Field effects: no membrane needed.Pulsed magnetic fields magnetic fields, n.pl the spaces in which magnetic forces are detectable; created by magnetostrictive ultrasonic scalers to cause the tips of instruments such as ultrasonic scalers to vibrate. can speed up protein synthesis even in cells stripped of their outer membranes, report biophysicists who demonstrated this effect with bacteria. The finding challenges the theory that the purported health risks of electromagnetic fields arise from changes in those membranes. The researchers, led by Ben Greenebaum at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside History The University of Wisconsin-Parkside was created by an act of the Wisconsin Legislature in 1965. The University was officially founded in July 1968 when it took over two-year UW centers in Kenosha and Racine. in Kenosha, exposed membrane-lacking bacteria to a 10-gauss pulsed magnetic field for one hour. The stripped bacteria synthesized 22 to 55 percent more of a certain enzyme than did similar bacteria not exposed to the field. "This is the first report of an in vitro in vitro /in vi·tro/ (in ve´tro) [L.] within a glass; observable in a test tube; in an artificial environment. in vi·tro adj. In an artificial environment outside a living organism. electromagnetic field effect in the absence of an intact membrane," says Greenebaum. "It means that the models that depend on an intact membrane are incomplete." Martin Blank, a biophysicist bi·o·phys·ics n. (used with a sing. verb) The science that deals with the application of physics to biological processes and phenomena. bi at Columbia University in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. , calls the finding "intriguing." Blank is among those who propose that electromagnetic fields disrupt cell activity by perturbing molecules in cell membranes, potentially leading to cancer or other health problems. |
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