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Review
. 2022 Jan 14;11(2):274.
doi: 10.3390/cells11020274.

Theoretical Concepts in Magnetobiology after 40 Years of Research

Vladimir N Binhi  1 , Andrei B Rubin  2
Affiliations
Review

Theoretical Concepts in Magnetobiology after 40 Years of Research

Vladimir N Binhi et al. Cells. .

Abstract

This review contains information on the development of magnetic biology, one of the multidisciplinary areas of biophysics. The main historical facts are presented and the general observed properties of magnetobiological phenomena are listed. The unavoidable presence of nonspecific magnetobiological effects in the everyday life of a person and society is shown. Particular attention is paid to the formation of theoretical concepts in magnetobiology and the state of the art in this area of research. Some details are provided on the molecular mechanisms of the nonspecific action of a magnetic field on organisms. The prospects of magnetobiology for the near and distant future are discussed.

Keywords: biological action of a magnetic field; kT problem; molecular mechanism; nonspecific effect; random effect.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The title pages of (a) the first edition of W. Gilbert’s monograph and (b) the monograph by A.F. Middendorff with materials from a trip to Siberia.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(a) European robin Erithacus rubecula, which is assumed to use a quantum magnetochemical compass for orientation and navigation in the geoMF during seasonal flights up to 2000 km [17,26]. Photo ©2014 by F.C. Franklin/CC-BY-SA-3.0. (b) Sprouts of the thale cress Arabidopsis thaliana that respond to a weak MF do not have special magnetic receptors (e.g., [27]). Photo © 2014 by Alena Kravchenko/CC-BY-SA-4.0.
Figure 3
Figure 3
MF dependences of the probability ΔP of the primary reaction calculated for a stationary (a) and rotating (b) biophysical sensor.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Power spectral density of the MF variations of the natural geoMF (a) and the urban (b) origin. Adapted with permission from [36], copyright 2011 © V.N. Binhi. The technical details are presented in [54].
Figure 5
Figure 5
Maximum permissible levels of the EMF magnetic component for the population, adopted by various international organizations and in Russia. Russian standards: SanPiN 2.2.2/2.4.1340-03 and SanPiN 2.1.2.1002, (a)—residential area, (b)—living quarters, (c)—temporary standard for EMF of personal computers.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Gilbert W. De Magnete. Dover Publication Inc.; New York, NY, USA: 1958.
    1. Von Middendorff A.T. Die Isepiptesen Russlands. Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften; St. Petersburg, Russia: 1855.
    1. Schott H. Zur Geschichte der Elektrotherapie und ihrer Beziehung zum Heilmagnetismus. In: und Andere V.F., editor. Naturheilverfahren und Unkonventionelle Medizinische Richtunge. Springer; Berlin/Heidelberg, Germany: 1996.
    1. Kholodov Y.A. Magnetism in Biology. Nauka; Moscow, Russia: 1970.
    1. Webb S.J., Dodds D.E. Microwave inhibition of bacterial growth. Nature. 1968;218:374–375. doi: 10.1038/218374a0. - DOI - PubMed

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