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NEWSCIENCENEWSCIENCENEWSCIENCE amplifies the signal. Sound is not directly created by a compact disc: the latter car- ries data which are audible only after being amplified by an electronic system. The "memory of water"? It is more mys- terious, but no more so than the fact that a compound formed from two gases should be liquid at normal temperature and pres- sure but show dilation as it cools. Coherent domains with laser-like proper- ties have been described in water (E. del Giudice, G. Preparata, G. Vitiello [1988], "Water as a free electric dipole laser", Phys. Rev. Lett. 61:1085-1088). More recently, a unique type of stable (non-melt- ing) ice crystal that maintains an electrical field has been identified and characterised in water (Shui-Yin Lo, Angela Lo, Li Wen Chong et al. [1996], "Physical properties of water with IE structures", Modern Physics Letters B, 10[19]:921-930). Truly, unem- ployment should not be a worry for physi- cists! Nonetheless, water has not been our subject of investigation for a long time. surveillance, e.g., for detecting, at a dis- tance, micro-organisms or products from genetically modified plants. Completion of these projects would have immense consequences on medical diag- nostic procedures and the agro-food indus- try, with huge technological and commer- cial impact. do not engage Newton in a scientific con- troversy; they disqualify him for obscuran- tism. Thus the French scientific communi- ty resisted Newtonian theory for a long time, or would prefer to ignore it... But ‘mechanism’, which is an obstacle to scien- tific progress, remains blocked. No doubt, Newton is less an opponent of 'mechanism' than he is the proposer, by provoking a total break of another model of physical mechanics in which movements other than those produced by impulsion become pos- sible." Four centuries later, we hear the same words, "There must be molecules" (Francois Jacob)—that is, contact, forceful impulsion—according to our sages of sci- ence, still frozen in the Cartesian mecha- nistic dogma; the same denial of action at a distance; and the same accusations of a return to obscurantism. Descartes versus Newton: we're in good company... oo Scientific Mental Blocks A final question: why are scientists so opposed to the evolution of science? Is it to defend their piece of turf? Why, in the name of intangible dogmas—which the history of science has shown to be so often ephemeral—do they reject advances which represent progress for their discipline? Do these advances appear to threaten their all- too-fragile certitudes? Such questions are not just philosophical, because these peo- ple are respected counsellors, advisers to political and industrial decision-makers. They orient—most often by hampering— new applications flowing from scientific progress. I don't know where these mental blocks come from, but they are, in theory at least, irreconcilable with a scientist's function. Here is a quote (translated from the French edition of Encyclopaedia Universalis, taken from the article on "Mechanism") which shows, alas, that those blocks are eternal: "We have a good example of the dilem- ma of ‘mechanism’ in the Cartesians' oppo- sition to the Newtonian world-view, which they felt complete- ly called into ques- tion the new sci- ence and pushed scientific thinking back to a level beneath what ‘mechanism' had already achieved. The problem is, for Descartes, that movement is only possible if there is contact and impul- sive force; action at a distance— attraction, as Fontenelle was to say—can only mean a return to a physics of sympa- thetic motion and occult attributes... In this way, they company... row — J. Benveniste 8 January 1998 (modified 14 June 1998) Transmission of Molecular Signals What interests us now is not the nature of the magnetic medium and how it func- tions, but the message recorded in it, which can be copied and transmitted. In the light of our experimental results, we are confi- ent in our belief that we have elucidated the physical nature of the molecular signal. The principle is as simple as exploding a mixture of air and gasoline, but the conse- quences are enormous. We present them in detail elsewhere. Here is a summary... At the present time, the only way to identify a molecule is to carry a sample, most often obtained invasively or even lestructively, to a laboratory. With the igital method, we dispose of a signal which can be instantly transmitted and analysed at the other end of the world by classic means of telecommunication. Using this method, the detection of toxic substances, proteins (antigens, antibodies, prions) or molecular complexes (parasites, bacteria, viruses, abnormal cells) should become possible. It is noteworthy that no in vivo methods of prion detection presently exist—with well-known epidemiological and economic consequences. The detection of antigens and antibodies, just to mention this field, represents a considerable share of the activity of clinical biology laboratories. Moreover, some results seem to indicate that these methods should be applicable to the chemical industry and to environmental For more information, contact: Dr Jacques Benveniste Directeur Laboratoire de Biologie Numérique (Digital Biology Laboratory) 32 rue des Carnets 92140 Clamart, France Telephone: +33 (0)1 46 01 58 40 Fax: +33 (0)1 46 31 02 77 E-mail: jbenveniste@digibio.com Website: www.digibio.com/ as NEXUS - 53 AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 1999