‘
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Table 7
NORMALIZED MUTATION RATES
X
10 -6
(Subject 807)
Condition
Low
No
High
Remote Action (RA)
3.57
3.57
2.21
Remote Action (RA)
3.02
2.90
3.30
Remote Action (RA)
2.86
2.80
3.53
Mean
3.15
3.09
3.01
Statistics*
t (Low < No)
=
-0.202
n .s.
t (No < High)
=
-0.242
n.s.
t (Low < High)
=
-0.440
n .s.
Aim
Condition
Low
No
High
Intuitive Data Sorting (IDS)
3. 11
3.09
2.94
Intuitive Data Sorting (IDS)
2.86
3.30
3.06
Intuitive Data Sorting (IDS)
3,46
3.00
2.49
Mean
3.14
3.13
2.83
Statistics
t (Low < No)
t (No < High)
t (Low < High)
-0.053
n.s.
-1.332
n.s.
-1.322
n.s.
Degrees of freedom =
16.
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Table
NORMALIZED MUTATION RATES
X
(Subject 997)
Condition
Aim
Low
No
High
Remote Action (RA)
Remote Action (RA)
Remote Action (RA)
Mean
3.37
3.46
2.76
3.20
3.09
3.06
3.56
3.12
2.88
2.77
2.96
2.87
t (Low < No)
=
-0.248
n.s.
Statistics*
t
(No < High )
=
-0.857
n.s.
t (Low < High) =
-1.319
n.s.
Condition
Aim
Low
No
High
Intuitive Data Sorting (IDS)
Intuitive Data Sorting (IDS)
Intuitive Data Sorting (IDS)
Mean
2.51
3.46
2.94
2.97
3.18
2.82
3.06
3.02
3.41
2.87
3.15
3.15
t (Low < No)
=
0.167
n.s.
Statistics*
t (No < High)
=
0.640
n.s.
t (Low < High) =
0.591
n.s.
* Degrees
of freedom =
16.
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V SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE STUDIES
In this section we provide a discussion of the
difficulties that were encountered in
the course of completing this experiment, and the suggested protocol modifications for
follow-on experiments.
A.
The Role of Feedback
The role of feedback to the subject regarding his/her performance
is generally
believed to be
essential for optimizing the performance of psychoenergetic tasks.
In the vast
majority of experiments performed
at SRI, feedback
is administered promptly, and
is typically
visual in nature.
In remote viewing experiments,
for example, feedback usually consists of a
pictorial representation of the target
site in question, which
is presented to the subject
immediately at the conclusion of the
trial.
In random number generator (RNG) experiments,
feedback has typically taken the form of an “on-line” random walk video display, repre-
serning the output of either a radioactive source or a noise diode.
Because of the time factors inherently involved in growing and plating the bacterial
cultures, feedback to the subject in this experiment was minimally delayed by a period of 48
hours.
In many cases, the delay was considerably longer than this because of scheduling
difficulties involving the subjects or the technician.
It may not be possible to circumvent this
feedback-delay problem when using bacteriological systems, but in the absence of definitive
knowledge concerning the necessity for feedback,
it should be recognized that delayed
feedback may inhibit psychoenergetic performance.
At the very least, feedback should
probably be provided to the subject at fixed, rather than at variable intervals, so that the
expectation of feedback can be
fulfilled on a known and constant schedule.
The type of feedback that
is administered should also be subject to careful
consideration.
As mentioned above,
Figure
(Section
III. 3)
is an example of the feedback
sheet that was used for this experiment.
To indicate the subject’s result graphically, the boxes
on the three test-tube icons corresponding to the three highest mutation rates were colored
green, and the three boxes corresponding to the three lowest mutation rates were colored red.
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This form may prove to be too abstract to provide good feedback; other modes might be
considered,
that would better concretize the experience for the subject.
For example,
in
future experiments,
the subject might be shown iconic representations of agar plates;
many
spots on these
‘'plates” would correspond to many bacterial colonies and hence a high
mutation rate; few spots would represent the inverse situation.
Or, perhaps the subject could
be shown the actual plates with
their bacterial cultures-if there
is enough pertinent feedback
information to be gleaned from such an experience.
B.
Screening Criteria and Presentation of Psychoenergetic Task
For the experiment detailed in
this document, subjects were chosen primarily on
the basis of general availability, and on an expressed interest in psychoenergetic research.
Because the SRI program has recently implemented the Psychological Assessment System
(PAS)
in conjunction with other psychoenergetic projects
(e.g., remote viewing enhancement),
it
is suggested that this system be used to select subjects for follow-on biological experiments.
Thus,
the individuals who participated in the study described here could be psychologically
profiled according to the PAS, and the profiles of those who performed successfully could be
used
as prescriptive templates for selecting new participants for future experiments.
