The lunar cycle: effects on human and animal behavior and physiology

A subject I have not yet touched upon relates to the gravitational pull of the moon and how it affects the circulation in all living animals, fish, insects, trees and plants. And yes even humans!

There are six pages to this important review of the literature, which has been graciously provided free. So please spend time reading all six pages.

The lunar cycle: effects on human and animal behavior and physiology

Micha? Zimecki

Department of Experimental Therapy, The Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wroc?aw, Poland

Summary

Human and animal physiology are subject to seasonal, lunar, and circadian rhythms. Although the seasonal and circadian rhythms have been fairly well described, little is known about the effects of the lunar cycle on the behavior and physiology of humans and animals. The lunar cycle has an impact on human reproduction, in particular fertility, menstruation, and birth rate. Melatonin levels appear to correlate with the menstrual cycle. Admittance to hospitals and emergency units because of various causes (cardiovascular and acute coronary events, variceal hemorrhage, diarrhea, urinary retention) correlated with moon phases. In addition, other events associated with human behavior, such as traffic accidents, crimes, and suicides, appeared to be influenced by the lunar cycle. However, a number of reports fi nd no correlation between the lunar cycle and human reproduction and admittance to clinics and emergency units. Animal studies revealed that the lunar cycle may affect hormonal changes early in phylogenesis (insects). In fish the lunar clock influences reproduction and involves the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis. In birds, the daily variations in melatonin and corticosterone disappear during full-moon days. The lunar cycle also exerts effects on laboratory rats with regard to taste sensitivity and the ultrastructure of pineal gland cells. Cyclic variations related to the moon’s phases in the magnitude of the humoral immune response of mice to polivinylpyrrolidone and sheep erythrocytes were also described. It is suggested that melatonin and endogenous steroids may mediate the described cyclic alterations of physiological processes. The release of neurohormones may be triggered by the electromagnetic radiation and/or the gravitational pull of the moon. Although the exact mechanism of the moon’s influence on humans and animals awaits further exploration, knowledge of this kind of biorhythm may be helpful in police surveillance, medical practice, and investigations involving laboratory animals.

Key words: lunar cycle • reproduction • melatonin • immune response

Source:Postepy Hig Med Dosw., 2006; 60: 1-7.

http://www.biology-online.org/articles/lunar_cycle_effects_human/summary.html

New Centrifuge Simulates Gravity for Astronauts

New Centrifuge Simulates Gravity for Astronauts
It could stop bone and muscle mass loss
http://news.softpedia.com/news/New-Centrifuge-Simulates-Gravity-for-Astronauts-117366.shtml

By Tudor Vieru, Science Editor

23rd of July 2009, 09:02 GMT

Astronauts lose a lot of bone and muscle mass on extended stays in space
Enlarge picture
Ever since astronauts started spending prolonged periods of time in space, on space stations, for instance, it has become obvious to space agencies that the effects of microgravity on the human body are to be reckoned with. The longer the stay, the greater the loss of bone and muscle mass that the astronauts report. Now, experts have finally devised a mechanism to counteract the effects of low gravity. The NASA centrifuge simulates 2.5Gs of pull on users, and utilizing it requires only one hour per day. The human testing was conducted at the University of Texas Medical Branch, in Galveston.

The research bears enormous meaning to future space exploration missions, which could see people sent to Mars inside spaceships. With more than a year of traveling in zero-gravity, and another one on the way back, the astronauts that would undertake such an enterprise could find themselves upon their return unable to stand up or walk. Already, ISS commanders that remain on the station for six months exhibit large problems with adapting to Earth's gravity all over again, and need therapy to help them.

The NASA centrifuge that was recently tested works by spinning people, positioned with their feet outwards, about 30 times each minute, a rotation every two seconds. In the experiments they conducted on “pillownauts,” experts at the University of Texas determined that just one hour of exercise with the centrifuge was enough to restore muscle synthesis, ScienceDaily informs.

Pillownauts are people aiding NASA in understanding the effects of microgravity. They remain in bed for months on end, with their bodies angled in such a manner that they mimic the effects of reduced gravity and prolonged space stays. If the centrifuge works on them, then it will most likely work on the real astronauts too, the scientists behind the research believe.

“This gives us a potential countermeasure that we might be able to use on extended space flights and solve a lot of the problems with muscle wasting. This small amount of loading, one hour a day of essentially standing up, maintained the potential for muscle growth,” Douglas Paddon-Jones, an associate professor at the university, explains. He has also been the senior author of a new paper detailing the find, published in the July issue of the Journal of Applied Physiology.

“We've studied elderly inpatients here at UTMB – 95 percent of the time they're completely inactive, and in three days they lose more than a kilogram of muscle. A human centrifuge may not be the answer, but we are interested in seeing if something as simple as increasing the amount of time our patients spend standing and moving can slow down this process. This NASA research is one of a series of important studies that we hope to ultimately translate to a clinical population,” he concludes.

Inclined Therapy is again helping people with MS.

Dear Foreverspring

Thank you for your updates and for helping others to understand how tilting your bed has helped you.

Hopefully more people will join us and engage us with their own updates and your reports should stir up some thoughts about there being more to this simple therapy than one might think.

Really looking forward to seeing how many more people come back and report changes over the coming months.

Maybe a news team might eventually pick up on what is happening here and take an interest. This certainly would stir up a hornets nest with the medical profession and the charities.

