A biophoton (from the Greek βιο meaning "life" and φωτο meaning "light") is synonymous with ultraweak photon emission, low-level biological chemiluminescence, ultraweak bioluminescence, dark luminescence and other similar terms which are together more common in the scientific literature. Biophoton emission is a photon of light emitted in some fashion 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 science and technology of the interaction of photons within and on biological systems. ... In modern physics the photon is the elementary particle responsible for electromagnetic phenomena. ... For other uses, see Light (disambiguation). ... This article is about life in general. ... This box:      Electromagnetic (EM) radiation is a self-propagating wave in space with electric and magnetic components. ... Cells in culture, stained for keratin The cell is the structural and functional unit of all living organisms. ... Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism as the result of a chemical reaction during which chemical energy is converted to light energy. ...

The term "biophotonics" refers to 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. Biophotonics is the science and technology of the interaction of photons within and on biological systems. ... Biophysics (also biological physics) is an interdisciplinary science that applies the theories and methods of physics, to questions of biology. ... Gene regulation is the general term for cellular control of protein synthesis at the DNA-RNA transcription step. ... The term cell growth is used in two different ways in biology. ... Cellular differentiation is a concept from developmental biology describing the process by which cells acquire a type. The morphology of a cell may change dramatically during differentiation, but the genetic material remains the same, with few exceptions. ... Luminescence is light not generated by high temperatures alone. ... Supramolecular chemistry refers to the area of chemistry which focuses on the noncovalent bonding interactions of molecules. ...

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. The magnitude of a mathematical object is its size: a property by which it can be larger or smaller than other objects of the same kind; in technical terms, an ordering of the class of objects to which it belongs. ... Although some radiations are marked as N for no in the diagram, some waves do in fact penetrate the atmosphere, although extremely minimally compared to the other radiations The electromagnetic (EM) spectrum is the range of all possible electromagnetic radiation. ... Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism as the result of a chemical reaction during which chemical energy is converted to light energy. ... As the temperature decreases, the peak of the black body radiation curve moves to lower intensities and longer wavelengths. ... Photomultipliers, or photomultiplier tubes (PMT) are extremely sensitive detectors of light in the ultraviolet, visible and near infrared. ...

Biophotons were employed by the Stalin regime to diagnose cancer, apparently with such success that their discoverer, Alexander Gurwitsch was awarded a prize, though the method has not been tested in the west. However, more recently there have been claims that, by "harnessing the energy of biophotons", supposed natural cures for cancer are possible.^[1][2] Commercial products and services based on these latter claims appear at present to be best regarded as base and baseless pseudo-science. Cancer is a class of diseases or disorders characterized by uncontrolled division of cells and the ability of these to spread, either by direct growth into adjacent tissue through invasion, or by implantation into distant sites by metastasis (where cancer cells are transported through the bloodstream or lymphatic system). ... Alexander Gurwitsch, Alexander Gavrilovich Gurwitsch (1874 - 1954), a famous Russian biologist. ... A pseudoscience is any body of knowledge purported to be scientific or supported by science but which fails to comply with the scientific method. ...

History

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 he assumed that they had a stimulating effect on cell division. However, the failure to replicate his findings and the fact that though cell growth can generally be stimulated and directed by radiation, it is only possible at much higher amplitudes evoked a general skepticism about Gurwitsch's work. In 1953 Irving Langmuir dubbed Gurwitsch's ideas pathological science. Alexander Gurwitsch, Alexander Gavrilovich Gurwitsch (1874 - 1954), a famous Russian biologist. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This box:      Electromagnetic (EM) radiation is a self-propagating wave in space with electric and magnetic components. ... Irving Langmuir (January 31, 1881 in Brooklyn, New York - August 16, 1957 in Woods Hole, Massachusetts) was an American chemist and physicist. ... Irving Langmuir coined the phrase pathological science in a talk in 1953 Pathological science is the process in science in which people are tricked into false results . ...

However 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. The most fundamental reactions in chemistry are the redox processes. ... In chemistry, radicals (often referred to as free radicals) are atomic or molecular species with unpaired electrons on an otherwise open shell configuration. ... For other uses, see Chemical reaction (disambiguation). ...

