All Things Considered? Basic Research on Homeopathy May Shed a Different Light on the Recycling of Wastewater.

copy rights EcoEng Newsletter 3, December 2000

-by Andreas Schönborn, EcoEng-online editor, Switzerland
E-mail: editor@iees.ch

Can today's science explain all the mysteries of our world? Any sincere scientist will answer: "Of course not". There
is still a lot we can't explain and don't really understand.
What about the basic principles our world is based upon? Do we understand them all? Here the answer may be
much more ambiguous. While some scientists believe, that we've come close to the "last priciples", others doubt it.
I personally think that we're close to another scientific revolution similar to the one physics went through, when
quantum physics was discovered at the end of the 19 th century.
In this article I'd like to present a research project which gives an idea why this might be the case. I also want to
speculate about the possible nature of this "revolution": some kind of information transfer not yet understood.
If these ideas should be correct, they would also have unforeseen implications for the recycling of wastewater.

Homeopathy: A New Dimension of Science or the "Ultimate Fake"?
For more than 200 years homeopathic remedies have been used for curing diseases. Particularly in the last 2
decades they have become very popular in many countries. Millions of patients appreciate them as a possibility to
cure diseases without having to use the "heavy armour" of the chemical industry.
Yet, it's being highly disputed whether homeopathy is really working or whether it's the "ultimate fake", as some
term it. The main focus of critique is its use of diluted, or rather "potentised" drugs. An argument often heard is, that
below a dilution of 10-24 which corresponds to homeopathic potencies of 12c or 24x (= C12 or D24 in german
speaking countries), there is hardly a chance to find even only 1 molecule of the active material in the drug.
If there's no molecule, it can't work, is the conclusion of the sceptics. However, this neglects a good and very basic
scientific attitude: First look at the phenomenon, then hypothesize about its explanation! Our scientific
understanding may simply not be able to explain what happens here.
The sceptics' arguments are very well summarized, in articles available on the internet, e.g. by Stephen Barrett and
William Jarvis (see references). And indeed: The lack of a sound scientific explanation for homeopathy has been
THE Achilles' heel for many practitioners and users of homeopathy. An example: though there are several dozens
of good clinical studies which show clinical efficiency of homeopathic dilutions against placebo, many scientists
are not willing to accept this as a fact as long as there is no convincing theory (Baumgartner, personal
communication), since "events become "facts" when they are invoked to support a theory" (Vandenbrouke 1997).

Urgently Needed: Basic Research on Homeopathy
Physicist Dr. Stephan Baumgartner from the University of Berne (http://www.cx.unibe.ch/kikom/english-home.html)
is one of the few researchers working on the basic principles of homeopathy. He is very well aware of the potential
pitfalls of his field: "Research that reports on preclinical* effects of homeopathic potencies", he writes, "will be
thoroughly and critically analyzed, since an observable and reproducible action of higher homeopathic dilutions
can hardly be explained by the present body of scientific theories and the wide-spread materialistic philosophy of
life and nature."
"Scientists may be forced to accept new basic concepts and laws in the realm of the general modes of action in
nature. It is therefore clear that any such preclinical research has to meet the highest methodological standards,
since positive results may lead to a true revolution in science and philosophy". (Baumgartner et al. 1998).

Setting a Quality Standard:
Based on this conclusion Baumgartner has first carried out a thorough analysis of existing preclinical studies.
Although "hundreds of preclinical homeopathic studies have been published in the last decades", he states that
their "quality [...] is judged rather differently", both by scientists doing experimental research and by those doing
meta studies. As conclusion, Baumgartner developed basic requirements for good preclinical research to be
carried out in the future. (see box, Baumgartner et al. 1998)
The most important points to ensure high scientific quality for preclinical studies of homeopathic potencies
(according to Baumgartner et al. 1998)
Careful planning and design of the experiments
Blind manipulation and measurements
Blind runs of the typical experimental design (typical standard deviations)
Detailed descriptions of the production process for homeopathic potencies
Reasonable and adapted controls
Several reproductions of a given experiment
Careful statistical analysis of the experimental data
Unprejudiced interpretation of all results

Searching a Stable Experimental System:
Baumgartner is now working on establishing a stable, well defined experimental system which fulfils these
criteria. One approach is using cress seedlings (Lepidum sativum ) which are grown on chromatographic paper in
plastic bags in the dark. They can be easily grown in great numbers in order to achieve statistically significant
results. The state of growth can be monitored rapidly by photocopying the bags and using image processing
techniques for the analysis of various parameters (e.g. growth of root and shoot, curvatures). The seedlings are
not destroyed by this monitoring and can be further analyzed, e.g. on chemical contents.
The cress system allows easy handling and a fast yield of a great number of parameters which can be subjected
to statistical analysis. Baumgartner considers the system to be very flexible and highlights that the ethical
constraints are minimal, compared e.g. to animal testing (Baumgartner 1999).
An advantage of using a non-animal test system also is, that positive results are backing up the hypothesis that
the effectivity of homeopathic dilutions is not limited to humans or other animals. In fact experimental evidence
from other sources as well as Baumgartner's own work suggest a sensitivity of plants and even microbes to
homeopathic dilutions (Baumgartner et al. 2000). This might open new fields of application of homeopathic
potencies such as agriculture.

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