The Non-Thermal Effect of Millimeter Wave Radiation on the Puffing of Giant Chromosomes

A non-thermal influence of millimeter wave radiation (swept in frequency from 64.1 GHz to 69.1 GHz, sweeptime 6 s, and with stabilized frequencies of 67.200 ± 0.001 GHz and 68.200 ± 0.001 GHz, power density < 5 mW/cm2) on the puffing of giant chromosomes of the midge Acricotopus lucidus (Diptera, Chironomidae) was found. The effect is manifested as a reduction in size of a specific puff that expresses genes for a secretory protein. The experiments were carried out blind and the effect could be established to a level of significance of P < 0.5%. Concerning the very low photon energy of mm-waves compared to the thermal energy kT, it seems likely that the coherence of the radiation is essential for the observed effect. Our result could possibly be understood by H. Fröhlich's (1-2) theory of coherent electric vibrations in biological systems.