Chemiexcitation via oxidative stress by reactive oxygen species(ROS) and/or catalysis by enzymes (ie peroxidase, lipoxygenase) is a common event in the biomolecular milieu^[3]. 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^[4] or by addition of carbonyl derivitizing agents^[5]. Further support is provided by studies indicating that emission can be increased by addition of reactive oxygen species (ROS) ^[6]. Oxidative stress is caused by an imbalance between the production of reactive oxygen and a biological systems ability to readily detoxify the reactive intermediates or easily repair the resulting damage. ... Reactive oxygen species (ROS) include oxygen ions, free radicals and peroxides both inorganic and organic. ... Catalyst redirects here. ... Neuraminidase ribbon diagram An enzyme (in Greek en = in and zyme = blend) is a protein, or protein complex, that catalyzes a chemical reaction and also controls the 3D orientation of the catalyzed substrates. ... Glutathione Peroxidase 1 A peroxidase (eg. ... Lipoxygenases are a class of enzymes which add oxygen to lipids. ... In physics, spin is the angular momentum intrinsic to a body, as opposed to orbital angular momentum, which is the motion of its center of mass about an external point. ... In physics, the photon (from Greek φως, phōs, meaning light) is the quantum of the electromagnetic field; for instance, light. ... A quantum mechanical system can only be in certain states, so that only certain energy levels are possible. ... In common use, phosphorescence also refers to the emission of light by bioluminescent plankton, and some other forms of chemoluminescence. ... An antioxidant is a chemical that prevents the oxidation of other chemicals. ... Reactive oxygen species (ROS) include oxygen ions, free radicals and peroxides both inorganic and organic. ...

Since there is visible bioluminescence in many bacteria and other cells (see bioluminescence article) it can be inferred that the extremely small number of photons in ultra-weak bioluminescence are simply a random by-product of cellular metabolism (the numbers given above correspond to roughly a single photon per cell per month, assuming a typical cell diameter of 10 micrometers). Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism as the result of a chemical reaction during which chemical energy is converted to light energy. ... Phyla Actinobacteria Aquificae Chlamydiae Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi Chloroflexi Chrysiogenetes Cyanobacteria Deferribacteres Deinococcus-Thermus Dictyoglomi Fibrobacteres/Acidobacteria Firmicutes Fusobacteria Gemmatimonadetes Lentisphaerae Nitrospirae Planctomycetes Proteobacteria Spirochaetes Thermodesulfobacteria Thermomicrobia Thermotogae Verrucomicrobia Bacteria (singular: bacterium) are unicellular microorganisms. ... Drawing of the structure of cork as it appeared under the microscope to Robert Hooke from Micrographia which is the origin of the word cell being used to describe the smallest unit of a living organism Cells in culture, stained for keratin (red) and DNA (green) The cell is the... Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism as the result of a chemical reaction during which chemical energy is converted to light energy. ... Structure of the coenzyme adenosine triphosphate, a central intermediate in energy 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. A few of the metabolic pathways in a cell. ... Adenosine 5-triphosphate (ATP) is a multifunctional nucleotide that is most important as a molecular currency of intracellular energy transfer. ... Thermodynamics (from the Greek θερμη, therme, meaning heat and δυναμις, dynamis, meaning power) is a branch of physics that studies the effects of changes in temperature, pressure, and volume on physical systems at the macroscopic scale by analyzing the collective motion of their particles using statistics. ... Statistical mechanics is the application of probability theory, which includes mathematical tools for dealing with large populations, to the field of mechanics, which is concerned with the motion of particles or objects when subjected to a force. ...

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. Statistical mechanics is the application of probability theory, which includes mathematical tools for dealing with large populations, to the field of mechanics, which is concerned with the motion of particles or objects when subjected to a force. ... For other uses, see Biology (disambiguation). ... In physics, a statistical ensemble is a very large set of similar systems, considered all at once. ... For other uses, see Chaos Theory (disambiguation). ... A probability distribution describes the values and probabilities that a random event can take place. ...

Hypothesized involvement in cellular communication

In the 1970s the then assistant professor Fritz-Albert Popp, and his research group, at the University of Marburg (Germany)showed that 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. Fritz-Albert Popp (* 1938 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany) is a German researcher of biophysics. ... University of Marburg - Department of Social Sciences and University library The old university The University of Marburg (German: Philipps-Universität Marburg Philips University, Marburg), was founded in 1527 by Landgrave Philipp I of Hesse (usually called the Magnanimous, although the updated meaning haughty is sometimes given) as the... Periodicity is the quality of occurring at regular intervals (e. ... Coherence is the property of wave-like states that enables them to exhibit interference. ...

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.Kazmacheyev announced that his research team in Novosibirsk had detected intercellular communication by means of these rays.^[7] Mitosis divides genetic information during cell division. ... The structure of part of a DNA double helix Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is a nucleic acid molecule that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms. ... HeLa cells stained for DNA with the Blue Hoechst dye. ...

