科學家發(fā)現(xiàn)大氣中的電場與生物體之間存在直接聯(lián)系

科學家發(fā)現(xiàn)大氣中的電場與生物體之間存在直接聯(lián)系

Researchers studying the electrical fields generated by living organisms have made the surprising discovery that they nearly mimic those present in the Earth's atmosphere.

研究生物產(chǎn)生的電場的研究人員有了驚人的發(fā)現(xiàn)，他們幾乎模擬了地球大氣中的電場。

In a new study published in the International Journal of Biometeorology, the team of researchers from Tel Aviv University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of Alaska say the electrical similarities are essentially the same across both vertebrates and invertebrates.

在《國際生物氣象學雜志》上發(fā)表的一項新研究中，來自特拉維夫大學、麻省理工學院和阿拉斯加大學的研究人員表示，脊椎動物和無脊椎動物的電相似性在本質上是相同的。

Electrical fields in the atmosphere and those found in living organisms may have more in common than we realize.l (Photo: John Fowler [CC by 2.0]/Flickr)

Scientists have long known that animals use electrical currents to send signals through the nervous system. Our cells in particular are specialized to conduct electricity, utilizing ions from charged elements like sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium to control currents. While the electricity generated by animals occurs at extremely low frequencies (up to only 50 hertz), it's enough to produce 100 watts of power at rest.

科學家們早就知道動物利用電流在神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)中傳遞信號。我們的細胞特別擅長導電，利用鈉、鉀、鈣和鎂等帶電元素中的離子來控制電流。雖然動物產(chǎn)生的電力發(fā)生在極低的頻率(只有50赫茲)，但它在休息時足以產(chǎn)生100瓦的電力。

In the study, the researchers theorize that the cells of living organisms likely evolved to mimic the electrical fields of the natural environment over billions of years.

在這項研究中，研究人員推斷，生物體的細胞可能在數(shù)十億年的進化過程中模仿了自然環(huán)境的電場。

"We hypothesize that over evolutionary timescales living organisms adapted and evolved to actually use the electricity in the environment — global lightning," Price added. "This has likely not changed over billions of years and is similar to the evolution of our eyes, which evolved using the sunlight nature gave us."

“我們假設，在進化的時間尺度上，生物體適應并進化到實際使用環(huán)境中的電力——全球閃電，”普萊斯補充說。“這可能在數(shù)十億年的時間里都沒有發(fā)生變化，這與我們眼睛的進化類似，我們的眼睛是利用大自然賦予我們的陽光進化而來的。”

The body electric

帶電的身體

Discoveries like this one are important to the medical community as it may open new avenues for treating illnesses such as epilepsy and Parkinson's, both of which are related to abnormalities in the body's electrical activity. A 2017 study published in Epilepsia on the frequency of epileptic seizures in relation to the weather, for instance, discovered an uptick in occurrences when atmospheric pressure was low. The risk decreased during times of high atmospheric pressure.

這樣的發(fā)現(xiàn)對醫(yī)學界來說很重要，因為它可能會為治療癲癇和帕金森等疾病開辟新的途徑，這兩種疾病都與身體的電活動異常有關。例如，2017年發(fā)表在《癲癇》(Epilepsia)雜志上的一項研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，當大氣壓力較低時，癲癇發(fā)作的頻率會上升。在大氣壓高的時候，風險降低了。

"Our review of previous studies revealed that lightning-related fields may have positive medical applications related to our biological clock (circadian rhythms), spinal cord injuries and maybe other bodily functions related to electrical activity in our bodies," Price said. "The connection between the ever-present electromagnetic fields, between lightning in the atmosphere and human health, may have huge implications in the future for various treatments related to electrical abnormalities in our bodies."

普賴斯說:“我們對以往研究的回顧表明，與閃電有關的領域可能對我們的生物鐘(晝夜節(jié)律)、脊髓損傷以及與我們身體電活動有關的其他身體功能有積極的醫(yī)學應用。”“一直存在的電磁場、大氣中的閃電和人類健康之間的聯(lián)系，在未來可能會對與我們身體電異常相關的各種治療產(chǎn)生巨大影響。”

While the study comprised a retroactive review of previous links between animals and atmospheric lightning, the research team says the next step will be to design new experiments to further explore the potential benefits.

雖然該研究回顧了動物和大氣閃電之間的聯(lián)系，但研究團隊表示，下一步將是設計新的實驗，進一步探索潛在的好處。

"One new experiment we are now planning is to see how these fields may impact the rate of photosynthesis in plants," Price added.

“我們現(xiàn)在正在計劃的一項新實驗是，看看這些農田如何影響植物的光合作用速率，”普萊斯補充說。