The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2003 —

what are the implications of these new discoveries

for Bicom bioresonance therapy

Dipl. Ing. Dr. techn. Horst Felsch, Chemist, Fieberbrunn, Austria

INTRODUCTION

Two American researchers received the Nobel

Prize for chemistry in October 2003:

Peter Agre of Johns Hopkins University in

Baltimore for discovering water channels in

the cell wall

and

Roderick MacKinnon of Rockefeller Uni-

ver si t y in New York for st ruct ural and

mechanistic studies of potassium ion channels.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Science praised Peter Agre's work stating:

"This decisive discovery opened the door to a

whole series of biochemical, physiological and

genetic studies of water channels in bacteria,

plants and mammals.

Today researchers can follow in detail a water molecule on its way through the cell membrane

and understand why only water, not other small

molecules, can pass."

Roderick MacKinnon was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work on the way potassium ion

channels work. These ion channels are structured

differently from the water channels discovered by

Peter Agre.

A Nobel Prize had already been awarded in this field back in 1909 to Wilhelm Ostwald who

suspected as early as 1890 that signals measured

in tissues were a clue that ions were transported in

the cell membrane.

A further Nobel Prize received by two British

doctors in 1964 indicates the significance of this

area of research. They were able to furnish proof

of ionic flow in nerve cells.

However, it was not until 1988 that the spatial

structure of ion channels was portrayed in three

dimensions by Roderick MacKinnon.

Francois Diederich, head of the Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences at the re -

spected Swiss Federal Institute of Technology

aptly expressed how far-reaching and revolution-

ary these discoveries are when he declared:

"Roderick MacKinnon has amazed the entire

scientific community with his work!"

THE CELL MEMBRANE AS A PROTECTIVE LAYER

AROUND THE CELLS

Our bodies consist of millions of tiny cells. Al-though these cells may differ considerably in their

45th International Congress for Bicom Users, 29 April to 1 May 2005, Fulda, Germany

Fig. 1 Fig. 2

At„

Peter Agre Roderick MacKinnon

'month

endoplas-nic

reticulum

cyto slceleten

plasma membrane

Ciolgi's apparatus

rihoS.otnes cell Wall

.rough endoplasmie

Teticulum

Fig. 3 Cross-section through a human cell

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function and structure, they have one thing in

common: their contents are protected by an ex-

tremely effective weapon, the cell membrane's so-

called double lipid layer.

What is this? To put it simply, each cell is surrounded by a

paper-thin fatty layer, 7 — 10 nm thick (1 nm =

nanometre is one millionth of a millimetre).

The proportion made up by this fatty layer

varies according to the cell's function: for exam-

ple, the cell membrane of the human blood cell

contains 43% lipids. In nerve cells it is as much as

76%. Mitochondria, which are responsible for in-

tracellular energy metabolism and consequently

have a particularly important role to play, even

protect themselves with two membranes, the cell membrane and the mitochondrial membrane

which is only 24% fat, however.

It can be concluded from this that the higher

the proportion of fat in the cell membrane, the

better protected the cell.

Yet, despite its fatty layer, this cell membrane cannot be completely impermeable as the cell

needs to be nourished and supplied. For this, sub-

stances have to be exchanged through this mem-

brane.

The concentration of sodium and potassium

ions must also be kept in balance so that the nec-essary membrane potential, and consequently the

functioning of the cell, can be maintained.

WHAT ARE ION CHANNELS?

How can water or particles dissolved in water (ions) pass through a water-repellent fatty layer

into the interior of the cell?

A physiology textbook explained back in

1980 that water is transported

into the intracellular space by

osmotic forces.

This assumption does not ex-plain, however, why water mole-

cules penetrate the interior of the

cell extraordinarily quickly.

Mea sur em en t s ta ken in th e

1950s revealed that 2 billion

water molecules were carried per

second and channel and, based

on the size of the channel, water molecule flow rate was calcu-

lated at 5 metres per second.

It is impossible to achieve speeds

such as this purely through

osmotic processes and they are also

inconceivable from an energetic point of view.

