Dynamic biomagnetism associates bean seeds

Summary Water uptake by bean seeds (Phaseolus vulgaris) over 4 h in 4 adjacent Faraday cages and in 4 similar, but mumetal-lined, Faraday cages disclosed comparable interactional patterns among both cage types. This indicates a role of dynamic, or fluctuating, biomagnetic fields. An inverted relationship over time between the 2 cage types is probably due to geomagnetic attenuation.I wish to thank Carol S. Chow and Kate M. Scow for overseeing the collection of data, and Profs J.A. Lippincott and R.C. Gesteland of the Dept. of Biological Sciences and Prof. M.R. Brodwin of the Dept. of Electrical Engineering, Northwestern University, for helpful discussions. This study was aided by grants No. GB-41392X, No. BMS73-0191-A01, and No. BMS73-01591-A02 from the National Science Foundation.