Current state and implications of research on biological effects of millimeter waves: A review of the literature

Abstract

In recent years, research into biological and medical effects of millimeter waves (MMW) has expanded greatly. This paper analyzes general trends in the area and briefly reviews the most significant publications, proceeding from cell-free systems, dosimetry, and spectroscopy issues through cultured cells and isolated organs to animals and humans. The studies reviewed demonstrate effects of lowintensity MMW (10 mW/cm 2 and less) on cell growth and proliferation, activity of enzymes, state of cell genetic apparatus, function of excitable membranes, peripheral receptors, and other biological systems. In animals and humans, local MMW exposure stimulated tissue repair and regeneration, alleviated stress reactions, and facilitated recovery in a wide range of diseases (MMW therapy). Many reported MMW effects could not be readily explained by temperature changes during irradiation. The paper outlines some problems and uncertainties in the MMW research area, identifies tasks for future studies, and discusses possible implications for development of exposure safety criteria and guidelines.

Weak, strong, and coherent regimes of Fröhlich condensation and their applications to terahertz medicine and quantum consciousness

“…Specifically, this Fröhlich condensate has nearly all of its vibrational energy concentrated in just one of its collective motions, the motion of lowest frequency. Such a condensation would have a profound influence on the dynamical properties of the system, and there has been considerable interest in finding applications in physics (4,5), biology (6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20), and medicine (21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26). Indeed, other phenomena that give rise to similar collective properties of a system such as lasing, superconductivity, and Bose-Einstein condensation are of great importance.…”

A New Sterilization Technique of Bovine Pericardial Biomaterial Using Microwave Radiation

“…This finding suggested that the bactericidal effects of MW radiation were not reflected in the morphological appearance of the cells, rather due to various types of molecular transformations and fatal metabolic changes that might have occurred. 29,30 …”

“…The results reported here are novel for these MW settings; however, our results are in accordance with the conceptual approach of a number of other studies that have also demonstrated a perturbation in bacterial cellular activity (as well as cell death) using nonthermal MW mechanisms. 11,16,[29][30][31] Because these other investigations have employed a wide range of microwave energy absorption or intensities, a direct comparison of the results of these studies to those of the current study is difficult, if not impossible, due to the lack of common experimental conditions.…”

“…10,30,31 The limitation of many of these studies is that the treatment of the bacterial cells was conducted at lethal or close to lethal temperatures (508C to 608C). Such temperatures could cause the denaturation of enzymes, proteins, and nucleic acids, as well as the disruption of membranes, 13 causing the basis of cell damage (nonthermal or thermal) to become hard to distinguish.…”

“…24 Such findings provide important implications for the acquittal of pathogenic bacteria from transplant material. [28][29][30][31] The use of microwave radiation to sterilize transplant tissue could be used to deliver an effective sterilization technique for bovine pericardial biomaterial. In this context, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of MW radiation with regard to the inactivation of contaminant bacteria in a commonly used biomaterial-bovine pericardium.…”