A Rational Biology

In this article, a new model for living systems is advanced. Organisms are described in terms of an electromagnetic vector field, Π derived from the distributed charge and current densities, ρ and J, within the system, with the electric polarization vector P playing a key role. Those biochemical processes traditionally thought of as the basis for living things become secondary to a more fundamental underlying electromagnetic description. This overarching approach is suggested by many observations during the past half century, showing a remarkable relationship between electrical properties of organisms and biological function. Further, it recently has been discovered that resonance applications of magnetic fields lead to changes in a wide variety of organisms, indicating that biological responses at the system level can be directly field mediated. This unusual systemic response is in sharp contrast to the often weakly system-connected interaction of microscopic processes, for example, enzyme activated pathways. This approach also provides a vehicle for expressing the genomic operation in terms that are more readily mathematical than possible using the so-called visible characteristics. The Π -field concept is immediately holistic unlike the present biological paradigm. Its intrinsic long-range nature makes it a reasonable framework in which to study morphogenesis. Despite its radically different approach, this concept does not appear to violate any known biological facts.