Background Every living organism is an open system operating far from thermodynamic equilibrium and exchanging energy, matter and information with an external environment. These exchanges are performed through non-linear interactions of billions of different biological components, at different levels, from the quantum to the macro-dimensional. The concept of quantum coherence is an inherent property of living cells, used for long-range interactions such as synchronization of cell division processes. There is support from recent advances in quantum biology, which demonstrate that coherence, as a state of order of matter coupled with electromagnetic (EM) fields, is one of the key quantum phenomena supporting life dynamics. Coherent phenomena are well explained by quantum field theory (QFT), a well-established theoretical framework in quantum physics. Water is essential for life, being the medium used by living organisms to carry out various biochemical reactions and playing a fundamental role in coherent phenomena. Methods Quantum electrodynamics (QED), which is the relativistic QFT of electrodynamics, deals with the interactions between EM fields and matter. QED provides theoretical models and experimental frameworks for the emergence and dynamics of coherent structures, even in living organisms. This article provides a model of multi-level coherence for living organisms in which fractal phase oscillations of water are able to link and regulate a biochemical reaction. A mathematical approach, based on the eigenfunctions of Laplace operator in hyper-structures, is explored as a valuable framework to simulate and explain the oneness dynamics of multi-level coherence in life. The preparation process of a homeopathic medicine is analyzed according to QED principles, thus providing a scientific explanation for the theoretical model of “information transfer” from the substance to the water solution. A subsequent step explores the action of a homeopathic medicine in a living organism according to QED principles and the phase-space attractor's dynamics. Results According to the developed model, all levels of a living organism—organelles, cells, tissues, organs, organ systems, whole organism—are characterized by their own specific wave functions, whose phases are perfectly orchestrated in a multi-level coherence oneness. When this multi-level coherence is broken, a disease emerges. An example shows how a homeopathic medicine can bring back a patient from a disease state to a healthy one. In particular, by adopting QED, it is argued that in the preparation of homeopathic medicines, the progressive dilution/succussion processes create the conditions for the emergence of coherence domains (CDs) in the aqueous solution. Those domains code the original substance information (in terms of phase oscillations) and therefore they can transfer said information (by phase resonance) to the multi-level coherent structures of the living organism. Conclusions We encourage that QED principles and explanations become embodied in the fundamental teachings of the homeopathic method, thus providing the homeopath with a firm grounding in the practice of rational medicine. Systematic efforts in this direction should include multiple disciplines, such as quantum physics, quantum biology, conventional and homeopathic medicine and psychology.

The epidemological and clinical features of hepatitis C virus infection have been evaluated in a cohort of 227 intravenous drug users enrolled at a drug dependence treatment center in the Veneto area in 1992–1993 and followed periodically. Hepatitis C virus infection was detected using second‐generation anti‐HCV ELISA in 171 (75%) subjects at enrollment. Anti‐HCV seropositivity correlated with: a) the duration of drug abuse: 91% of intravenous drug users injecting for more than 8 years were seropositive as compared to 40% of those with a history of abuse lasting 4 years or less, p<0.001; b) sharing of injection equipment: 85% anti‐HCV positive intravenous drug users had shared at some time as compared to 64% seronegative subjects, p<0.001; c) seropositivity for immunodeficiency virus infection: 25% anti‐HCV positive intravenous drug users were coinfected as compared to 3.5% anti‐HCV negative, p<0.001; d) markers of ongoing (two cases) or previous hepatitis B virus infection were detected in 62% of anti‐HCV positive but in 21% of anti‐HCV negative cases, p<0.01. Two initially anti‐HCV negative intravenous drug users seroconverted during follow up giving an incidence rate of hepatitis C virus infection of 6.2 per 100 person‐years. During the survey abnormal alanine aminotransferase levels were detected in 75% anti‐HCV positive but in 24% anti‐HCV negative cases (p<0.001), with significantly higher levels in the former. These findings suggest that the circulation of hepatitis C virus among intravenous drug users has been decreasing in recent years, although new infections still occur. In agreement with the high rate of chronicization of parenterally transmitted hepatitis C, the majority of anti‐HCV positive subjects had biochemical features of associated liver disease.

Abstract Spectroscopy has been shown to be a useful method to study the physicochemical properties of homeopathic preparations. In this pilot study, the aim was to compare two methods (photon scattering and visible-light spectroscopy) in the physical evaluation of Silicea terra 200cH. Two samples have been examined and compared: Silicea terra 200cH and Sac lac 200cH, both prepared in aqueous solution (Cemon Lab, Italy). Lactose was included because the first 3 potencies of Silicea terra are made by trituration in lactose. In the first test, performed in Italy, slight variations in chrominance and luminance due to micro-vibrational 3D phenomena were analyzed. The principle of the experimental procedure is to modify and analyse the incidence and refraction angles of the light hitting the bottles of liquid under examination. Measurements were made using an innovative camera device developed by Daniele Gullà, called MIRA/CORA (proprietary name). The image sensor is a Charge-Coupled Device (CCD)/ Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) with interferential matrix filter. A red laser beam, at wavelength 652 nm, hits the bottle and the variations of scattered light are recorded and measured by the device. All measurements have been performed in a dark room at a constant temperature of 22°C +/- 0,2°C using a filter with very narrow spectral bands (10 nm). Proprietary software analyses the incoming frames showing the spectral variations in amplitude and frequency and then interpolates variation in the measured data within a vibrational range between 0.01 Hz and 10 Hz. The measurements have been repeated three times on both Silicea terra 200cH and Sac lac 200cH within a few minutes of each other. Measurements of the mean entropy of the signals, statistically elaborated with T Student test, yielded a two tailed p value < 0.05, where the entropy of the signal recorded from the Silicea terra 200cH sample was statistically lower than the 200cH Sac lac sample. In the second test, performed in Brazil, variations in absorbance were used to identify Silicea terra 200cH compared with Sac lac 200cH and a control solution of non-succussed 30% alcohol, using six solvatochromic dyes, following the method developed by Cartwright [1,2]. Both homeopathic samples were imported from Italy, diluted 1:100 in 30% hydro-alcoholic solution, and submitted to 100 succussions using an automatic mechanical arm (Denise, AUTIC, Brazil) prior to being tested. Samples were inserted into dyes solutions in a 1:60 ratio, and evaluated by visible spectroscopy (FEMTO Spectrophotometer, Brazil). Dyes were prepared in ethanol P.A., according to previous established methods [3]. Samples and dyes were protected from light during the manipulation and environmental conditions of the laboratory (temperature, humidity, and magnetic flux) were monitored during the tests. Three series in triplicate were performed and the results were analyzed by ANOVA / Tukey, comparing both samples and the unsuccussed 30% hydroalcoholic control solution. Among all tested dyes, only BDN showed an interaction with Silicea terra 200cH, reproducing the conclusions obtained in [3]. We conclude that two different spectroscopic methods were able to differentiate Silicea terra 200cH from Sac lac 200cH, suggesting that changes in solvent organization could be involved in the homeopathic signaling process, along with changes in dipole moments of solvent and dyes. The results are potentially in line with a recent published paper [4], that supports the proposition that the lower entropy of the verum signal compared with controls could be explained by increased coherent vibrations of the verum sample, modulated by Nambu-Goldstone bosons. According to Del Giudice and colleagues [5], coherent behaviors are correlated with massless quasi-particles, coding ordering information.