Newsgroups: alt.sci.physics.new-theories
Subject: Breaking down the barriers between physics, chemistry and biology.
Date: Wed, 1 Oct 1997 12:06:20 +0200
Organization: Department of Computer Science, U of Copenhagen

I would like to request that anyone who replies to this article on the newsgroup please send a CC to me at tumle@diku.dk . That will be most helpful. Thank you!

- Madhavendra Puri.

EVIDENCE THAT ATOMS BEHAVE DIFFERENTLY IN BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS
THAN OUTSIDE OF THEM

Madhavendra Puri
The Bhaktivedanta Institute
E-mail: tumle@diku.dk

A number of chemists report that plants, animals and human beings ROUTINELY TRANSMUTE MID-RANGE ELEMENTS (for example, potassium into calcium or magnesium into calcium) AS PART OF THEIR ORDINARY DAILY METABOLISM.

These transmutations obey rules such as: Mg + O => Ca; K + H => Ca. This is revolutionary since, according to current physical theory, the energy levels required for such transmutations are billions of times higher than what is available in biological systems. Equally inexplicable fission reactions such as Ca => Mg + O; Ca => K + H are also reported.

But revolutions in physics have repeatedly occurred, such as the quantum revolution in which the radical property of non-locality, previously considered impossible, is now accepted by physicists (see Aspect and Grangier 1986, Bransden and Joachain 1989, p.671-681, Chiao et al 1993, Squires 1990, p.173, Rae 1986, p.25-44, and Penrose 1990, p.369).

What I am presenting here is not the "cold fusion" of Fleischmann and Pons which, as far as I know, lacks clear evidence of actual fusion. Even if the Fleischmann and Pons effect turns out to be actual fusion, it is only the fusion of isotopes of the lightest element hydrogen under special laboratory conditions which is quite different from the UNEQUIVOCAL FUSION AND FISSION OF MID-RANGE elements found in biological transmutation reports.

Now let us examine the evidence for biological transmutation.

Crabs, shellfish and crayfish have shells made largely of calcium. A crab 17 cm by 10 cm has a shell weighing around 350 grams. Periodically these animals shed their shell and create a new one. This is called molting. When molting, a crab is very vulnerable and hides away from all other creatures so it can not get calcium by preying on other creatures.

According to French chemist C. Louis Kervran of the Conseil d'Hygiene in Paris, seawater contains far too little calcium to account for the rapid production of a shell (the calcium content of sea water is about 0.042% and a crab can form a new shell in little more than one day). If the entire body of a crab is analyzed for calcium, it is found to contain only enough calcium to produce 3% of the shell (even taking into account the calcium carbonate stored in the hepato-pancreas just before molting).

Even in water completely devoid of calcium, shellfish can still create their calcium-bearing shells as shown by an experiment performed at the Maritime Laboratory of Roscoff: "A crayfish was put in a sea water basin from which calcium carbonate had been removed by precipitation; the animal made its shell anyway." (Kervran 1972, p.58)

"Chemical analysis made on animals secreting their shells has revealed that calcium carbonate is formed on the outer side of a membrane although on the opposite side of the membrane, where matter enters, there is no calcium. This fact has left specialists perplexed." (Kervran 1972, p.58)

Seawater contains a sufficient amount of magnesium to form a shell if we accept Kervran's proposition that crabs routinely transmute magnesium into calcium; Mg + O => Ca.

It would be interesting to put a crayfish in water devoid of both calcium and magnesium and see if it can still create its shell.

Normal egg shells produced by hens contain calcium. Kervran (1972, p.41) reported an experiment in which hens were confined in an area in which there was no source of calcium and no calcium was present in their diet. The calcium deficiency became clearly manifested after a few days when the hens began to lay eggs with soft shells. Then purified mica (which contains potassium) was given to the hens.

Kervran (1972, p.41) described what then transpired: "The hens jumped on the mica and began scratching around it very rapidly, panting over it; then they rested, rolling their heads on it, threw it into the air, and began scratching it again. The next day eggs with normal shells (weight 7 grams) were laid.