Perhaps it might also lead on to the illusive controlled study that doctors are hiding behind as an excuse not to inform their patients about this simple common sense postural therapy approach.

On the Youtube video, the then senior director of the MSRC said "if it works let's get everyone trying it".

Well it is obviously working and why not because I.T. worked before he said it, and he knew it worked! and so did the director before him! And so did Peter Cardy at the MS Society!

It has taken us a few months to show how effective this therapy is for people with ms and the pilot study reports are confirmed by what is happening to people on this forum using I.T.

So let's do what the MSRC said they would and show people with MS that there is an alternative to drugs that is free, non-invasive and can be conducted in the comfort of our homes.

I have had tears in my eyes today thinking about the people this therapy has helped. Who cares whether hidden agendas from people paid to provide help matter more than helping people to get more out of life when you get results like yours?

So many people have said to me it's a miracle but miracles are one off's this is fully repeatable and to prove it here we are again after all these years providing anecdotal evidence for all to see and because it truly is repeatable do these results really qualify as being anecdotal? Do we really need approval from highly over paid non-contributing obstacles?

Or should we soldier on regardless and shame them into conducting their own studies if only to try to disprove that, which cannot be disproved?

Andrew K Fletcher

How do trees really lift water to their leaves?

Ever thought about how Giant Trees towering over a hundred metres can raise water to their leaves without an obvious pumping mechanism?

It may interest you to know that the current explanations are nonsense.

Take root pressure for example. Do roots really squeeze water to the tops of trees? Or Capillary action. Can trees soak up water and release it into the atmosphere like a giant sponge, if this were the case, rising damp would ooze from the tops of walls and even tall buildings? The Cohesion tension theory as it stands sucks and relies on water leaving the leaves and this is thought to drag on a chain of water stretching right to the roots. (elaborate way of saying sucks)

Imagine standing on a desk let alone a hundred meters in the air and trying to suck water up a straw from a bottle on the ground. We can't do it so why do we expect a tree to be given different rules? It goes on to say that the huge number of leaves cause a collective pull. Well there are plenty of trees that stand at impressive heights, that are not furnished with a huge canopy of leaves and yet are able to effortlessly draw water from the soil and absorb moisture from the air. The larch being one example. But what about deciduous trees. In the Autumn the leaves fall and yet somehow in the spring the tree picks up where it left off and circulation continues inside causing the buds to form. How does this fit with the leaves having to pull water up? And then Straburger’s experiments where he killed a tree suspended vertically in a bath of picric acid. Strasburger observed circulation continuing for several weeks after the tree was completely killed ruling out living processes.

THE GRAVITY OF LIFE Theory by Andrew K Fletcher

Photo courtesy of PDphoto.


Short Introduction for the Association of Science In Schools.


THE GRAVITY OF LIFE by Andrew K Fletcher

Introduction: All life on earth developed with one thing in common; Earth!The constant forces are gravity, and the energy from the sun.

The most abundant resources are minerals and water.

Plants and animals alike, all depend on the properties of water for transporting minerals and nutrients. Because life is based on water, in that everything alive started from a few drops, life must have evolved by finding the easiest and most direct pathway, after all liquids are very good at finding the most direct route possible. Yet, at first glance, everywhere one looks life appears to have chosen the least likely of paths, if it is trying to overcome the effects of gravity. Would trees, with species like the giant Californian redwoods (sequoia sempervirens) , towering over a hundred metres high have chosen a vertical direction? How then have plants and animals harnessed the constant pull of gravity in order to thrive and grow?

On a summer day a large oak tree may take up a hundred gallons of water or more, enriched with minerals and nutrients from the soil. At first glance it is doing so against the pull of gravity, producing flow rates, which cannot be explained or shown by working models based on osmosis, capillary action or root pressure. So how are trees doing it?

Explanation:

Over 95% of the waters drawn in at the roots of a tree evaporate into the surrounding air through the leaves by transpiration. The evaporated moisture contains no minerals. However, the water remaining inside the tree contains a variety of mineral salts dissolved from the soil, together with sugars produced by the tree. The transpired water results in a concentration of salts and sugars within the leaves. Concentrating a liquid, (sap), which contains substances that are heavier than water, must result in the production of a heavier solution than the pre-transpired liquid. Because of the resulting imbalance in density the heavier solution is drawn towards the base of the tree, due to the effect of gravity (maple syrup, latex and amber are evidence for this). Downward flowing sap occurs predominantly within the phloem vessels. When an excess of concentrated liquid is produced during favourable weather conditions, the downward flowing sap forms new tubes from the cambium, as it is forced down by gravity, in a continual cycle of growth.
In hard woods, sap flows from cell to cell through openings or perforations, in the membrane between abutting vessels.
In soft-woods, the sap flow controls movable valves, or pits - (thin areas), in the walls of conducting tracheids. Concentrated pulses of sap may eventually be found to be present in some xylem vessels, as gravity inevitably finds the most direct route, with the least resistance, to the ground.
But for every action there must always be a reaction, and the reaction in this case is that the downward flowing liquid behaves exactly like a plunger in a syringe. As it flows down it causes the entire contents of connected tubes filled with the less dense liquid to be drawn up.
Here we have a simple power source, which is driven purely by evaporation, posture and gravity.
The forces produced by this phenomenon are easy to demonstrate in simple tubular experiments. The main forces are produced at the head and tail of the falling solutions. The head produces a positive force, or pressure, and the tail produces a negative pressure. I believe that the positive force within the mineral laden sap is responsible for the formation of the tubular structures found in timber. The positive force prevents tubes from closing.
As more sap flows through the same pathways, some of the sap is used to strengthen the tubes which will eventually become strong enough to resist the negative pressures. The tree transports the dilute solution of water and minerals to the leaves using these tubes. Thereafter becoming what we call the xylem vessels.
As the concentrated liquid falls towards the ground, minerals are locked away as timber, while the mineral laden liquid arriving at the roots is inevitably re-diluted by the dilute solution drawn from the soil. The imbalance in the liquid is corrected as it becomes lighter or less dense than the downward flowing sap and begins its journey back to the leaves, where the process continues, providing the tree with a constant supply of water and nutrients.
In the autumn, when the leaves have fallen, the circulation is altered as a greater positive pressure is exerted towards the roots, because transpiration has ceased and therefore fluids flowing towards the top of the tree would be compromised. At this time of the year root growth would be most productive.
As fluid channels begin to offer resistance, the sap must find alternative routes. The new directions may be vertical or horizontal, but always in the path of least resistance. Eventually tubes become redundant and new tubes are formed. Fluids of different specific gravity have been observed to flow in both directions, simultaneously while in the same tube. In fact this ‘transpiring gravitational flow system’ is able to operate without tubes and has been attributed to causing the oceans to circulate (Atlantic conveyor system).
Early attempts at lifting water: The story goes that the reigning Grand Duke of Tuscany had ordered a well to be dug to supply the ducal palace with water. The workmen came upon water at a depth of 40 feet, and the next step was to pump it up. A vacuum lift pump was erected over the well, and a pipe let down to the water, but the water was found to rise to a height of 33 feet and no more, in spite of the most careful overhauling of the pump mechanism. It was at this stage that Galileo was consulted. While the famous philosopher was unable to offer a solution, he at least indicated the problem. Here above the 33 feet of water was seven feet of vacuum. The limit for raising water by suction in a tube appeared to be thirty-three feet.
Why should there be this limit when trees are observed to ignore it?
By introducing a loop of tubing, instead of a single tube, to simulate the internal structure of plants and trees, and suspending it by the centre, the problem of raising water above the 33 feet limit is solved. The reason a loop of tubing succeeds where a single tube fails is because the cohesive bond of water molecules is far stronger than the adhesive qualities of water observed in Galileo’s lift-pump problem. Using a loop of tubing enables water molecules to bond to each other in an unbroken chain. It helps to picture the unbroken loop of water as a cord instead of a liquid, supported by a pulley in the centre with tension applied to both ends.
The columns of water held in both sides of the tube exert a downward force due to the weight of the water contained in the tube. This force causes the water molecules in the tube to be stretched, causing the water to behave like an elastic band. In order to demonstrate this affect on water molecules I repeated the experiment shown in figure 1 without the added saline solution, the two open ends of the tube at ground level were removed from the demijohns, exposing them to the air.
Though the tube contained water, it did not flow from either side of the tube. In fact the opposite effect was observed; the water level in both sides of the tube immediately rose to a new level about half a metre from the ends of the tube. Even more surprising the water columns stayed there suspended by the cohesion between the water molecules.
In order to try to upset the balance I then blew up one side of the tube, causing the water level on that side to rise. I then released the pressure and the water returned to the same equal level. This observation offers an exciting explanation to the problem of explaining why water does not pour from the wound when a tree is felled.
However, the present laws of physics state that water cannot exist in its liquid form below 4.6 torr, yet the water remains in the tube. Only when the tube is lowered, or if a bubble appears at the top of the loop of tubing does the water flow out from the open ends.

THE BRIXHAM CLIFF EXPERIMENT

This experiment successfully demonstrated fluid transport to a height, which exceeds the current accepted limit of 10 metres and how this applies to the way that trees draw water to their leaves.
APPARATUS
48 metre single length of clear nylon tubing, 6.35 mm inside diameter x 9.5 mm outside diameter (type used to draw ales in the brewery trade), two clear glass demijohns, a large tray, 50 mils of concentrated salt solution with added red food dye, 50ml syringe minus the needle, sufficient degassed or previously boiled and cooled water to fill the tubing, the demijohns, and for adequate top ups. Adequate nylon cord to hoist the tubing and pulley to the desired height, a small pulley and adhesive cello-tape.
Method
The two bottles were filled to the brim with the water and placed in a suitable tray to catch any displaced water. The length of tubing was half filled with the water by siphoning. This was achieved by submerging one end of the tube in the water filled demijohn placed on a table. When the water reached the centre of the loop, the open end of the tube was capped with a thumb. The end of the tube in the demijohn was removed and the 50 mils of coloured salt water was introduced via the large syringe. The demijohn was then re-filled to the brim and the tube was re-submerged, making sure that no bubbles were introduced by adjusting the height of the unfilled side of the tube. By removing the thumb, the remaining length of tube was filled and again capped, making sure that no air was trapped inside the tube. At this point the demijohns were, refilled. The capped end of the tube was then inserted into the other water filled demijohn and both ends secured at an equal level, with cello-tape, again making sure that no air was allowed to enter the tube.
A length of the nylon cord equal to that of the length of tubing used was passed through the pulley, provided a safe ground level means to hoist the loop of tubing to the desired height. The pulley and the main nylon cord was hoisted to the desired height and secured at the top of the cliff on a separate length of cord. Adhesive cello-tape was wrapped heavily around the two sides of the loop of tubing 15cm from its centre to secure one knotted end of the main nylon cord, which ran through the pulley for the purpose of lifting the tube, taking care not to reduce the tubes diameter. The cello-tape was used to bind the cord to the tube.
Coloured insulation tape was used to secure both sides of the tube together providing an excellent ascent measurement when placed at one-metre intervals.
The Original Brixham Cliff Experiment on Youtube:

