Making Animals Grow By Electricity

During commencement week the Daily Argus called attention to the important original work in medical electricity being done by Dr. Herdman. The article then written has been widely copied and gives rise to a desire to know more fully just what the doctor has been doing. A correspondent of the Detroit Tribune has worked up an article on the subject which is as follows :

"After two years of continual experiment at the University of Michigan, William J. Herdman, M. D., LL. D , professor of diseases of the mind and nervous system and electrotherapeutic, is finally bringing to a close a most remarkable course of scientific research work as to the result of electricity upon the growth of man and animal.

"The experiments show that such growth may be accelerated to a remarkable degree. Is it possible that, some day, the human race may be brought to earlier maturity by that subtile fluid known as electricity?

"Primarily the experiments demonstrate more clearly than ever before that vegetable and animal organisms - all animate as well as inanimate things: - react in some manner to the several forms of energy known to us, mechanical, radiant, chemical, vibratory and electric; each produces its effects upon matter, living or dead ; and in the process of action these several forms are often transformed, the one into the other.

"Whenever a current of electricity traverses an animal body," said Prof. Herdman, "the magnetic field resulting from the passage of the current and surrounding its path must disturb in some manner the molecular (physical) and atomic (chemical) activities that are going on in the tissues and fluids through which the current of electricity passes. Almost everything now known about electro-magnetism seems to imply that a magnetic field, whether produced by a permanent magnet or by a current, reacts in some measure upon all kinds of matter within the field, and in such a manner as to rotate in soma degree every molecule, so as to make it assume a different position from what it would assume if not thus acted upon.

"We have found that the most noticeably physiological response to an electric current obtained from living animals is that resulting from sudden and wide differences of potential (intensity of current). Because of this act our subjects have been kept in a magnetic field occasioned by an alternating current. This does not do chemical work in the body, but merely accentuates it. "

Two years ago a series of experiments was commenced upon man and growing animals by subjecting them for a considerable length of time to the influence of alternating magnetic fields.

This was done by constructing a solenoid, a hollow magnet three feet in diameter and two and a half feet high of No. 10 underwriters' wire, and with a sufficient number of turns so that a current strength of five ampheres produced an average of 65 C. G. S. lines for each square inch of space in a plane cross-section the space within the coil. The dynamo used made 124 cycles per second or 248 alternations , so that whatever occupied this space was subjected to the rapidly reversing and varying magnetic stress.

"The experiments with human being, "said Prof. Herdman, "were made with view of determining the influence of this magnetic field on the metabolism of tissue as determine by the output of urea.

(Metabolism is defined by the Standard dictionary as "The act or process by which, on the one hand, the dead food is built up into living matter and by which, on the other, the living "matter is broken down into simpler products within a cell or organism. " Urea is the waste matter which passes from the body. )

"Three subjects were chosen. Two of them were healthy young men,students of medecine, and the other a man of 38 years of age, who had for two years been suffering from paralysis agitates, but who, aside from this nervous affection, was in fair health. The diet was regulated in amount and variety in each case for a week previous to subjecting them to the magnetic action, and a daily estimate was made of the amount of urea excreted. Then for a week's time, without change of diet or manner of living in any other respect, each one of the three subjects was placed within the solenoid, comfortably outstretched on a platform, and remained here for two hours each day, their bodies prevaded by the alternating magnetic stress of the average strength above mentioned.

 "During this week also a daily estimate of quantity of urea was made and it was found that in all three cases there was a daily increase of about 10 per cent in the amount eliminated during the period in which the subject was in the magnetic field. 

"No other effects were noticed that could be detected by this method of observation. There was no apparent change in the depth or frequency of respirations nor in the strength or frequency of the pulse or arterial tension though it is possible that, had more delicate or exact methods of testing for such changes than the unaided eye and touch been employed, some difference in these functions would have been observed.

"The subjects were conscious of no change in sensation or motive power, except that the patient with paralysis agitans claimed that the period spent within the coil had a soothing and quieting effect upon him, and that the muscular tremor which attended his disease was for several hours after I each exposure much less violent,

"The abnormal excretion of urea indicates chat the tissue nutrition is going on more rapidly, and that, if the subjects are children or young animals, they are attaining maturity 20 per cent faster than under ordinary conditions. "

"A curious invention used by Prof. Herdmau is a coach, so constructed that, when a person reclines upon it, the individual is enclosed in a perfect magnetic field. Its effects are similar to those of the solenoid, the only difference being in construction. The magnetic field in this case is produced by powerful magnets.

"This couch is used in the doctor's private office. When a person calls upon him, tired, suffering from nervousness and generally debilitated, the doctor requests the patient to lie down for a few minutes, and in a short time the influence exerted by the magnets brings about a gradual drowsiness that culminates in sleep.

"The series of experiments with growing animals was performed in conjunction with those of electricity on human beings, and was to determine the effect, if any, of the alternating magnetic stress in retarding or accelerating their growth. Some of the time the animals used were rabbits and at other times guinea pigs.

"As soon as one or more litters of young rabbits or guinea pigs were old enough to be separated from their mothers, " explained Frof. Herdman, "they were divided into bunches as nearly alike in age and weight as possible, and were carefully weighed. The two bunches were placed in conditions of living in all respects similar, except that from 5 o'clock in the evening until midnight on bunch was placed in a cage made of the kind of wire above mentioned, through which an alternating five ampere current with the frequency of alternations above mentioned was passing, and the other bunch was placed in an exactly similar coil which was not connected with the current circuit. This plan was pursued with each group of animals selected until they had reached their full growth, or from six to twelve weeks, according to the age of the animals at the commencement of the experiment.

"The interesting conclusion that has been reached so far from these experiments, which are still in progress, is that the group of animals immersed in the alternating magnetic field without exception began, after the first week, to outstrip the other group in weight, and a gain of from 18 to 24 per cent in favor of the animals within the magnetic field was observed each succeeding week, until they neared the period of full development, at which time the weekly gain was less.

"During the two years in which these experiments have been going on, 10 separate groups of animals have been used, either in the field or as controls, each group containing from three to five animals, and uniformly those placed in the magnetic field gave evidence for the first few weeks of accelerated nutritive action. In the case of two groups when the experiment was continued beyond eight weeks the curve of increase shown by the magnetized animals, which until eight weeks ran 20 per cent higher than that of the other group, gradually declined, and at the end of the 12th week their weight had fallen a little below that of the other group.

"It is an interesting fact that the janitor who has charge of these animals and who is a shrewd observer, but without knowledge as to the purpose of the experiment, called my attention to the fact that the group of animals that was placed within the magnetic field spent much more time in sleep during the daytime, that is, when the current was withdrawn, than did the other group but in no other respect except in the increase of weight did he or I notice any difference in their appearance or conduct.

"As far as these experiments so they appear to show that alternating magnetic stress is in some way related to a quickened metabolism of tissue; that magnetic energy goes through some transformation and appears as physiological energy.

"Growth can be accelerated, but the growth thus obtained is unhealthy, and in the end is disadvantageous to man or animals. Such diseases, however, an rheumatism, gout and constitutional diseases produced by defective excretions will in time be successfully treated by the method above described, that is, by enclosing the patient for a short period each day until the cure is assured in an electro-magnetic field. "