has been established in recent years. The present book
aims at presenting a survey on the many features that such ex
citations can exhibit. This does not mean that a "theory of
biology" has been established but it implies that such a theory
will make use of such excitations. It is hoped that the present
book will help in this direction.
April 1988 H. Frohlich
Contents
Theoretical Physics and Biology
H. Frohlich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1
Theory of Non-linear Excitations
F. Kaiser (With 9 Figures) ............................ 25
Structures, Correlations and Electromagnetic Interactions in living
Matter: Theory and Applications
E. Del Giudice, S. Doglia, M. Milani and G. Vitiello. . . . . . . . . . .. 49
Resonant Cellular Effects of Low Intensity Microwaves
W. Grundler, U. J entzsch, F. Keilmann and V. Putterlik
(With 14 Figures) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 65
The Influence of Low Intensity Millimetre Waves
on Biological Systems
F. Kremer, L. Santo, A. Poglitsch, C. Koschnitzke, H. Behrens
and L. Genzel (With 17 Figures) ........................ 86
Metastable States of Biopolymers
J.B. Hasted ...................................... 102
Physical Aspects of Plant Photosynthesis
F. Drissler (With 25 Figures) ........................... 114
Emission of Radiation by Active Cells
J.K. Pollock and D.G. Pohl (With 6 Figures) ................ 140
Physiological Signalling Across Cell Membranes and Cooperative
Influences of Extremely Low Frequency Electromagnetic Fields
W.R. Adey (With 7 Figures) ........................... 148
The Interaction of living Red Blood Cells
S. Rowlands (With 2 Figures) .......................... 171
The Genetic Code as Language
F. Frohlich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... 192
VIII Contents
Electromagnetic Effects in Humans
C.W. Smith (With 4 Figures) ........................... 205
Coherent Properties of Energy-Coupling Membrane Systems
D.B. Kell (With 1 Figure) ............................. 233
Coherence in the Cytoskeleton: Implications for Biological
Information Processing
S.R. Hameroff{With 12 Figures) ........................ 242
Subject Index .................................... 267
Contributors
You will find the addresses at the beginning of the respective contribution
Adey, W.R. 148 Keilmann, F. 65
Behrens, H. 86 Kell, D.B. 233
Del Giudice, E. 49 Koschnitzke, C. 86
Doglia, S. 49 Kremer, F. 86
Drissler, F. 114 Milani, M. 49
Frohlich, F. 192 Poglitsch, A. 86
Frohlich, H. 1 Pohl, D.G. 140
Genzel, L. 86 Pollock,J.K. 140
Grundler, W. 65 Putterlik, V. 65
Hameroff, S.R. 242 Rowlands, S. 171
Hasted, J.B. 102 Santo, L. 86
Jentzsch, U. 65 Smith, C.W. 205
Kaiser, F. 25 Vitiello, G. 49
Theoretical Physics and Biology
H. FROHLICH 1
This is the title given to the first Versailles meeting arranged by the Institut de la Vie
in 1967 (cf. Marois 1969). Its history goes back to about 1938, when my late friend
Max Reiss told me that biological membranes had been found to maintain a small,
100 mV, electric potential difference. On hearing of its thickness of 10-6 cm, I found
that this corresponds to the enormous electrical field of 105 V /cm which ordinary
layers will sustain only when special precautions are taken. Also then with an elastic
constant corresponding to a sound velocity of 105 cm/s, is a frequency of 1011 Hz
found corresponding to millimetre electric waves. Such frequencies were not available
at the time, but I asked the help of Willis Jackson to produce them and hence inves
tigate their properties, in particular biosystems, proposed by Victor Rothschild. This
research was abandoned through the outbreak of the war, but I remembered it when
approached by M. Marois. Meanwhile I had learned that a single idea does not produce
a theory. As a second idea I then considered the possible excitations of coherent modes
in this frequency region. Long-range phase correlations had been found to describe the
order present in superconductors, superfluid helium ,lasers , and others. This then could
provide the order present in active biological systems (Frohlich 1968).
At the same Versailles meeting, I. Prigogine presented his ideas about "dissipative
structures" (cf. Prigogine 1980).
The suggestion of the importance of 1011 Hz frequencies for biological activities
was strongly supported by the publication of research in the Soviet Union, where mm
wave spectroscopy had been developed (Devyatkov 1974). They found that a great
number of different biological systems have the following properties in common:
(a) the effect of irradiation depends strongly on the frequency of the microwaves;
(b) in certain microwave-power ranges, the effect of exposure depends weakly on varia
tion of power through several orders of magnitude; ( c) the effects depend significantly
on the time of irradiation. This confirms the basic results of the theory.
Subsequently a great number of investigation followed. They will not be quoted
here in detail but instead reference to relevant review articles will be made; Frohlich
(1977, 1980, 1986a,b). A survey on relevant developments is also presented in the
"Green Book" (Frohlich and Kremer 1983b).
The developments described in this book can be considered as particular cases of
Prigogines dissipative structures or of Hakens Synergetics.