The centre of the tube was then gently hoisted, taking care to keep the ascent as smooth as possible. As the tube was raised the salt solution began to fall, due to the influence of gravity; this caused one of the demijohns to start overflowing indicating a positive pressure, while the second demijohn began to lose water at the same rate indicating a negative pressure. The emptying demijohn received frequent top ups, until the salt solution arrived at the overflowing demijohn and the flow stopped.
Conclusion
The fifty mils of salt solution caused the water in the tubes to circulate. The amount of water displaced and collected in the tray represents approximately the volume of water held in one side of the tube. Which meant that the fifty mils of salt solution had lifted water from one demijohn to the height of 24 metres and caused water many times its own weight and volume to rise. (I have used as little as 10 mils of coloured salt solution in the same experiment with a slower rate of decent but with similar displacements of water). Initially the experiments were tested at lower levels of elevation. 24 metres vertical lift was achieved when demonstrating the phenomenon before an audience of journalists and Forestry Commission scientists at the Overgang cliff, Brixham, July 1995. See Press Cutting

Bench demonstration (pictured above) Video of experiment on Youtube

For the purpose of demonstrating this phenomenon use a scaled down two metre high version of Fig 1. Substituting the demijohns for small narrow necked bottles. The type of tubing used to oxygenate aquariums is ideal for this purpose. A two-mil syringe minus needle, filled with coloured salt solution, connected to a T piece via a short length of tube, may be added close to the centre of the elevated tube to introduce salt solution intermittently while the tube is elevated, providing multiple demonstrations. Furthermore, the tube used in the salt free side of the experiment, (return side), may be of a larger bore size. Soft wall, silicon tubing shows visible signs of distortion when the saline solution is allowed to flow through it. The side containing the saline solution expands while the other side contracts, again indicating the presence of both positive and negative, pressures.
The experiments shown have been repeated using a variety of substitutes for salt solution, such as strong tea solution, fruit juices and milk etc. in order to relate directly to plants and animals. The flow rates achieved using different solutions, produced different rates of flow.
Umbrella Plant Experiment, (cyperus alternifolium)

In order to demonstrate that liquids of higher concentrations move through plants in relation to the constant pull of gravity. Take a freshly cut stem about 15cm long, with leaves intact, from an umbrella plant. Place the cutting upside down, in a glass container of water. After several weeks the umbrella plant starts to grow roots from what was the top of the plant and new stems are produced, as the shoots grow vertically in the normal way. The liquid processes involved within the plant for both root and leaf production, must have travelled from one end of the cut stem to the other. Indicating that gravity has an important influence.
When relating back to trees, the negative pressure, observed in the demijohn with the falling water level, provides us with a clear understanding of the mechanisms involved in drawing water through the roots from the soil. The positive pressures caused by the weight of the column of water held in the tree, plus the additional influence of gravity acting on the concentrated solutions, induced by the loss of moisture at the leaf, provides the roots with sufficient power to penetrate the earth.

Explanation for fluid exuding from a cut stem.

To demonstrate this effect, fill a vertically held open ended u tube with water, Fig 2A, and add a little coloured concentrated salt solution to one side, Fig 2B, the level of the salt solution will drop causing the opposite side to overflow. Imagine the loop of tubing is one of many tubes in the stem of a freshly cut plant or tree with roots in the soil. The overflowing water represents the xylem sap rising under the influence of the positive pressure, generated by gravity acting upon the concentrated sap in the phloem tube.
This is an important observation that gives a clear understanding of why plants and trees continue to grow upwards.