It was already being postulated back in the mid

19th century that the membrane shell must contain

openings for substances to be exchanged.

In the early 1980s Peter Agre was investigating

water transport mechanisms in red blood cells and

in 1988 isolated a previously unknown protein

which is responsible for this transport: Aquaporin

AQP.

Amongst other things, this aquaporin regulates the water balance in the kidneys, the red blood

cells, the eye lens and the brain.

Dysfunction leads to diabetes, grey cataracts

and neuronally induced loss of hearing.

It is obvious from the microscopic size of these water channels why they could not be detected

with normal light microscopes: the diameter

measures around 0.3 millionth of a millimetre =

0.3 nm, the length 1 millionth of a millimetre = 1

MIL

High-resolution electron microscopes were

needed to make such small dimensions visible.

double lipid extracellular fluid glycoprotcin

cholesterol

carbohydrate

peripheral protein

.• filaments of ntegrated protein •:.the cytoskeleton ....... .

glycolipid

Fig. 4 Diagram of the cell membrane with its double lipid layer. Proteins

with different functions are integrated in the cell membrane.

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NEW WAYS OF THINKING AND NUMEROUS

QUESTIONS

A channel intended for transporting water inside

the cell measures 0.3 nm in diameter. The tetrahe-

dron-shaped water molecule also has a diameter

of just under 0.3 nm. In other words: only indi-

vidual water molecules can pass along this chan-nel but no water clusters!

This fact has caused the thinking behind water

research to be revised and has also thrown up a

number of questions.

As a dipole, the water molecule forms hydro-gen bridge-type bonds and combines with other

water molecules to form a water cluster.

This idea is correct and is also confirmed by pictures of liquid water taken using infrared spec-

tral photometry.

If only single molecules can pass through a

water channel, does this water cluster have to be

re-formed into individual molecules before being

transported through the cell membrane?

The answer is clear: yes.

This immediately leads to further questions.

Is the information conveyed by the water actually stored in the special structure of the water

cluster? — homeopathy confirms this.

Is this information lost when the cluster is broken

up at the surface of the cell and is the original

information available again after the molecules

are transported individually through the water channel into the interior of the cell?

This new knowledge has also changed some of

my thinking too.

In May 2003 (in other words, before the an-

nouncement of the Nobel Prize for chemistry) I

wrote the following with regard to ion channels on page 7 of the proceedings to the 43rd Congress

for Bicom users:

We know that the cell membrane does not al-

low any ions to pass through its double lipid layer.

This would consume too much energy. To allow

ions to be transported passively, cell membranes

have so-called ion channels for sodium, potassium,

magnesium, calcium and chloride ions.

Fig. 6 At a wave number of 3,400 cm-', the infrared spectrum of liquid water displays a broad OH band

caused by the hydrogen bridge-type bonds of the water cluster.

11,11 IMMAN

,

Fig. 5 Water channel in the cell membrane. The

individual water molecules are guided through at

high speed helped by the aquaporin protein strand

(depicted as a spiral).

infrared spectrum of water

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Fig. 7 A potassium ion channel

At the point of entry (A) the potassium ion is still hydrated

with water molecules. These are cast off so that the ion mi-

grates "naked" through the selective channel. Spiral-shaped

proteins take care of transport. Shortly afterwards hydration

occurs again. A locking mechanism ensures the necessary

membrane potential.

These ion channels are a specific size and also selective, i.e. they allow only the named ions to-

gether with their hydration sheaths through.

According to the research results of the two

Nobel Prize winners, both the water channels and

the ion channels are too narrow to allow whole water clusters or ions together with their hydra-

tion sheaths to pass through. Only individual

molecules (e.g. water) or ions without hydration

sheaths are transported.

I shall deal with the resulting new knowledge on information transfer through the water chan-

nels a little later in the text.

THE HIGH SELCTIVITY OF ION CHANNELS

First to Roderick MacKinnon.

It is fascinating to read in his publication how

he demonstrated the high selectivity of ion chan-

nels through the example of the potassium ion

channel.

Thus the much smaller sodium ion, for exam-

ple, is not transported through this channel.

