Surface-induced informaton storage in water aggregates

描述（由申请人提供）：这个R21项目旨在探索水簇或聚集体中信息存储的潜力，这可能构成顺势疗法的分子基础。在过去的工作中，信息可以存储在水聚集体中的可能性一直是隐含的，尽管有争议。最近，研究表明，水受到各种表面的深刻影响：表面附近的水排除了大的溶质，溶质排除区比预期的要大得多（Zheng和Pollack，2003）;因此涉及大量的水。最近的研究表明，溶质排除区具有不同于普通水的特征，并且在较长的时间内是稳定的。因此，存在这样的可能性，即这些水可能携带有关其所暴露的分子结构的长期信息。拟议的研究将探讨这种可能性。他们将追求两个具体的目标：第一，以确定这种水聚集体是否可以保持完整的长期原始成核表面时，被删除;第二，以确定这些聚集体是否包含有关表面的信息。如果这一假设得到更广泛的研究的支持和证实，它可能会提供一个工具，以了解为什么极度稀释的化合物溶液会产生与高浓度溶液不同的生物效应。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This R21 project is designed to explore the potential for information storage in water clusters, or aggregates, which could constitute the molecular basis for homeopathic practice. The possibility that information could be stored in water aggregates has been implicit in past work, albeit controversial. Recently, it was demonstrated that water is impacted by various surfaces in a profound way: The water adjacent to the surface excludes large solutes, and the solute-exclusion zone is much larger than anticipated (Zheng and Pollack, 2003); hence considerable water is involved. More recent studies show that the solute-exclusion zone has a character different from that of ordinary water, and that it is stable for extended periods. Hence, the possibility exists that such water might carry long-term information about the molecular structure to which it had been exposed. The proposed studies will explore this possibility. They will pursue two specific aims: first, to determine whether such water aggregates can remain intact for the long term when the original nucleation surface is removed; and, second, to determine whether these aggregates contain information about the surface. If the hypothesis is supported and confirmed by more extensive studies, it may provide a vehicle for understanding why solutions with compounds that are extremely diluted can have biological effects not unlike those in high concentration.