Little or no cross contamination takes place between liquids in the clean-water-side and the coloured saline side of the tube. Fig 2 C, I have left this experiment suspended for five days and it appears to remain stable. Circulation within an enclosed system, Fig 3, eliminates siphon as an explanation, demonstrating that flow occurs inside and would continue to do so if the tube was pressurised.
See video of experiments on Youtube
The thin columns of water in trees are known to snap, making a cracking sound through a stethoscope. Cavitation occurs immediately the bead of water separates. The formation of gas at the uppermost part of the raised loop of tubing, Fig 1, caused both columns of water to fall towards the ground and form a new level of 33 feet. The space above the water columns is a vacuum.
The circulation in trees continues, despite continuous cavitations, which means that they are able to refill or repair the vacuum. The internal part of a tree is a network of veins, or tubes, most of which run vertically. However some tubes run at an angle and some horizontally and provide links to other tubes, which interconnect at random levels. The internal tubular parts of the tree are themselves captivated inside a large tube, which is of course the bark or outer skin.
Water columns within the internal tubes of a tree, are continually stressed under a negative pressure, caused by downward flowing concentrated solutions within the trunk and branches. Cavitation occurs because the long thin columns of water are pulled apart. Immediately the cavitation forms, the internal pressures of that tube switch from a negative pressure to a positive pressure, forcing the more dilute solution in the opposing side of adjoined tubes upwards, Fig 2.B. & Fig 2 C. The downward force causes an increase in the head of water at the top of the tube. It is this increase in the head of water that gives a tree both momentum and direction to follow in its cyclical growth. Furthermore an increase in the positive pressure above the cavitation refills and repairs the vacuum, therefore enabling the tree to continue with water transport, and allowing gas bubbles to percolate upwards and out through the leaves.
This ability of the tree to switch from positive pressure to negative pressure and visa-versa gives us an understanding of the pressures observed in the roots of the tree. The roots being able to drive down through the earth under a positive pressure and expanding forces yet are still able to suck in water under a negative pressure.
Safety
· Students conducting any overhead experiments must observe the same Hard Hat safety regulations imposed on building workers.
· Experiments involving tube elevations higher than classroom levels should always be supervised. The safest area for this kind of experiment to take place is on a spiral staircase. Cliff top experiments are dangerous.
· A nylon line passed through a small pulley block, which has been secured at the desired height, enables the loop of tube to be elevated safely from ground level.
· Boiling water is dangerous and should not be handled or moved until it has cooled sufficiently enough to prevent scalding.
END Or Begining?


















How does this fit with Human and animal circulation? Picture the drawing flat on a table. It does not work. Now picture it vertical or even at a slight head up angle and the whole drawing comes to life with a pich of salt added at the top to increase the density and introduce a driving force as it percolates down to the kidneys and in doing so causes the whole drawing to circulate.

GCSE Biology DG Mckean (this started my research)

"A new scientific truth is not usually presented in a way to convince its opponents. Rather, they die off, and a rising generation is familiarised with the truth from the start."

Max Planck

The following review came from a letter I wrote to the late professor H T Hammel, who was a respected member of the Max Plank Institute. It was an honour to have shared my work and thoughts with Ted over the years.

This was his initial reply.

Within a couple of weeks I received his reply.

INDIANA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDIICINE date September 6/ 1995

Dear Mr Fletcher:

I received the information you sent me regarding your ideas about fluid transport in trees, in tubing and in the vascular system in humans.

I will study your ideas and comment upon them as soon as possible. A Quick scan of your Brixham experiment prompts me to ask if you conducted this experiment with boiled water without any solute added to the tubing on either side of the central point which you raise 24 meters? I expect that you could raise the tubing to the same height with or without solute in the water. In any case , your experiment confirms that clean water (water that is unbroken water, water that is without a single minute bubble of vapour) can support tension of several hundreds of atmospheres. The record tension obtained experimentally is 270 atmospheres. At 10 degrees C. (c.f. Briggs, L. Limiting negative pressure of water. Journal of Applied Physics 21: 721-722 1950).

I expect even this tension at brake point can be exceeded by careful cleansing of the water, to remove even the most minute region of gas phase. When the water is already broken, as occurs when gas is entrapped on particulate matter in ordinary water, the water will expand around even a single break when tension (negative Pressure) is applied to the water. When you boil the water, prior to applying (2.4-1) ATM negative pressure to the water in the highest point of the tubing, you eliminate some of these breaks in ordinary water. I expect that dissolving NaCl or other solutes in the water will have little or no effect on the way you measure the tensile strength of water.

I am enclosing some reprints that may interest you. Some of these deal with negative pressures we have measured in tall trees, mangroves and desert shrubs. Other reprints deal with how solutes alter water in aqueous solutions and how colloidal solutes (proteins) affect the flux of protein free fluid between plasma in capillaries and interstitial fluid.

Sincerely H.T. Hammel Ph.D.

GCSE Basic Physiology and water transport.

OSMOSIS ?

"I have chosen to relate to the following text book because it is written by a person who like myself is not entirely satisfied by the explanations put forward in the relevant subjects".

Figure C’s results raise the questions; What is osmosis and how are its qualities explained in the text books.

For the currently accepted view of osmosis and all other views on water transport I will refer to one of the standard GCSE text books entitled GCSE BIOLOGY, D.G. Mackean. ISBN 0-7195-4281-2 first published in 1986.

Page 34 fig 3 Diffusion gradient

Page 36 OSMOSIS

Osmosis is the special name used to describe the diffusion of water across a membrane, from a dilute solution to a more concentrated solution. In biology this usually means the diffusion of water into or out of cells Osmosis is just one special kind of because it is only water molecules and their movement we are considering. Figure 3 showed that molecules will diffuse from a region where there are a lot of them to a region where they are fewer in number; that is from a region of highly concentrated molecules to a region of lower concentration. Pure water has the highest possible concentration of water molecules; it is 100% water molecules, all of them free to move.

Figure 9 shows a concentrated sugar solution, separated from a dilute solution by a membrane, which allows water molecules to pass through. The dilute solution, in effect contains more water molecules than the concentrated solution. As a result of this difference in concentration, water molecules will diffuse from the dilute to the concentrated solution. The level of the concentrated solution will rise or, if it is confined to an enclosed space, its pressure will increase. The membrane separating the two solutions is often called selectively permeable or semi-permeable because it appears as if water molecules can pass through it more easily than sugar molecules can.

Osmosis then is the passage of water across a selectively permeable membrane from a dilute solution to a concentrated solution.