The larger potassium ion, on the other hand, is carried virtually "by hand" though this channel.

These "hands" are polarised oxygen atoms,

also present in the hydration sheath of the potas-

sium ion.

ONE ATTEMPTED SOLUTION

If a sodium salt (e.g. sodium chloride, NaCl) is

dissolved in water, the polarised water molecules

penetrate the lattice structure of the solid salt and

break up the lattice bonds to the sodium and chlo-

ride. Positively charged sodium ions and nega-

tively charged chloride ions are formed as a result.

The next step is the hydration of the two ions. The negatively charged oxygen atoms in the water

molecules dock with the surface of the sodium ion

and form a sodium-specific hydration sheath

through hydrogen bridge-type bonds. This sheath

contains the information: "I am a sodium ion."

A similar thing happens with the chloride ion.

As it is negatively charged, the positively charged hydrogen atoms in the water molecule dock with

its surface, likewise forming a chloride-specific

hydration sheath.

This hydration process produces a gain in en-

ergy and is also consequently completed fully at great speed by the "solvent water".

BACK TO SELECTIVITY

How does a hydrated potassium ion differ

from a sodium ion which is also hydrated?

The differences in size which were

discussed earlier are not a selectivity

criterion for the ion channels!

What is then? It is the number of docking points

for water molecules on the surface of

the ions.

Let me explain.

The hydration number of an ion in-

dicates how many water molecules can

dock with its surface. For the potassium

ion it is 4, for the sodium ion it is 8

molecules, so a marked difference!

Now to the details.

With the potassium ion, therefore, up to 4 water molecules can adhere to the

surface through the negatively charged

oxygen atom, i.e. there are 4 adhesion

points. The coherence between ion and

oxygen atom occurs through so-called

van der Waals forces.

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If these 4 water molecules have attached them-selves to the potassium ion, the potassium-specific

water cluster can be built up through hydrogen

bridge-type bonds.

What is new about this knowledge is the all

important adhesion points — in other words, the foundations on which the cluster structure devel-

ops. In the past it had been assumed that the speci-

ficity of the information lay in the actual cluster.

Now it is known that it comes from the adhesion

points.

And now it gets interesting.

These four docking points on the surface of the

potassium ion are also found in the potassium ion

channel. As the potassium ion with its huge water

cluster is too large for the specific potassium ion

channel, the water cluster is cast off at the surface

of the cell.

In the ion channel itself there are also nega-

tively charged oxygen atoms (bound to channel

protein) which grab onto the four docking points

which are free now that the water cluster has been

cast off The potassium ion is identified and ac-

tively transported at great speed through the po-

tassium channel — as if carried by hand.

In contrast, the sodium ion needs 8 "arms" to be transported through the ion channel (hydration

number 8). However, the large potassium chan-

nel can only provide 4 arms, i.e. it is 4 arms

short. The potassium channel consequently real-

ises: you aren't a potassium ion. Therefore the

hydrated sodium ion cannot cast off its hydration

sheath and also cannot migrate through the potassium

channel since, with its hydration sheath, it is far too

large.

It is important to answer one more question,

however.

If the potassium ion casts off its hydration

sheath because it is too large to pass through the

potassium ion channel, an energy source must

make this process possible. Just to recap: energy is

gained in hydration. This is needed again when the

water sheath is cast off!

Roderick MacKinnon was able to demonstrate,

however, that casting off the hydration sheath and the

"naked" potassium ion docking with the four oxygen

contact points in the ion channel does not produce

energy flow.

Once the potassium ion has passed through the

ion channel, it is immediately hydrated inside the

cell and reverts to the original state it was in out-

side the cell.

WHAT IMPORTANT INFORMATION CAN BE

GLEANED FOR BIORESONANCE THERAPY FROM

THIS NOBEL PRIZE-WINNING KNOWLEDGE?

The specific information e.g. "I am a potassium

ion" comes from the docking points on the surface of

an ion. These docking points are also the basis for

the ion-specific structure of the hydration

sheath which forms around all ions.

