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INTERORGANISMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES THROUGH EXTREMELY WEAK ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS

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Frank A. Brown, Jr., Carol S. Chow · 1973

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Organisms are sensitive to electromagnetic fields as weak as Earth's natural ones and can electromagnetically influence each other.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

This 1973 study by Frank Brown examined how organisms respond to extremely weak electromagnetic fields, including Earth's natural fields. The research revealed that organisms not only detect these weak fields but their biological activity changes with natural electromagnetic fluctuations in the atmosphere. Most surprisingly, the study found that some organisms themselves emit electromagnetic fields that can influence the behavior of other nearby organisms.

Why This Matters

This pioneering research from 1973 was decades ahead of its time in recognizing biological sensitivity to extremely weak electromagnetic fields. Brown's findings that organisms respond to fields as weak as Earth's natural electromagnetic environment challenges the conventional wisdom that only high-intensity EMF exposures matter. What makes this study particularly significant is the discovery that organisms themselves contribute to the electromagnetic environment and can influence each other through these emissions. This suggests a complex web of electromagnetic interactions in nature that we're only beginning to understand. The fact that biological effects were observed at field strengths far below what regulatory agencies consider 'safe' raises important questions about our current exposure standards, which focus primarily on thermal effects from much stronger fields.

Figures from the Original Paper

Diagrams extracted from the original research document.

scatterplotPage 2 - Scatterplot showing the relationship between mean water uptake for pairs of 20 bean samples at two different laboratory sites.
p. 2 of the original PDF
graphPage 5 - AI-described figure: Scatterplots showing relationships within a range of water uptake for samples separated by more than 70 cm and those closely juxtaposed in separate vessels.
p. 5 of the original PDF
graphPage 6 - Figure 6 illustrates the relationship between deviations from the mean for correlated 'singles' and 'pairs', showing how one member's deviation systematically increases or decreases with the other.
p. 6 of the original PDF
scatterplotPage 8 - Figure 7. Scatterplot showing the relationship between concurrent responses to 'electrical shielding' and altered background radiation.
p. 8 of the original PDF
graphPage 9 - Figure 9. Concurrent day by day variation in water-uptake rate (A) in each of three rooms at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, (B) in a walk-in constant temperature cabinet in Evanston, Illinois, (C) on tables in the Evanston laboratory just outside the temperature-controlled cabinet, and (D) in an electromagnetically 'disturbed' laboratory site.
p. 9 of the original PDF
chartPage 10 - Figure 10. Day by day water-uptake variations for eight 20-bean samples in a temperature-controlled cabinet at 25°C and in darkness, with similar samples in the same cabinet but in light.
p. 10 of the original PDF

Exposure Information

Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.

Cite This Study
Frank A. Brown, Jr., Carol S. Chow (1973). INTERORGANISMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES THROUGH EXTREMELY WEAK ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS.
Show BibTeX
@article{interorganismic_and_environmental_influences_through_extremely_weak_electromagne_g6863,
  author = {Frank A. Brown and Jr. and Carol S. Chow},
  title = {INTERORGANISMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES THROUGH EXTREMELY WEAK ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS},
  year = {1973},
  
  
}
No DOI on file for this study.

Quick Questions About This Study

Yes, Brown's research demonstrated that organisms are sensitive to electromagnetic fields as weak as Earth's natural ones. Their metabolic rates and spontaneous activity levels actually fluctuate in response to natural atmospheric electromagnetic changes, showing remarkable sensitivity to extremely weak field strengths.
Brown discovered that some organisms emit electromagnetic fields that can alter the behavior of other nearby organisms. This was an unexpected finding that showed organisms don't just respond to external electromagnetic environments but actively contribute to and modify the electromagnetic conditions around them.
The study found that natural fluctuations in atmospheric electromagnetic fields correlate with weather system movements and major geophysical cycles. Organisms' biological activity patterns reflect these natural electromagnetic changes, suggesting they use these fields as environmental cues for physiological processes.
Brown observed clear differences in biological phenomena when comparing organisms in modern laboratories with their disturbed electromagnetic fields versus those at different geographic locations. The artificial electromagnetic environment of modern facilities appeared to alter normal biological responses compared to more natural settings.
Yes, the research referenced correlations between seed germination rates and solar radio flux. Additionally, annual variations in seed germination were observed even under presumably constant laboratory conditions, suggesting that natural electromagnetic cycles influence fundamental biological processes like plant reproduction.