This is all you need to know in order to understand the effects of osmosis in living organisms, But a more complete explanation is given below.

ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATION FOR OSMOSIS

The current text book explanation for osmosis appears to have ignored the effects of gravity on liquids. The constant pull of gravity acts differently on concentrated solutions than dilute solutions i.e. The concentrated solution is heavier than the dilute solution and will always settle at the bottom of a reservoir or in this case a vessel.

To see this clearly, picture Fig 9 without the membrane; the result would be that the concentrated solution would sink and the dilute solution would rise. This effect will not stop because of the membrane. The concentrated solution will still cause the dilute solution to rise as we have seen earlier; and as the concentrated solution moves into the opposite side containing the dilute solution, the dilute solution is dragged through the membrane in a circular motion. For every action there must be a reaction. In order to prove this point add a little dye to the sugar solution and watch the exchange between the liquids.

"When the effect that gravity exerts on concentrated solutions is added to the equation of water transport and osmosis, it gives us a very clear understanding of the driving mechanisms involved".

Chapter 7 Transport in plants

page 71

The main force which draws water from the soil and through the plant is caused by a process called transpiration. Water evaporates from the leaves and causes a kind of ‘suction ‘ which pulls water up the stem. The water travels up the vessels in the vascular bundles and this flow of water is called the transpiration stream. The water vapour passes by diffusion through the air spaces in the mesophyll and out of the stomata. It is this loss of water vapour from the leaves which is called transpiration. The cell walls which are losing water in this way replace it by drawing water from the nearest vein. Most of this water travels along the cell walls without actually going inside the cells. Thousands of leaf cells are evaporating water like this and drawing water to replace it from the xylem vessels in the veins. As a result , water is pulled through the xylem vessels and up the stem from the roots. This transpiration pull is strong enough to draw up water 50 metres or more in trees.

Page 72

Most of this water evaporates from the leaves; only a tiny fraction is retained for photosynthesis and to maintain the turgor of the cells. The advantage to the plant of this excessive evaporation is not clear.

A rapid water flow may be needed to obtain sufficient mineral salts, which are in very dilute solution in the soil. Evaporation may also help to cool the leaf when exposed to intense sunlight.

Against the first possibility it has to be pointed out that, in some cases, an increased transpiration rate does not increase the uptake of minerals.

Many biologists regard transpiration as an inevitable consequence of photosynthesis, in order to photosynthesise, a leaf has to take in carbon dioxide from the air. The pathway that lets carbon dioxide in will also let water vapour out whether the plant needs to lose water or not. In all probability, plants have to maintain a careful balance between the optimum intake of carbon dioxide and a damaging loss of water.

Page 73

Humidity if the air is very humid, i.e. contains a great deal of water vapour, it can accept very little more from the plants and so transpiration slows down. In dry air, the diffusion of water vapour from the leaf to the atmosphere will be rapid. ( " I will deal with this point later on because it is very important and has implications for human health ") Air Movements: In still air, the region round a transpiring leaf will become saturated with water vapour so that no more can escape from the leaf. In these conditions, transpiration slows down. In moving air the water vapour will be swept away from the leaf as fast as it diffuses out. This will Speed up the transpiration. Furthermore, when the sun shines on the leaves, they will absorb heat as well as light. This warms them up and increases the rate of evaporation.

Page 73 continued Water movement in the xylem

You may have learned in physics that you cannot draw water up by suction to a height of more than about ten metres. Many trees are taller than this yet they can draw up water effectively. The explanation offered is that, in long vertical columns of water in very thin tubes, the attractive forces between the water molecules are greater than the forces trying to separate them. So in effect the transpiration stream is pulling up thin threads of water which resist the tendency to break.

There are still problems however, it is likely that the water columns in some of the vessels do have air breaks in them and yet the total water flow is not affected. The evidence all points to the non-living xylem vessels as the main route by which water passes from the soil to the leaves.

"This statement suggests that the long thin tubes of the tree ,are used for water transport, which are none-living , therefore must represent the tubes used in my experiments at Brixham."

Page 74

Root Pressure

In Experiment 8 on page 79 it is demonstrated that liquid may be forced up a stem by root pressure from the root system. The usual explanation for this is that the cell sap in the root hairs is more concentrated than the

soil water and so water enters by osmosis (see page 36). The water passes from cell to cell by osmosis and is finally forced into the xylem vessels in the centre of the root and up the stem.

This is rather an elaborate model from very little evidence. For example, a gradient of falling osmotic potentials from the outside to the inside of a root has not been demonstrated. However, there is some supporting evidence for the movement of water as a result of root pressure.

root pressures of 1-2 atmospheres have been recorded, and these would support columns of water 10 or 20 metres high. Some workers claim pressures of up to eight atmospheres (i.e. 80 metres of water)

" A column of water 80 metres high would undoubtedly cause water pressures of eight atmospheres at the roots. However It is very difficult to see how a root could generate 8 atmospheres of pressure."

However, root pressure seems to occur mainly in the young herbaceous (i.e. non-woody) plants or in woody plants early in the growing season and though in many species it must contribute to water movements in the stem. The observed rates of flow are too fast to be explained by root pressure alone.

