Human fibroblasts have exhibited enhanced DNA synthesis when exposed to sinusoidally varying magnetic fields for a wide range of frequencies (15 hertz to 4 kilohertz) and amplitudes (2.3 X 10(-6) to 5.6 X 10(-4) tesla). This effect, which is at maximum during the middle of the S phase of the cell cycle, appears to be independent of the time derivative of the magnetic field, suggesting an underlying mechanism other than Faraday's law. The threshold is estimated to be between 0.5 X 10(-5) and 2.5 X 10(-5) tesla per second. These results bring into question the allegedly specific magnetic wave shapes now used in therapeutic devices for bone nonunion. The range of magnetic field amplitudes tested encompass the geomagnetic field, suggesting the possibility of mutagenic interactions directly arising from short-term changes in the earth's field.

Current models that frame consciousness in terms of electromagnetic field theory carry implications that have yet to be fully explored. Endogenous weak extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic fields are generated by ionic charge flow in axons, dendrites and synaptic transmitters. Because neural tissues are transparent to such fields, these provide the basis for the globally unifying qualities required to properly describe consciousness as a field. At the same time, however, an electromagnetic approach predicts partial transmission of this 1-100 nT field, suggesting external interactions similar to the various ELF magnetic perturbations that are linked to homeostatic and endocrine-related physiological effects. It follows that humans may represent an additional, previously unrecognized source of weak (1-10 nT) ambient ELF magnetic fields.

We advance the hypothesis that biological systems utilize the geomagnetic field (GMF) for functional purposes by means of ion cyclotron resonance-like (ICR) mechanisms. Numerous ICR-designed experiments have demonstrated that living things are sensitive, in varying degrees, to magnetic fields that are equivalent to both changes in the general magnetostatic intensity of the GMF, as well as its temporal perturbations. We propose the existence of ICR-like cell regulation processes, homologous to the way that biochemical messengers alter the net biological state through competing processes of enhancement and inhibition. In like manner, combinations of different resonance frequencies all coupled to the same local magnetic field provide a unique means for cell regulation. Recent work on ultraweak ICR magnetic fields by Zhadin and others fits into our proposed framework if one assumes that cellular systems generate time-varying electric fields of the order 100 mV/cm with bandwidths that include relevant ICR frequencies.

This article defines ununited fracture and discusses the electrical character of bone, direct current and electromagnetic osteogenesis, electric treatments, and electromagnetic devices.