I am a developmental physiologist best known for the discovery of calcium waves and for work on the roles of electrical currents and of calcium patterns on the development of pattern.
This all began with work on the fucoid eggs from 1952-1989 which was motivated by the virtual absence of prepattern in these easily obtainable cells. I first confirmed that fucoid eggs are indeed unpatterned by showing that half of a population of such zygotes can be induced to form twins simply by illumination with polarized light. Thus was polarotropism discovered and later its essential mechanism was worked out. A second major paper reported a demonstration and measurement of electrical currents through polarizing fucoid eggs . This generated the concept of self-electrophoresis and led to the development of the vibrating or self-referencing probe as well as a general theory of this process. It also led to the discovery that these currents are largely carried by calcium ions and generate an essential, high calcium zone at the future outgrowth pole.
Recently, I have begun to reinvestigate the long known ‘thallus effect’ with fucoid eggs. This is the polarization of such eggs by some influence coming from pieces of all tested intertidal plants and extending out to distances of up to a centimeter. It had always been assumed that the mechanism was chemical. However, my reinvestigation indicates that the influence can traverse a glass barrier, which implies that it consists of luminescence. Perhaps luminescence in the far red or infrared emitted by bacteria living on the walls of the effective plants.
Pursuit of calcium patterns led to the discovery of calcium waves (in fertilizing medaka fish eggs). Such waves are now called fast calcium waves and are believed to initially activate all eggs including human ones. Three other major classes of calcium waves are now established or proposed. Each of these classes shows a narrow range of velocities at a given temperature. A book on such waves is in preparation.
The pursuit of calcium patterns has also led to a study of calcium gradients and oscillations in diverse systems far beyond the fucoid egg. This, in turn has led me to consider the mechanisms of cancer initiation in man. I long ago proposed that cancer does not - as most investigators believe - generally start with genetic damage but rather with an epigenetic process involving a rise in intracellular calcium induced by cell injury. Two papers that detail this argument have been published.
