Electromagnetic Resonance in Biological Form: A Role for Fields in Morphogenesis

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

In morphogenesis, the mechanisms through which homogeneous, symmetric collectives of self-same cells are able to consistently and precisely establish long-range pattern remain an open question of scientific research. This work explores the hypothesis of developing biological structures as dielectric microwave resonators, using plant leaves as a working example. A finite element analysis (FEA) model was designed to determine if suitable resonant modes were physically possible for geometric and electrical parameters similar to those of developing leaf tissue. Using the FEA model, resonant EM modes with patterns of relevance to developing leaf vein modalities were detected. Here I show how the single physical mechanism of EM resonance can self-consistently account for different kinds of key symmetry-breaking operations characteristic of a variety of leaf vascular patterns. On account of the existence of shared geometric signatures in a leaf's vascular pattern and the electric field component of EM resonant modes supported by a leaf-like structure, further theoretical and experimental investigations are warranted. Significantly, this hypothesis is not limited to leaf vascular patterning, but may be applicable to a variety of morphogenetic phenomena in a number of living systems.