Thus, in the 20 hours that intervened, the hens transformed a supply of potassium into calcium. ... An experiment of this kind, using the same mica, was undertaken with guinea-fowls over a period of forty days. The administering of the mica was suspended three times and each time a soft- shelled egg was laid ... ."

One might suggest that the calcium in the egg shells was borrowed from the bones of the hens. But if this is true, why were soft eggs laid when the mica was withheld and normal eggs laid when mica was given to the hens?

In order to avoid the conclusion that the hens transmuted potassium into calcium, one would have to show that mica somehow stimulates a metabolic pathway in which calcium is removed from the hen's bones and used in the production of the egg shells.

This could be completely refuted by feeding the hens mica (and of course absolutely no calcium) for such a long period of time that all the calcium in their bones would have been completely exhausted. If after that time the hens still produce calcium-bearing egg shells, we must conclude that the calcium in the egg shells is not being taken from the bones. At that point, we seem to have no choice but to acknowledge the transmutation of potassium into calcium within the hens.

Kervran (1972, p.52) described experiments performed in 1959 by the French government in the Sahara desert. The government was interested in determining the nutritional requirements of petroleum workers in the extreme heat prevalent in the desert.

In the first experiment, conducted near a place called Ouargla, the total amount of magnesium ingested per day per man was measured and compared with the amount excreted. It was found that, on the average, each man daily excreted 117.2 milligrams of magnesium more than he ingested. Thus, each day, each man lost on the average 117.2 milligrams of magnesium.

Now we must consider how much magnesium is on reserve in the human body: it turns out that the body is not able to mobilize more than 5000 milligrams of magnesium. Thus, at a daily loss of 117.2 milligrams, it is clear that after 50 days the bodies of the petroleum workers should have been completely depleted of magnesium. But the experiment was conducted for 180 days and each day each man excreted on the a verage 117.2 milligrams more than he ingested.

The second experiment lasted for 240 days and was conducted near Tindouf which has a drier climate. This time each man excreted each day an average of 256 milligrams of magnesium more than he ingested. Under these conditions, after 20 days, each man should have been completely depleted of magnesium; but somehow they survived for 220 days thereafter. It seems difficult to avoid the conclusion that the human body is able to create magnesium.

Biochemist H. Komaki of the University of Mukogawa in Japan reported that a number of different families of microorganisms such as Aspergillus niger and Saccharomyces cerevisiae create potassium during growth. (Komaki 1965, 1967)

Kervran described a germination experiment using ryegrass seeds (type Rina) performed in 1971 by the Laboratory of the Societe des Agriculteurs de France (Kervran 1972, p.107). Out of an initial group of 2000 seeds, 1000 were set aside as a control batch and the other 1000 were germinated.

The control batch weighed 2.307 grams before drying and 2.035 grams after drying. These 2.035 grams were analyzed and found to contain 3.02 milligrams of magnesium, 6.97 milligrams of potassium, 6.00 milligrams of calcium and 0.021 milligrams of copper. The magnesium, calcium and copper contents were determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy and the potassium content was determined by flame emission.

The 1000 seeds to be germinated were germinated for 29 days in Petri dishes under a plastic sheet to insure that no dust could get in. Aside from 430 milliliters of Evian water, absolutely nothing else was supplied to the seeds during germination. 430 milliliters of Evian water was found to contain 10.32 milligrams of magnesium, 0.39 milligrams of potassium, 33.11 milligrams of calcium and 0.00 milligrams of copper.

After the 29 day germination period, the plants were converted to ashes under high temperature and the ashes and residual Evian water in the Petri dishes were found to contain 3.20 milligrams of magnesium, 16.67 milligrams of potassium, 36.50 milligrams of calcium and 0.10 milligrams of copper.

Before germination there were 6.97 milligrams of potassium in the seeds. During germination 0.39 milligrams of potassium were added to the growing plants (this came from the Evian water). If atomic nuclei can not be altered in biological systems, we expect that after germination there should be 6.97 + 0.39 = 7.36 milligrams of potassium in the plants and residual Evian water. But this was not the case.