Proponents additionally claim that studies have shown that injured cells will emit a higher biophoton rate than normal cells, and organisms with illnesses will likewise emit a brighter light, which has been interpreted as implying a sort of distress signal being given off. However, 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.^[8] One hypothesis is this postulated minor form of communication first became common as single-cell organisms began to cooperate to form complex organisms, using biophotons as a less effective neural system. According to another hypothesis,^[9] this form of biophotonic signaling, primarily in the blood, continues to play a role in the reception, transmission, and processing of electromagnetic data. For other uses, see Light (disambiguation). ... Oxidative stress is caused by an imbalance between the production of reactive oxygen and a biological systems ability to readily detoxify the reactive intermediates or easily repair the resulting damage. ... Cells in culture, stained for keratin (red) and DNA (green) The cell is the structural and functional unit of all living organisms, and are sometimes called the building blocks of life. ... Domains and Kingdoms Nanobes Acytota Cytota Bacteria Neomura Archaea Eukaryota Bikonta Apusozoa Rhizaria Excavata Archaeplastida Rhodophyta Glaucophyta Plantae Heterokontophyta Haptophyta Cryptophyta Alveolata Unikonta Amoebozoa Opisthokonta Choanozoa Fungi Animalia An ericoid mycorrhizal fungus Life on Earth redirects here. ... The nervous system of an animal coordinates the activity of the muscles, monitors the organs, constructs and processes input from the senses, and initiates actions. ...

These ideas would then suggest that biophotons may be important for the development of larger structures, such as organs and organisms. However, debate surrounds such evidence and conclusions, and 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. Views of a Foetus in the Womb, Leonardo da Vinci, ca. ... This article is about the biological unit. ... Domains and Kingdoms Nanobes Acytota Cytota Bacteria Neomura Archaea Eukaryota Bikonta Apusozoa Rhizaria Excavata Archaeplastida Rhodophyta Glaucophyta Plantae Heterokontophyta Haptophyta Cryptophyta Alveolata Unikonta Amoebozoa Opisthokonta Choanozoa Fungi Animalia An ericoid mycorrhizal fungus Life on Earth redirects here. ...

Objections to the conjectured signaling role of biophotons include the observation that most organisms are bathed in what would be considered a relatively high intensity light field (daylight or even starlight is orders of magnitude more intense) when compared to any ultraweak biophoton emission, thus swamping any signalling effect such emissions could have. Although this does not address the possibility that 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. Starlight is a common word for the glow of stars. ... RNA expression pattern Orthologs Human Mouse Entrez Ensembl Uniprot Refseq Location Pubmed search Opsin 3 (encephalopsin, panopsin), also known as OPN3, is a human gene. ...

See also

• Bioluminescence
• Biophotonics
• Biophysics
• Chemiluminescence
• Kirlian photography
• L-field
• luminophore
• Pathological science
• phosphorescence
• Prana
• Pseudoscience
• Vitalism

Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism as the result of a chemical reaction during which chemical energy is converted to light energy. ... Biophotonics is the science and technology of the interaction of photons within and on biological systems. ... Biophysics (also biological physics) is an interdisciplinary science that applies the theories and methods of physics, to questions of biology. ... A chemoluminescent reaction carried out in an erlenmeyer flask producing a large amount of light. ... Kirlian photography refers to a form of contact print photography, theoretically associated with high-voltage. ... The L-field is a name proposed by the Yale Professor of Anatomy Harold Saxton Burr in his book Blueprint for Immortality for the electomagnetic field of any organism. ... A luminophore is an atom or atomic grouping in an organic compound that manifests luminescence (chemoluminescence). ... Irving Langmuir coined the phrase pathological science in a talk in 1953 Pathological science is the process in science in which people are tricked into false results . ... In common use, phosphorescence also refers to the emission of light by bioluminescent plankton, and some other forms of chemoluminescence. ... Prana (, IAST: ) is a Sanskrit word meaning breath and refers to a vital, life-sustaining force of living beings and vital energy in natural processes of the universe. ... A typical 18th century phrenology chart. ... Vitalism is the doctrine that vital forces are active in living organisms, so that life cannot be explained solely by mechanism. ...