So this specific information is not found

somewhere in the middle of the huge hydration

sheath which envelops an ion; it comes from a design which all ions carry on their surface.

The docking points on the water molecule are

the foundations of this design. Consequently the

remainder of the hydration sheath structure is al-

ready pre-determined architecturally — or to be

more accurate — in its informative composition.

In the past it was believed that, when an ion

lost its hydration sheath, ion-specific information was

lost with it.

It is now known that an ion can cast off its hy-

dration sheath without losing information if the

docking points on the ion surface are taken over

Protein Pro

e

Fig. 8 Detailed illustration of potassium

ion channel

4 water molecules dock with the potassium ion to

build up the hydration sheath (top picture). In the

potassium ion channel these 4 bonding arms are also formed by oxygen atoms (bottom picture)

which are bonded with proteins however. This

prevents information being lost and ensures high

selectivity.

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by negatively charged oxygen atoms sitting on the surface of a protein molecule, for example.

Where pure water is transported through the

water channels this protein is called aquaporin.

These new discoveries have also improved un-derstanding of the efficacy of homeopathically

diluted substances.

If the central ion is no longer present in high

dilutions, the energy introduced with the potenti-

sation movement ensures that the former adhesion

points of the negatively charged oxygen atom on

the ion surface remain structurally intact. Conse-

quently the design of the hydration sheath and also the information stored within it remains un-

changed.

While, in the past, it was believed that the

ion's specific information was contained in its

water cluster and this was therefore the actual in-

formation centre for the cell, this can now be ex-pressed more accurately. The information centre

is the docking points of the hydration sheath on

the surface of the ion.

In the past it was believed that a hydrated ion

transferred its information to the cell by feeling

the external structure of the hydration sheath all over.

It is now known that the ion casts off this hy-

dration sheath completely, i.e. the entire hydrate

structure is torn down to the ground. The water

cluster's docking points on the ion surface are

thus the actual information code which the ion does not lose even when it migrates through the

ion channels.

BIORESONANCE

The 2003 Nobel Prize winners for chemistry have

shown us how water and ions are specifically

transported through the cell membrane.

This transporting of substances is vitally im-

portant for the cell's functioning. Membrane po-

tential is built up through ion transport. This, in

turn, is a requirement of the cell's excitability and

thus for it to function.

Isn't it fascinating that millions of cells work

together smoothly in a healthy body. But how do

they exchange information?

Prof. Popp drew a highly memorable com-

parison here: cells are like tuning forks. Perfect harmony results in a healthy body. Diseased cells

lead to dissonance and upset this harmony.

Bioresonance therapy receives the "full con -

cert" created by the oscillating cells via the input

electrode. The BICOm device is able to filter out

dissonance, strengthen the "chorus of healthy cells" and return it to the body.

Back in 1931 GEORGES LAKHOVSKY spoke of

the cells' vibrational equilibrium.

Peter Agre and Roderick MacKinnon's work

shows in an impressive fashion how information is built up in the body and how it is passed on

without loss of energy. Unimpeded information

flow is obviously extremely important to the

body.

If this is the case, then the question of why

cellular information is so little used in therapy is totally justified.

In his book "Wasser und Information"

[Water and information] which appeared in 1993,

Prof. Hans Leopold of the Institute for Electron-

ics at Graz Technical University stated the fol -

lowing:

"Intervention is more skilled and thus more

targeted, firstly if the code is known and secondly

if an information intersection is found through

which information from outside can be brought

into the living system. [Note: The two Nobel Prize

winners deciphered this!] In my opinion, these two

aspects I have just mentioned are very important

for new (or old rediscovered) methods in medi-

cine."

Bioresonance therapy uses information from the body as a therapeutic approach. It therefore

pursues "new methods of great importance in

medicine."

The scientific discoveries of the two Nobel

Prize winners confirm that metabolic processes

are always linked with the transmission of infor-

mation. Therefore, conversely, it must also be possible to restore balance to impaired metabolic

processes by transmitting the "correct" informa-

tion.

Bicom resonance therapy has been confirming

this for over twenty years through countless cases

of successful therapy.

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