After germination the plants and residual Evian water were found to contain 16.67 milligrams of potassium. Thus 9.31 milligrams of potassium were apparently created during germination.

Before germination there were 3.02 milligrams of magnesium in the seeds. During germination 10.32 milligrams of magnesium were added to the growing plants (this came from the Evian water). If atomic nuclei cannot be altered in biological systems, we expect that after germination there should be 10.32 + 3.02 = 13.34 milligrams of magnesium in the plants and residual Evian water.

But after germination the plants and residual Evian water were found to contain only 3.20 milligrams of magnesium. Thus 10.14 milligrams of magnesium were apparently destroyed during germination. Before germination there were 0.021 milligrams of copper in the seeds. During germination 0.00 milligrams of copper were added to the growing plants.

Assuming that atomic nuclei cannot be altered, we expect that after germination there should still be 0.021 milligrams of copper in the plants and residual Evian water. But it turned out that after germination the plants and residual Evian water were found to contain 0.10 milligrams of copper. Thus 0.079 milligrams of copper were apparently created during germination.

Before germination there were 6.00 milligrams of calcium in the seeds. During germination 33.11 milligrams of calcium were added to the growing plants (from the Evian water). Assuming that nuclei can not be altered, we expect that after germination there should be 39.11 milligrams of calcium in the plants and residual Evian water.

However, after germination the plants and residual Evian water were found to contain 36.50 milligrams of calcium. Thus 2.61 milligrams of calcium were apparently destroyed during germination.

The following challenge can be made: no one knows how much potassium, calcium, magnesium and copper was in the seeds before they were germinated. It was assumed that the amounts of these elements was not significantly different from the amounts of these elements in the control batch.

How do we know this is true? What should have been done is to start with a 100 grams of seeds, mix them around thoroughly, weigh out 50 batches of 2.000 grams each, randomly select 25 of these as control batches, determine the amounts of potassium, calcium, magnesium and copper in these batches and note the maximum variation in these elements among these batches.

The remaining 25 batches can then be germinated and the plants analyzed for element content. In this way we would have some measure of the variation among different batches (both germinated and control).

On the positive side, it can be argued that since the seeds of the control and germinated batches were of the same type, the variation in element content between these two batches was not significant. Some support for this idea can be found in the data provided by chemist D. Long of the Michaelis Nutritional Research Laboratory in Harpenden, England.

Long analyzed (using atomic spectroscopy) six batches of ryegrass seeds (each of which weighed 5.4 grams before drying) and discovered that the difference in potassium content between the batch containing the greatest amount of potassium and the batch containing the least amount of potassium was 0.054 milligrams of potassium per gram of dry seed weight. Similarly, the maximum difference in magnesium content was 0.033 milligrams per gram of dry seed weight, that of calcium was 0.091 milligrams per gram of dry seed weight, and that of copper was 1.19 micrograms per gram of dry seed weight. (Long 1971, p.7)

Kervran proposed that the plants performed the following nuclear reactions: Mg + O => Ca; Ca => K + H. Kervran did not discuss the reaction involving copper.

Based on experience derived from similar experiments, Kervran said that if the seeds are germinated in doubly-distilled water, the amount of transmuted material is much smaller and may fall within the range of experimental error and therefore not be significant. The reason for this is that each kind of plant is only able to transmute certain elements into certain other elements.

Thus the experimenter must provide the plant with a certain amount of certain elements if he wants to observe a large amount of transmuted material. For germinating ryegrass seeds, Evian water is the perfect growth medium because it provides this particular kind of plant with the elements it needs.

Kervran (1972, p.132) also described a series of experiments in which wheat and oat seeds were germinated "on porous ashless paper saturated with a fertilizing solution of salts dissolved in water. The solution was free of calcium."

In the case of wheat (Roux Clair) there was 3.34 times more calcium in the plants than in the seeds; in the case of one kind of oats (Noire du Prieure) there was 4.16 times more calcium in the plants than in the seeds; in the case of another kind of oats (Panache de Roye) there was 4.51 times more calcium in the plants than in the seeds.