1 Department of Physics, Oliver Lodge Laboratory, Oxford Street, P.O. Box 147, Liverpool,
L69 3BX, GB
2 H. Frohlich
1 Introduction
The present century has witnessed a complete understanding of the structure, interac
tion, and dynamical properties of atoms and molecules. It was often concluded then
that the properties of complex systems will follow once their molecular structure has
been found. This idea led to the development of molecular biology.
From the point of view of physics, biological materials are extremely complex and
complicated systems. Yet, once they are activated, they function in a most systematic
way. In fact on occasions they show sensitivities equal to the highest available in
modem technology.
As an example we mention the sensitivity at low light intensities of the human visual
system which, according to a careful analysis by Rose (1970), is close to the theoretical
limit. The system can thus be considered as an image converter of the highest possible
sensitivity. Yet it uses materials ofa quite different nature from those used by tech
nologists.
Another example for the extraordinary sensitivity of biological systems is provided
by the sensitivity of certain fish to electric signals. They make use ofsuch signals in
various ways, as discussed by Bullock (1977). The lowest electric field that has been
observed to evoke a response is of the order 1O~8 V/cm. Again, the fish possesses none
of the materials that would be used technically for the required purpose.
Many other examples of the extraordinary physical properties of biological systems
exist. It is the task ofTheoretical Physics to tentatively introduce appropriate physical
concepts. Experimental collaboration is then needed to test these. Close collaboration
of theory and experiment is thus required. Existence of the required properties in bio
logical systems may be the result of long evolutionary processes. It must be asked,
therefore, whether the relevant properties are possible, rather than whether they are
probable.
It must be remarked at once that the relevant properties relate to certain activities
of systems that are large from an atomic point of view, and the question of their deriva
tion from micro (atomic) physics arises at once.
It should thus be assumed that from the point of view of physics, biological systems
possess a certain order. The structure investigations of molecular biology have demon
strated, however, the absence of spatial order, and the conclusion has often been reach
ed that no physical order exists in biomolecules such as enzymes. The arrangement of
amino acids from which they are built was then considered as random (cf. Monod
1972).
The fallacy of this conclusion is evident at once, as the replacement of a particular
amino acid in an enzyme by another ''wrong'' one reduces the efficiency of this par
ticular enzyme. Clearly it is insufficient to consider spatial arrangements only. Physical
order does, however, express itself not only in the spatial order. Thus superfluid helium
and the electrons in superconductors exhibit an order that might be termed "motional
order". It is expressed in terms of macroscopic wave functions and refers to certain
phase correlations yielding a "coherence". In fact at very low temperatures when the
entropy vanishes, i.e. no disorder exists, the atoms of superfluid liquid helium show
the same type of disordered correlation as do other fluids (at higher temperatures).
Yet the macroscopic wave function imposes a very subtle correlation in the motion of
Theoretical Physics and Biology 3
the helium atoms such that no disorder exists. Stimulated by these features, it will be
assumed, as a working hypotheses, that phase correlations of some kind, coherence,
will playa decisive role in the description of biological materials and their activities.
2 General
From the point of view of physics, active biological systems may be characterized by
three properties:
i. they are relatively stable but far from equilibrium,
ii. they exhibit a non-trivial order,
iii. they have extraordinary dielectric properties.
Furthermore, in dealing with causes for activities, a multi causal approach is re
quired, dealing, e.g. in the case of two interacting systems such as enzymes and sub
strates, not only with their interaction when they have joined, but also with the cause
that brings them together.
To give a trivial but instructive example, consider a cup on a table, partly filled
with water. If we tilt it sufficiently, then the water will flow out. The causes are
(a) that we have tilted it, and (b) that the free energy is lower after the water has
flown out. This also provides an example for a metastable state, for if we tilt the cup
only a little, and then return it, water will not flow out, but after few oscillations will
retum to the original state.
Excitation of metastable states is of basic importance for biological activities. They
arise through non-linear restoring forces and may have trivial or non-trivial conse
quences. To illustrate this, consider a particle with coordinates x bound elastically to
x = 0 thus having a restoring force proportional to x, and potential energy, propor
tional to x2,
f=- ax, V=fx2 ~O,a>O. (2.1)
The oscillation is harmonic and all displacements are linear. Add now a non-linear
term yielding
av
V = -a x 2 + -b x 4 f = - -ax = - ax - bx3 . (2.2)
2 4'
>
If b 0, the system will still oscillate, though no longer harmonically. This does not
>
alter the qualitative behaviour as an oscillator as long as b O. The lowest energy still
lies at x = 0, and the restoring force is still directed towards x = O.
<
If, however, b 0, then a qualitative change arises. The restoring force becomes
zero not only at x = 0, but also at Xo ,
a)
(
1/2
Xo=± fbi (2.3)
The potential now rises with increasing Ixl below (Xo), and above it, falls. At xo, the
potential energy has a maximum 3/4 a2 lb. At higher energies, thus, the system no
longer oscillates.