Transport of salts

The liquid which travels in the xylem is not, in fact pure water. It is a very dilute solution, containing from 0.1to1.0% dissolved solids, mostly amino acids, other organic acids and mineral salts. The organic acids are made in the roots; the mineral salts come from the soil. The faster the flow in the transpiration stream, the more dilute is the xylem sap. Experimental evidence suggests that salts are carried from the soil to the leaves mainly in the xylem vessels.

Transport of food

The xylem sap is always a very dilute solution, but the Phloem sap may contain up to 25 per cent of dissolved solids, The bulk of which consists of sucrose and amino acids.

There is a good deal of evidence to support the view that sucrose amino acids and may other substances are transported in the phloem. The movement of water and salts in the xylem is always upwards, from the soil to the leaf. But in the phloem the sap may be travelling up or down the stem. The carbohydrates made in the leaf during photosynthesis are converted to sucrose and carried out of the leaf to the stem. From here the sucrose may pass upwards to growing buds and fruits or downwards to the roots and storage organs. All parts of a plant which cannot photosynthesise will need a supply of nutrients bought by the phloem. It is possible for substances to be travelling upwards and downwards at the same time in the phloem.

"note the dual flow has been observed in experiments with concentrated solution and water filled tubes."

Page 74 continued

There is no doubt that substances travel in the sieve tubes of the phloem But the mechanism by which they are moved is not fully understood.

There are several theories, which attempt to explain how sucrose and other solutes are transported in the phloem but none of them is entirely satisfactory.

Page 75

Uptake of water and salts

The water tension developed in the vessels by a rapidly transpiring plant is thought to be sufficient to draw water through the root from the soil. The precise pathway taken by the water is the subject of some debate, but the path of least resistance seems to be in or between the cell walls rather than through the cells.

When transpiration is slow, e.g. at night time or just before bud burst in a deciduous tree, then osmosis may play a more important part in the uptake of water.

One problem for this explanation is that it has not been possible to demonstrate that there is an osmotic gradient across the root cortex which could produce this flow of water from cell to cell. Nevertheless, root pressure developed probably by osmosis can be shown to force water up the root system and into the stem

page 76

The methods by which roots take up salts from the soil are not fully understood. Some salts may be carried in with the water drawn up by transpiration and pass mainly along the cell walls in the root cortex and into the xylem.

It may be that diffusion from a relatively high concentration in the soil to a lower concentration in the root cells accounts for uptake of some individual salts. But it has been shown (a) that salts can be taken from the soil even when their concentration is below that in the roots and (b) that anything which interferes with respiration impairs the uptake of salts. This suggests that active transport (p.35) plays an important part in the uptake of salts.

The thing that becomes clear from reading the established explanations for water transport is that if it were a bucket, very little water would be transported due to the large number of holes in it !

Inclined Therapy: Worse before better?
There may be some pain before gains. Not all the time with ms but usually shooting pains down legs and arms moving around rather than a persistant pain in one area, as nerve pathways open up. This is often the pattern, although some fortunately bypass the pain.

Many people reported sudden pain from cavities below the gum line from teeth that had been decayed and should have ben reporting decay back to the brain, but not just in ms, age also numbs the gums and a number of elderly people also reported a trip to the dentist to sort out nerve pains.

This was also the case with spinal cord injury, pain before recover in sci was viewed positively, as it meant that there was communication developing with the brain from below the injury site.

Good News! I'm Finally Getting Good Results.Monday, 14-Jun-1999 13:46:10Message:205.188.195.53 writes:I've been doing the inclined bed since January. I've had M.S. for over 20 years -diagnosed in 1986 as relapsing-remitting M.S. Two years ago, I had a serious attack and ended up in the hospital for 2 weeks paralyzed from the waist down-no feeling and no motion. After a couple of months of steroids and other drugs, I became able to walk first with a walker and then with a cane very short distances.I was still left with lots of fatique, weak legs, balance problems, painful pins and needles in the legs and feet, abdominal muscle spasms, incontinance, and sleepless nights. My diagnosis became secondary progressive M.S.I decided to get off all drugs(much to my neurolist's dismay).I then found Betty Iams on the computer and began her regimen of strict diet, exercise, supplements, meditation, and I've added acupuncture. It feels great to be in control. This is a lifetime regimen for me. I'd been coasting along not getting better, but not getting worse when I read about the inclined bed. I decided to try it-what could I lose? Right away, the painful abdominal muscle spasms started to subside and sleep became somewhat better. Then nothing happened. Then I started getting worse. I decided to give up the inclined bed -this after 3 months. One problem, however-I can't sleep on a flat bed anymore! Andrew wrote for me to hang in there that it was expected that I get worse before I get better. Everyday I waited. Then like Andrew said, I started getting better and better. This past month has been amazing! I even walked up and down a flight of stairs with my cane unaided. Fatigue has gone, the abdominal muscle spasms have gone, t he painful pins and needles are subsiding, leg strength is getting better so that I can walk greater distances, and balance is much better. I still have incontinance and sleep problems, but given time, I know those problems will be gone, too. One very interesting thing happened with my eyes recently. I'm very nearsighted and had my prescription for my contacts checked 3 months ago. Last week, I went back to the eye doctor's complaining that I just couldn't see. He checked my eyes again and much to his amazement, he found that they had improved greatly since my check-up 3 months ago!I wrote Andrew about this happening and he feels that sleeping on an inclined bed can help the optic nerve to regenerate and repair the damage of long term M.S.Let me encourage anyone who is trying the inclined bed to stick with it and don't think it won't work. I'm proof it can. My whole family and I are so grateful to Andrew Fletcher. Liz SteinbrueckLiz Steinbrueck


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The genetic factor in MS
====================================

Those of you who know my family MS history know that my mother had her first MS episode when I was seventeen years old and was diagnosed with relapsing/remitting MS a few years later. She has spent the last 35 years in a wheelchair. Mother is now 80 years old and has resided in a nursing home for the past 12+ years. I was diagnosed at the age of 58 with primary progressive MS, and my youngest brother was diagnosed in his early 40's.