The calcium content was determined by two independent methods (conventional chemical analysis and atomic absorption spectroscopy); both methods agreed closely. Kervran performed more than 20 such experiments, mostly on oat seeds.

Kervran (1972, p.133) mentioned that the moon plays an important role in the production of calcium. The above huge increases in calcium were obtained in experiments in which the germination started at the new moon and stopped on the second full moon (after 6 weeks). This is an important consideration for those who attempt to duplicate these results. A lunar influence on the metabolic activity of various plants and animals was also reported by biologist Frank A. Brown. (Gauquelin 1969, p.131-133)

D. Long questioned Kervran's methods of analysis. Long (1971, p.9) said that Kervran had made (in some of his earlier experiments) the mistake of comparing the ash weight of the control batch with the ash weight of the plants after germination. Kervran may have made this mistake in some of his earlier experiments but he did not do so in the ryegrass, wheat and oat germination experiments described above.

In these experiments, he rightly compared the weight of the control batch with the weight of the seeds to be germinated. In other words, the weight comparison was done on the two batches of seeds before one batch was germinated. This is the correct procedure as acknowledged by Long himself.

Long germinated ryegrass seeds in deionized water and reported that he was unable to observe a transmutation of elements. As discussed above, this is to be expected since without a sufficient input of certain elements, there is insufficient material to be transmuted.

A more serious criticism is Long's claim that he corresponded with Kervran who advised him to germinate green lentil seeds (Leguminacae) in water containing certain minerals. Long reported that although he did this he was still unable to observe a significant transmutation of elements.

But Long did not attempt to duplicate the best of Kervran's germination experiments, namely the ryegrass, wheat and oat experiments described above. I hope that many scientists will do these experiments and report the results to the scientific community.

In the 1950s Pierre Baranger, a professor and the director of the Laboratory of Organic Chemistry at the Ecole Polytechnique in Paris, performed a large number of germination experiments and concluded that plants routinely transmute elements. Baranger did his experiments independently of Kervran.

Baranger said: "My results seem impossible, but here they are. I took every precaution. I repeated the experiments many times. I made thousands of analyses for years. I had the results verified by third parties who did not know what I was investigating. I used several methods. I changed my experimenters. But there is no escape. We must submit to the evidence: plants transmute elements." (Michel 1959, p.82)

I tried to get more information by writing letters to the Ecole Polytechnique, the Societe des Agriculteurs de France and the Agronomie Research National Institute, but I received no reply.

In 1975 chemists O. Heroux and D. Peter of the Division of Biological Sciences of the National Research Council of Canada conducted a meticulous experiment with rats (Heroux and Peter 1975). They measured the amount of magnesium ingested through food, water (and even air) as well as the amount of magnesium excreted in the form of urine and feces over three periods of time: 69 days, 240 days and 517 days.

In the case in which the rats were fed a diet in which the amount of magnesium ingested was less than the amount of magnesium excreted, it was expected that the total amount of magnesium in the body would decrease. In fact, long before the 517th day of the experiment it was expected that there would be zero magnesium in the body.

However, when the rats were analyzed for total magnesium on the 517th day, each rat contained, on the average, 82 milligrams of magnesium. The method used to determine the amount of magnesium in the body, food, water, air, feces and urine was atomic absorption spectroscopy.

Heroux and Peter verified the accuracy of their determinations by giving samples to two other laboratories (the Division of Chemistry at the National Research Council and the Department of Chemistry at McMaster University); both of these laboratories obtained essentially the same results as Heroux and Peter at the Division of Biology at the National Research Council.

Finally, other methods were used (such as destructive neutron activation and spectrographic emission) and these methods yielded results very similar to those obtained using atomic absorption spectroscopy.

I do not advise the replication of this experiment since it involved killing the rats in order to analyze their bodies for magnesium. Experiments involving animal killing are not required since there are many ways (as described above) to verify biological transmutation without such killing.
Bibliography