Evening star., 1939-04-25
Scientists Report
Electrical Pattern
Constitutes i
Micro-VoItmeter
Registers Key to
The individual
Bx THOMAS r. HENRY,


The individual
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.
The thing that is "I' is a pattern
Of electricity.
1t is a constant relative difference
in the voltage generated by the diff
ferent cells of the body.
This pattern persists from birth to
death. 1t is the only thing that
does persist in a man or a worm
The cells of the body die and are
replaced many times in ones life
time. Ideas and appearance change.
The electric pattern which Is the
real IT," that which lies behind all
tangible aspects of body and BRAIN
continues until it is crushed by
death.
Wok of Yale University physiol-
ogists in discovering this "I'' was
reported to the National Academy of
Sciences, meeting here today, by Dr.
H. S. Burr, one of the inventors of
the extraordinarily delicate vacuum
tube micro-voltmeter, which can
make sufficiently precise measure
ments to determine the pattern.
The body itself is creation of this
electrodynamic field 1t determines
how and where the cells, building
blocks of living things, shall be
placed and what function they will
serve-eyes. brain, bone and the like
They are arranged in this field like
iron filings in a magnetic field.
Extends Beyond Body.
For some years brain waves and
heart waves have been known to
psychologists. They have become of
considerable diagnostic value in
medicine. But, DR.. Burr said today,
they are just parts of the pattern
which include the whole body and
actually extends for some distance
around the body.
The pattern varies for different
kinds Of animals and different
| species. 1t also is believed to vary
for every individual, but the actual
differences are too fine to be meas
ured. If everybody had the same
electrodynamic field presumably
| everybody would be the same.
The amounts of voltage generated
| by different parts of the body vary
considerably from time to time, but
the relative pattern does not. 1t
is these variations within the pat
tern. DR.. Burr told the National
Academy that make it possible to
| detect changes going on within the
body which can be found by no
| other means. There are decided
changes, for example, accompany
ing the menstrual cycle of women.
The voltage gradients between diff
| ferent parts of the body increase
rapidly during the first third of life,
while rapid growth is in progress,
run along the top of plateau dur
ing the second third and decline
rapidly during the last third.
Detects Cancer.
Probably the most notable of all
with the formation of spontaneous
cancer. DR.. Burr and his associates,
he said. have worked especially with
a type of cancer which occurs in
! the breasts of mice. 1t is invariably
fatal. They are able to tell almost
1nfalllbly that such cancer has
| started two or three weeks before
it can be detected in any other way
| whatsoever. The Yale scientist re-
fused to amplify his statement by
making any application Of the dis
covery to cancer in human beings,
but the eventual effects may be
| very far-reaching.
The progress of healing in wounds,
DR.. Burr said shows electric changes
which correlate very closely to the
extent of the healing process. Some
times, as in the age variations. the
| changes within the pattern apply to
| the whole body. They could be
measured, for example. by taking
voltage measurements from the two
index fingers In other cases. as in
wound healing, the differences are
entirely local.
Only one aspect of electricity
its voltage, or push-is measured.
The vacuum-tube micro-voltmeter
makes it possible to eliminate al
most entirely the other two aspects
usually tied up in electricity-re-
sistance and current. 1t was the
impossibility of the distinct voltage
measurements which has prevented
the Il" from being discovered before.
The maximum voltage gradiants
measured, found at the time of
ovulation of women, never exceed
one-tenth of volt.
Classics Four Types.
BY means of voltage differences
between the two index fingers, DR..
Burr has been able to divide human
beings into four types with differ
ences respectively of approximately
one. three, five and seven thou
sandths of volt. He has been able
to find no evidence that these differ
ences correlate with anything else.
The male sperm cell and the fe-
male ovum both have electro
dynamic fields of their own. These
two fields unite to form the field
OF the individual at the moment of
conception and one may be con-
sidered to have started life when
this field is formed-the persistent
Il" which will last until death has
come into the world.
Reports on Drowning Cancer.
A new way of killing cancer cells
by drowning them-was reported to
the academy.
Drs. G. Failla and K. Sugiura of
Memorial Hospital. New York, told
OF tests which they produced from
twice to Is times as much repression
In mouse sarcoma by injecting dis
titled water into 1t several times a
day for three or four days after
irradiating it with X-rays.