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NEWSCIENCENEWSCIENCENEWSCIENCE CELLULAR SOUNDS AND THE at the psychological and cellular levels. ELECTRICITY FROM WAVES HEALING PROPERTIES OF MUSIC Our team, for example, has conducted a n theory, the idea is simple. Spinning eople have been aware of music's _ series of extremely interesting experiments [ere wires through a stable magnetic Pe: properties since the times of involving cancer cells and microbe cells." field makes electricity—lots of electrons Pythagoras and Aristotle. Russians The cell cultures were placed in between jumping off the magnetic field and zooming have long believed in the medicinal effects loudspeakers and subjected to the sounds of _ through a conductive metal. And since the of the sound of church bells. music in four different styles: classical, ocean waves are already moving, why not A Los Angeles scientist believes that easy listening/symphonic, rock and _ cobble together a machine to harness that living cells can make distinct sounds—a mediaeval hymns. The latter were found to energy? finding which may some day help doctors _ have the strongest impact. "T believe it'll change the world," said "hear" diseases. The interaction processes are very second-generation inventor Tom Jim Gimzewski, a 52-year-old UCLA complex. By and large, one style of music Woodbridge, a NASA engineer who runs chemist, calls the study of cell sounds is able to boost the growth of cells while Aqua-Magnetics Inc. in Florida. He has six sonocytology. He became interested in the another can suppress it. US and international patents on his Ocean sound of cells in 2001 after a medical "Probably the method will help Swell and Wave Energy Conversion researcher told him that when living heart researchers find a key to control cellular system, a $30,000 grant from the state's cells were placed in a Petri dish with processes and discover a way to understand Technological Research and Development appropriate nutrients, the cells would the development mechanism of Authority and prototypes that take up most continue to pulsate. malignancies," says Shushardzhan. of the family garage. Gimzewski wished to find out whether Studying the effects of musical rhythm on Think of the device as like a pogo stick such tiny vibrations would produce a the human body, e.g., the brain functions, is inside a floating drum. The rocking motion detectable sound. He conducted a series of another exciting topic of research. of the waves pushes a long cylinder of experiments using complex equipment. Scanning the brain while patients listened to magnets up and down a copper coil. Those experiments showed that the cells different kinds of music brought out Woodbridge's prototypes stand about really could make a sound, though it was _ interesting data. head high, upside down in the garage and detectable only by an especially sensitive For example, blood circulation was are painted bright yellow, as the Coast instrument. reported to have increased in both Guard required. His small model generates Gimzewski and his assistant used yeast hemispheres of the brain as patients were 10 watts of power in a six-inch wave chop. cells for conducting their research of listening to music with a very aggressive A full-scale version could generate 160 cellular noise. They found that the pitch of rhythm structure. kilowatts. That one buoy is enough to the sound wave would be higher if the cells The findings are just another piece of power 160 houses, following the rule of were sprinkled with alcohol. The dead cells evidence that the sounds of the outside thumb that the average US home uses about would give off a low, rumbling sound. world and the "sounds" of our body are 1,000 kW of electricity each month. The researchers also found that yeast interrelated in a most complex way. Still, Smaller versions could make navigational cells with genetic mutations produced a__ there are more questions than answers. oo buoys self-powered, providing warning slightly different sound than did normal (Source: Pravda, 27 February 2006, _ lights and navigational signals to ships. yeast cells. http://english.pravda.ru/science/health/765_ (Source: Knight-Ridder/Tribune, 12 Dec They hope that the technique might 36-music-0; also see www.keelynet.com) 2005; also see http:/www.easternecho.com) eventually be applied to diagnosing diseases such as cancer, which is thought to originate with changes in the genetic — makeup of cells. = , pe oo It is already clear that the future of THERES A GuY Preacdieé RADICAL (tT rs ) medicine hinges specifically on research of PELIGIOUS METSAGES, HES Quspiré A THAT $ / cellular activities. The world of sounds SUEEPER CELL WITH A pozer! oTHeRe Him! yi takes part in those processes in a most \, IM IT. AES CHARISMATIC. HES oF a active manner. \ MIDDLE EAS TERM APrEAERMCE. / fi "Scientists have long noticed that music i yy — f could impact the blood circulation, e.g., f change its rate," says music therapy ce —_ specialist Sergei Shushardzhan. "However, = i , it was not until recently that scientists have ban } realised that music therapy is an ay F interdisciplinary branch of science that Es { Lat came into being at the junction of many - areas. There is a purely physical side of the {; phenomenon, since music is the sound, [ rhythm, frequency, etc. "At the same time, there is a medical aspect of it—a reaction of the body to music | THERES A Gu fetactidé RADICAL | RELIGIOUS MEAGES, HEY RuspiIreA | SLEEPER CELL WITH A poten oTweRs IM iT, Aes FABRE MATIC, HES oF he MIDDLE EASTERD APrEAERIE. // fe By 2G NaN {f ae es) _ J OF na APRIL — MAY 2006 NEXUS = 47 www.nexusmagazine.com