ETDs: Undergraduate Theses

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Browsing ETDs: Undergraduate Theses by Subject "Bacterial species"

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    Establishing a mechanism for the effects of specific patterned electromagnetic fields at the molecular level using fragmented bacteria
    (Laurentian University of Sudbury, 2015-07-08) Bidal, Ryan
    Electromagnetic fields (EMF) are a physical property resulting from the movement of charged particles, have elicited behavioral changes. Changes at the microscopic level have yet to be observed. In the present study, the objective was to determine if EMFs have an effect on biological matter and to determine the mechanism producing the change. Bacterial species were an ideal candidate for this type of research, as their rapid growth permitted extensive experimentation. Four separate species of bacteria (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Serratia marcescens) were lysed to destroy their cellular integrity, exposed to one of three EMF conditions (Sham, Thomas-EMF, LTP-EMF) for 60 minutes, and analyzed using spectroscopic techniques. The effects of the EMFs were ascertained by analyzing the absorbance and fluorescence of biological matter pre and post treatment. Results demonstrated that there was approximately a 10-15% increase in absorbance for solutions exposed to an EMF condition compared to sham. The results indicate that the EMF exposure had no significant impact on the fluorescence of the biological matter within the solution. Biological matter from the different bacterial species had a significant impact on their fluorescence. Implications for these results regarding the theory of abiogenesis shall be discussed.