Does Dilute Heavy Water Influence Biological Processes?

Curry, James; Pratt, Robertson; Trelease, Sam F.

doi:10.1126/science.81.2098.275

Cited by 16 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 4 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…These results, combined with a wealth of literature starting from 1930s141519202122232425262728293031, including our recent studies on the effect of enriched deuterium on bacterial growth32, open a venue for scientific and industrial exploration of the isotopic resonance phenomenon in a whole range of fields. In astrobiology, the impact of the isotopic resonance phenomenon on the origin of life on Earth has to be seriously considered.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

“…Here we tested resonances predicted for C, N and O, as well as a super-resonance for these elements, while the resonance for H has been extensively tested earlier141519202122232425262728293031. All experimental data obtained so far are either consistent with the isotopic resonance hypothesis, or strongly support it.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At a perfect resonance, the rates of biochemical reactions should further increase compared to terrestrial conditions. Thus the startling effects of ultralow deuterium enrichment on molecular and biological systems14151920212223242526272829 can be explained by reaching the perfect resonance. On the other hand, further deviation from the perfect resonance, e.g.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Isotopic Resonance Hypothesis: Experimental Verification by Escherichia coli Growth Measurements

Xie

Zubarev

2015

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Isotopic composition of reactants affects the rates of chemical and biochemical reactions. As a rule, enrichment of heavy stable isotopes leads to progressively slower reactions. But the recent isotopic resonance hypothesis suggests that the dependence of the reaction rate upon the enrichment degree is not monotonous. Instead, at some “resonance” isotopic compositions, the kinetics increases, while at “off-resonance” compositions the same reactions progress slower. To test the predictions of this hypothesis for the elements C, H, N and O, we designed a precise (standard error ±0.05%) experiment that measures the parameters of bacterial growth in minimal media with varying isotopic composition. A number of predicted resonance conditions were tested, with significant enhancements in kinetics discovered at these conditions. The combined statistics extremely strongly supports the validity of the isotopic resonance phenomenon (p ≪ 10−15). This phenomenon has numerous implications for the origin of life studies and astrobiology, and possible applications in agriculture, biotechnology, medicine, chemistry and other areas.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Isotopic Resonance Hypothesis: Experimental Verification by Escherichia coli Growth Measurements

Xie

Zubarev

2015

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Early works (1930s) with deuterium enriched from the normal levels of 150 ppm to ≈600 ppm uncovered a plethora of phenomena[9–17], but most of them were later questioned and/or attributed to experimental artifacts. But in 1970s, Lobyshev et al have revisited these experiments using much stricter approach and confirmed biological effect of low enrichment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Effect of Planetary Stable Isotope Compositions on Growth and Survival of Terrestrial Organisms

Xie

Zubarev

2017

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Isotopic compositions of reactants affect the rates of chemical and biochemical reactions. Usually it is assumed that heavy stable isotope enrichment leads to progressively slower reactions. Yet the effect of stable isotopes may be nonlinear, as exemplified by the “isotopic resonance” phenomenon. Since the isotopic compositions of other planets of Solar system, including Mars and Venus, are markedly different from terrestrial (e.g., deuterium content is ≈5 and ≈100 times higher, respectively), it is far from certain that terrestrial life will thrive in these isotopic conditions. Here we found that Martian deuterium content negatively affected survival of shrimp in semi-closed biosphere on a year-long time scale. Moreover, the bacterium Escherichia coli grows slower at Martian isotopic compositions and even slower at Venus’s compositions. Thus, the biological impact of varying stable isotope compositions needs to be taken into account when planning interplanetary missions.

show abstract

“…Effect of dilute D90 on the growth of germ tubes.-It has been reported that the percentage germination of Erysi'phe conidia is the same in dilute D20 (0.46 per cent) as in ordinary H120 (Curry, Pratt, and Trelease, 1935). Since germ-tube elongation is muich more sensitive than initial spore germination to D20, tests were made to determine whether germ-tube growth is affected by a dilute solution.…”

Section: Robertson Prattmentioning

confidence: 99%