Notes

Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 308th day of the year (309th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 308th day of the year (309th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 308th day of the year (309th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 308th day of the year (309th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Sources

• Bajpai, R.P., Popp, F.A., van Wijk, R., Niggli, H., Beloussov, L.V., Cohen, S., Jung, H.H., Sup-Soh, K., Lipkind, M., Voiekov, V.L., Slawinski, J., Aoshima, Y., Michiniewicz, Z., van Klitzing, L., Swain, J.:Biophotons (Multi-Author-Review). Indian Journal of Experimental Biology 41 (2003), Vol 5, 391-544.
• Boveris, A. Cadenas, E. Reiter, R. Filipkowski, M. Nakase, Y. Chance, B. (1980). Organ chemiluminescence: Noninvasive assay for oxidative radical reactions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA. 77 (1) : 347-351
• Chang, J.J., Fisch, J., and Popp, F.A.:Biophotons. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht-Boston-London 1998.
• J.J.Chang and F.A.Popp: "Biological Organization: A Possible Mechanism based on the Coherence of Biophotons". In: Biophotons (J.J.Chang, J. Fisch and F.A.Popp, eds.), Kluwer Academic Publisher, Dordrecht-London 1998, pp. 217-227.
• Cilento, G. Adam, W. From Free Radicals to Electronically Excited Species.: Free Radical Biology and Medicine. (1995) 19(1): 103-114.
• H.Fröhlich: "Long Range Coherence and Energy Storage in Biological Systems". Int. J. Quant. Chem. 2 (1968), 641-649.
• A.G. Gurwitsch: "Über Ursachen der Zellteilung". Arch. Entw. Mech. Org. 51 (1922), 383-415.
• Katoaka, Y. Cui, Y.L. Yamagata, A. Niigaki, M. Hirohata, T. Oishi, N. Watanabe, Y.: Activity-Dependent Neural Tissue Oxidation Emits Intrinsic Ultraweak Photons. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. 285 (2001): 1007-1011.
• Popp, F.A.: Biophotonen. Ein neuer Weg zur Lösung des Krebsproblems. Schriftenreihe Krebsgeschehen, Vol.6, Verlag für Medizin, Dr. Ewald Fischer, Heidelberg 1976.
• Popp, F.A., Gu, Q., and Li, K.H.:Biophoton Emission: Experimentell Background and Theoretical Approaches. Modern Physics Letters B8 (1994), 1269-1296.
• Popp, F.A., Gurwitsch, A.A., Inaba, H., Slawinski, J., Cilento G., van Wijk, R., Chwirot B., and Nagl, W.: Biophoton Emission (Multi-Author Review), Experientia 44 (1988), 543-600.
• Popp, F.A., Ruth, B., Bahr, W., Böhm, J., Grass, P., Grolig, G., Rattemeyer, M., Schmidt, H.G., and Wulle, P.:Emission of visible and ultraviolet radiation by active biological systems. Collective Phenomena (Gordon&Breach), Vol.3 (1981), pp.187-214.
• Popp, F.A., Yan, Yu: Delayed luminescence of biological systems in terms of coherent states. Physics Letters A 293 (2002), 93-97.
• Radiofrequency and microwave radiation of biological origin – their possible role in biocommunication. Psychoenergetic Systems, Vol.3 (1979), pp.133-154.
• Raschke T, Koop U, Dusing HJ, Filbry A, Sauermann K, Jaspers S, Wenck H, Wittern KP.: Topical activity of ascorbic acid: from in vitro optimization to in vivo efficacy. Skin Pharmacol Physiol. 2004 Jul-Aug;17(4):200-6.
• Rattemeyer, M., Popp, F.A., and Nagl, W.: Evidence of photon emission from DNA in living systems. Naturwissenschaften 68 (1981), 572-573.
• Ruth, B. In: Electromagnetic Bio-Information (F.A.Popp, G.Becker, H.L.König and W.Peschka, eds.), Urban &Schwarzenberg, München-Wien-Baltimore 1979. This paper contains the historical background of biophotons.
• Ruth, B. and F.A.Popp: Experimentelle Untersuchungen zur ultraschwachen Photonenemission biologischer Systeme. Z.Naturforsch.31
• Ursini, F. Barsacchi, R. Pelosi, G. Benassi, A.: Oxidative stress in the Rat Heart, Studies on Low-Level Chemiluminescence. Journal of Bioluminescence and Chemiluminescence. 4(1) (1989) 241-244.
• Yan, Y., Popp, F.A., Sigrist, S., Schlesinger, D., Dolf, A., Yan, Z., Cohen, S., and Chotia, A.:Further analysis of delayed luminescence of plants, Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology 78 (2005),229-234.

External links

• Marco Bischof's Bibliography on biophoton research and related subjects
• G.J. Hyland's Fundaments of Coherence in Biology
• Photonics TechnologyWorld, "Our Bodies, Our Photons". October 1998 Edition.
• Tilbury, Gregg, Percival, Matich: "Ultraweak Chemiluminescence from Human Blood Plasma"
• F.A. Popp, et al, Recent Advances in Biophoton Research and its Application
• F.A. Popp, Biophotonics
• International Institute of Biophysics
• Ultraweak photon emission UPE - Exchanging experimental data and discussion