Effects of static magnetic fields on growth of Paramecium caudatum

Little is known about the influence of magnetic fields on growth of primitive eukaryotes such as the ciliate Paramecium. The latter are known to exhibit interesting characteristics such as electrotaxis, gravitaxis, and membrane excitability not commonly encountered in higher organisms. This prelimin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bioelectromagnetics 2006-01, Vol.27 (1), p.26-34
Main Authors: Elahee, Khouaildi B., Poinapen, Danny
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
ciliary movement
diamagnetic susceptibility
Gaussian distribution model
Gaussian distribution model, diamagnetic susceptibility
Magnetics
Paramecium
Paramecium caudatum
Paramecium caudatum - growth & development
population growth
Reproducibility of Results
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Summary:Little is known about the influence of magnetic fields on growth of primitive eukaryotes such as the ciliate Paramecium. The latter are known to exhibit interesting characteristics such as electrotaxis, gravitaxis, and membrane excitability not commonly encountered in higher organisms. This preliminary study reports the effects of static magnetic fields on growth of Paramecium caudatum. The microorganisms were either permanently or 24 h on‐and‐off exposed to North and South polarity magnetic fields of average field gradient 4.3 T/m, for a period of 96 h. The growth rate and lag phase of all exposed populations were not significantly different from control ones exposed to normal geomagnetic field (P > .05). However, a significant negative shift in tmax (time taken for maximum growth) of 10.5%–12.2% and a significant decrease (P 
ISSN:0197-8462
1521-186X
DOI:10.1002/bem.20172