Subject
310,
for example, demonstrated significant
ability in sorting test tubes according to the IDS
hypothesis;
it
is suggested that his PAS profile be used,
in part,
to select subjects for future
psychoenergetic experiments involving biological systems.
Another variable that should be considered in subject selection involves the degree
to which they possess an a priori understanding of the actual biological "mechanics”
of bac-
teriological systems.
None of the subjects selected for the study presented here were biologists
per se, nor were they particularly
familiar with microbial genetics:
it seemed, therefore, some-
what
difficult at times to impart to the subject an understanding of the causes of biological
mutations and how such mutations might be created psychoenergetically.
In future studies
it
might be instructive,
to explore the degree to which comprehensive knowledge concerning the
biological aspects of the experiment promotes or inhibits successful performance of the
psychoenergetic task.
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C.
Biological Protocols
For any given
trial, the technician should randomize the nine innoculated test tubes
prior to placing them in the rack.
This
will ensure that ordering effects caused by sequential
pipetteing
will not be evidenced in the IDSU or RA condition.
D.
Future Experiments with Other Biological Systems
It
is
difficult to interpret the absence of a detectable RA effect in the experiment
reported in this document.
One possible interpretation
is that the Salmonella typhimuriurn are
simply one kind of biological system that
is not susceptible to psychoenergetic influence.
Given that this hypothesis
is verified in further experiments with Salmonella,
a future
approach would be to examine RA
in relation to other biological systems.
1*
Single-Cell Systems
Examples of other single-cell biological systems that could be used to study RA
are
listed below:
•
actenal Chemotaxis—The extent of reversion of nonmotile mutant
bacteria to ability to move towards a gradient of a chemical attractant would
be measured.
Microscopic examination of the
cells could be used to
monitor the reversion.
Time-lapsed photography could also be used to
obtain a permanent record of the observations made during the experiment.
•
Selection of UV (ultraviolet light) Sensitive Bacterial Mutants—RA-
treated cell cultures would be allowed to grow to stationary phase,
at which
time their UV sensitivity would be determined by performing UV survival
experiments.
•
Mammalian Cell Transformation—Cultured cancerous
cells are not
contact inhibited; they grow in an irregular, randomly-oriented fashion in
culture dishes.
This
is in contrast to cultured healthy normal
cells, which
are contact inhibited, and which form a monolayer in a neatly oriented
fashion. When mouse C3H 10T-1/2
cells are cultured, some
cells
will
spontaneously transform into cancerous
cells.
The transformation event can
be increased by exposing the
cells to physical or chemical agents.
The
extent of transformation
is measured by determining how many transformed
cells gave
rise to
visible
foci that consist of randomly-oriented cells growing
in multilayers, which appear as a very dense area (l-to-2-mm diameter).
•
Yeast Aneuploidy—Malsegregation of chromosomes occurs spontaneously,
or
is induced by exposure of cells to physical or chemical agents.
There are
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a number of aneuploidy systems that would lend themselves to the effect of
RA on aneuploidy.
The advantage of using yeast organisms
is their ease of
handling, and the
relatively short turnaround time
(about one week)
in
obtaining results.
•
Molecular Biology and Mutation Induction—At the molecular level,
a
study could be made of the effect of RA on mutation induction by either
analyzing DNA sequences in bacterial/mammalian cells or by analyzing the
amino acid sequence
in proteins.
This approach might prove to be
a more
efficient way of obtaining results in terms of time and labor, compared with
the more conventional mutagenesis assays that rely on the phenotypic
expression of the mutation.
In the not too distant future,
it might well be possible to also study the effect
of RA on oncogene activation in cultured mammalian
cells.
2.
Multicell Systems
In practical terms, the common
fruit
fly known as Drosophila melanogaster
is
most likely the only multicell system that could be used to study RA.
The end point of such
experiments would probably be changes in the eye color, which would reflect specific
chromosomal mutations.
These are just a few representative examples of other types of biological
systems that could be used in future RA/IDS experiments.
Because many insights into
protocol improvements have been obtained from our pilot experiment,
it
is our recommen-
dation that the suggested methodological changes be incorporated into a formal replication
study using Salmonella ,
again, as the target system, before experiments are undertaken with
other biological systems for which the psychoenergetic protocols are not as well understood.
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Appendix
BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS
The following biological materials were used for this experiment:
Dispensers,
5 ml,
sterile
13-X-TOO-mm
test tubes,
sterile
16-X-150-mm test tubes, with caps,
sterile
Physiologic saline, prepared according to SOP 374.412*3.6
Glucose minimal (GM)
broth, prepared according to SOP 374.412.3.14
Top agar, prepared according to SOP 374.412.3.8.1
Selective minimal medium plates, prepared according to SOP 374.412.3,12
Complete medium
(yeast complete)
plates, prepared according to SOP
374.412.3,5
Pipettes,
sterile.