Effects of Intentionally-Treated Water on Cell Migration of Human Glioblastoma Cells
📄 Original study ↗📌 Appears in:
Plain English Summary
Four Buddhist monks meditated over bottles of ultra-pure water, mentally intending it to harm cancer cells. Then, in a carefully blinded experiment where nobody handling the cells knew which water was which, researchers grew aggressive human brain cancer cells (glioblastoma) in media made with either the monks' treated water or plain water. The results were striking: cells bathed in the intention-treated water migrated about 25% less after nine hours, a statistically significant difference across three trials. This is part of a broader research program using treated water as a clever blinding trick -- the water carries the supposed effect so biologists testing it have no idea which group is which. The sample size is tiny (just three replications), and while the authors float a possible mechanism involving cryptochrome proteins, they did not actually test that idea.
Actual Paper Abstract
Objective: This study investigated if human glioblastoma cancer cells (U87MG cell line) cultured in intentionally treated water could reduce cell migration, a prerequisite for metastasis, as compared to the same cells cultured in untreated (control) water. Design: Three Buddhist monks entered a meditative state and directed their awareness to bottles of ultrapure water while holding the intention that the water would cause beneficial changes in U87MG. The study was conducted double-blind whereby all aspects of the study involving cell growth and migration measures, as well as all subsequent statistical evaluations, were performed without knowledge of the type of water being used. Cell cultures were incubated in growth mediums prepared with treated and untreated water, and a wound healing assay was employed to measure cell migration. Results: U87MG cells incubated with treated water migrated less efficiently than the same cells in untreated water. A repeated measures ANOVA, spanning four time periods (0, 3, 6, and 9 h), determined that the time × water condition interaction was associated with p < 0.005. Conclusion: Intentioned awareness appeared to change as-yet unknown properties of ultrapure water, resulting in a reduction of U87MG cells migration activity. Further research is warranted to replicate these results and to investigate the underlying protein expression mechanisms in influencing cell migration.
Research Notes
Latest in a series of double-blind Shiah/Radin experiments on intentionally treated water affecting biological systems (Arabidopsis plants, mesenchymal stem cells, tea, chocolate). Uses the treated-water intermediary to achieve true double-blinding of the biological assay. Very small sample (3 replications) but significant effect. Funded by BIAL Foundation. Proposes cryptochrome as possible mechanism but does not test this.
Four Buddhist monks directed meditative intention into bottles of ultrapure water with the specific aim of causing beneficial changes in glioblastoma cancer cells. In a double-blind design, U87MG human glioblastoma cells were cultured in growth media prepared with treated vs. untreated water, and cell migration was measured via wound healing assay at 0, 3, 6, and 9 hours across three experimental replications. Cells in treated water migrated significantly less: repeated measures ANOVA yielded a time x water condition interaction of F(3,9) = 8.560, p = 0.005 (Huynh-Feldt corrected p < 0.008). At 9 hours, migration was reduced by approximately 25%. The study extends the Shiah/Radin treated-water paradigm to a clinically relevant cancer cell line.
Links
Related Papers
Companion
- Transcriptional Changes in Cancer Cells Induced by Exposure to a Healing Method — Beseme, S (2018)
- Effects of Healing Intention on Cultured Cells and Truly Random Events — Radin, Dean (2004)
- Double-Blind Test of the Effects of Distant Intention on Water Crystal Formation — Radin, Dean (2006)
- Effects of Distant Intention on Water Crystal Formation: A Triple-Blind Replication — Radin, Dean (2008)
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📋 Cite this paper
Yu, Chang-Tze Ricky, Radin, Dean I, Chu, Chen-Yu, Shiah, Yung-Jong (2024). Effects of Intentionally-Treated Water on Cell Migration of Human Glioblastoma Cells. Explore. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2024.103100
@article{yu_2024_effects,
title = {Effects of Intentionally-Treated Water on Cell Migration of Human Glioblastoma Cells},
author = {Yu, Chang-Tze Ricky and Radin, Dean I and Chu, Chen-Yu and Shiah, Yung-Jong},
year = {2024},
journal = {Explore},
doi = {10.1016/j.explore.2024.103100},
}