Month: September 2022

SPACE STATION BUGS. “The presence of several microorganisms has been studied in the Russian Mir Space Station as well as the International Space Station. The organisms consist of both bacteria and fungi, and are exposed to about 4 cGy of ionizing radiation per year. Many bacteria and fungi in these environments have been found to be pigmented or melanized.” https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2016.0459 View in LinkedIn

MELANIN PROTECTION MECHANISM. “Ionizing radiation changed the electron spin resonance signal of melanin, making it more efficient in acting as an ionizing radiation transducer. Experiments have shown increased metabolic activity in melanized Cryptococcus neoformans relative to non-melanized ones, indicating the enhancement of the electron transfer properties of melanin.” https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2016.0459 View in LinkedIn

FREE RADICAL QUENCHING. “The authors concluded that melanin played a major role in protecting the organism against ionizing radiation and these radioprotective properties arise due to its chemical composition, free radical quenching and spherical spatial arrangement.” https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2016.0459 View in LinkedIn

SO ENDS this first of two weekends on an interesting paper suggesting that some planets may support life driven by galactic cosmic ray metabolism as a surrogate for photosynthesis. Biology has been too fixated on “life as we know it”. Different thinking is required to search for life as we do not know it. The extraordinary forces of the turbulent cosmos mean that both physics and chemistry will be quite different, and the types of molecules produced will not resemble Earth chemistry. In turn, this direction will inevitably lead to a better working definition of what life is, required if we are serious about searching for it in the cosmos. View in LinkedIn

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PLANTS AND MAGNETISM. “Plants react in a multitude of ways to geomagnetic fields—strong continuous fields as well as alternating magnetic fields. In the past, physiological investigations were pursued in a somewhat unsystematic manner and no biological advantage of any magnetoresponse is immediately obvious. As a result, most studies remain largely on a phenomenological level and are in general characterised by a lack of mechanistic insight, despite the fact that physics provides several theories that serve as paradigms for magnetoreception.” https://lnkd.in/e8iVbps View in LinkedIn

MAGNETIC LITERATURE. “The literature describing the effects of weak MFs on living systems contains a plethora of contradictory reports, few successful independent replication studies and a dearth of plausible biophysical interaction mechanisms. Most such investigations have been unsystematic, devoid of testable theoretical predictions and, ultimately, unconvincing.” https://lnkd.in/dCeCN2g View in LinkedIn

PLANT EFFECTS. “It is found that variable magnetic field exposure time rate (l00 mTlhr) is a very significant factor in influencing the germination process of seeds Zea mays in compared with non treated seeds. It is observed, that the root length, radicle length and protein percentage increased by 31.14%, 4.15% and 11.32% respectively.” https://lnkd.in/esUKMvT View in LinkedIn

TIP OF ICEBERG. ““We have recently found that seeds and seedlings of the chili plant, Capsicum annuum, are able to sense neighbors and identify relatives using alternative mechanisms beyond previously studied channels of plant communication. In this addendum, we offer a hypothetical mechanistic explanation as to how plants may do this by quantum-assisted magnetic and/or acoustic sensing and signaling.” https://lnkd.in/eYhgT_r View in LinkedIn

MAGNETISM AND SEEDS. “Pre-sowing treatment of corn seeds with pulsed EMFs for 0, 15, 30, and 45 min improved germination percentage, vigor, chlorophyll content, leaf area, plant fresh and dry weight, and finally yields. Seeds that have been exposed to MF for 30 and 45 min have been found to perform the best results with economic impact on producer's income in a context of a modern, organic, and sustainable agriculture.” https://lnkd.in/dCeCN2g View in LinkedIn