Temporally incoherent magnetic fields mitigate the response of biological systems to temporally coherent magnetic fields

We have previously demonstrated that a weak, extremely-low-frequency magnetic field must be coherent for some minimum length of time (= 10 s) in order to affect the specific activity of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) in L929 mouse cells. In this study we explore whether or not the superposition of an incoherent (noise) magnetic field can block the bioeffect of a coherent 60 Hz magnetic field, since the sum of the two fields is incoherent. An experimental test of this idea was conducted using as a biological marker the twofold enhancement of ODC activity found in L929 murine cells after exposure to a 60 Hz, 10 pTrmr magnetic field. We superimposed an incoherent magnetic noise field, containing frequencies from 30 to 90 Hz, whose rms amplitude was comparable to that of the 60 Hz field. Under these conditions the ODC activity observed after exposure was equal to control levels. It is concluded that the superposition of incoherent magnetic fields can block the enhancement of ODC activity by a coherent magnetic field if the strength of the incoherent field is equal to or greater than that of the coherent field. When the superimposed, incoherent noise field was reduced in strength, the enhancement of ODC activity by the coherent field increased. Full ODC enhancement was obtained when the rms value of the applied EM noise was less than one-tenth that of the coherent field. These results are discussed in relation to the question of cellular detection of weak EM fields in the presence of endogenous thermal noise fields. 01994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.