I have a daughter who by her choice has not been part of my life for a number of years. I had not heard from her in 12 years and had no idea where she was or how to contact her until a few weeks ago. She contacted me because she was being evaluated for MS and wanted to know the details about her grandmother's MS. She was shocked to learn that I now have it also.

She has now been diagnosed with relapsing/remitting MS. It was a tremendous blow to me as well as, of course, it was to her. She was very fortunate in finding a very well-informed neurologist. He is the first neurologist I have heard of who recommended the exact same approach as the program I follow and recommend.

In addition, several important things he pointed out to her I would like to share with you.

No. 1 ATTITUDE and SELF-TALK: He told her that her attitude and her self-talk formed the foundation of her wellness program. He stressed that her biggest enemy is the fear factor. He pointed out that many, many people live long, healthy, active lives with MS, and that her best chance of doing that was to not let a fear of what might happen enter into her thoughts or the words she says.

No. 2 MS IS NOT A DISEASE BUT RATHER A WAY OF LIFE: He encouraged her to never think of MS as a disease or illness, but to always look at it as a way of life.

I am making an effort to get this young neurologist to write something for my newsletter. The diet suggestions he gave my daughter are identical to those I recommend, together with stress reduction, avoiding fatigue, avoiding activities in the summer when it is hot, etc.

I frequently hear people with MS down-play the genetic factor because no one else in their family has MS. They totally miss the point. It doesn't matter nearly so much what went before in your family as it does the children of the person with MS. No one in my mother's family prior to her had ever had MS, but now there are four of us.

The approximate numbers are these: In the general population approximately 1 in 1000 in the US get MS. If a parent has it the numbers are approximately 1 in 50. If a sibling has it the numbers are approximately 1 in 25.

Had my daughter been in touch with me in the years since my diagnosis I would have recognized her early signs years ago. Actually she has had it longer than I have. It has taken 10 years for her exacerbations to become severe enough for a diagnosis. My son is much aware of the familial predisposition in our family, and takes the exact same nutritional supplements I do. It seems to me that if such a program helps me stay ahead of MS, it should help to minimize his chances of developing it.

What does all this mean for you. If you are a parent and you have MS, your children of any age are at a higher than average risk to develop it also. You don't tell this to young children of course, but when they are at an age to handle it, they should be made aware of their risk. It is also important that they not live in fear of developing MS, or any other physical challenge which has a genetic factor. We all came into this life with genetic predispositions. Most of the time we do not develop whatever that predisposition might lead to. That is the important message to tell sons, daughters and siblings of the person who has multiple sclerosis.

To date we do not know what the genetic factor is that predisposes one to MS. It is generally called a familial predisposition, much like those of heart disease, some cancers (like breast cancer in women), arthritis and Alzheimer's.

It is my hope that in my and my daughter's lifetime the genetic factor will be discovered so that we may have a chance of defeating it in coming generations. At the present time it is not only proliferating and becoming more prevalent, but more and more men are getting MS. 25 years ago 2 out of every 3 people with MS were women. Today it is just about 50% each men and women.



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MS study by Andrew Fletcher
====================================

If you are not participating in the Andrew Fletcher study, why not? It is free, involves no drugs, diet or nutritional supplements, does not cost anything, and you have absolutely nothing to lose. We are far enough into the study now to be seeing many positive results. If you are not participating, here is how you get started.

You simply raise the head of your bed six inches higher than the foot, and send simple e-mail reports to Andrew from time to time reporting what changes you experience. Some have minor discomforts the first few days, but most do not report any discomfort at all. An immediate positive result is not having to get up several times each night. Most sleep all through the night, or just get up one time.

There is also a message board where you may read the results and comments of others. All of us need to use the message board to report our results from time to time so others can benefit from our experience. You may post anonymously if you prefer.

Old Link: http://www.insidetheweb.com/mbs.cgi/mb405491 Message board closed: Data from Posts from the MB Pilot Study can be found here:board:http://groups.google.co.uk/group/inclined_to_sleep_inclined?hl=en


I had my daughter immediately raise the head of her bed when she learned she has MS last week, and she had an immediate reduction in the severity of the numbness and tingling in her legs and feet. She reported that to her neurologist and he said there is much scientific evidence to indicate that the human body is designed to function vertically and not horizontally. He said he is recommending inclined sleep for all his patients.

I know that hundreds of subscribers to this newsletter are not participating in this study. I must repeat, if you are not sleeping inclined, why not? If you are participating and not sending in regular reports to Andrew, please do so. We can only get the attention of the allopathic medical world by having well-documented data. Please send Andrew your reports at the suggested intervals, even if you just write him two or three sentences. Every little bit helps.

Inclined Therapy (I.T) MS News Article

HERALD EXPRESS, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1999 11
Sweet dreams of cure for MS
Can sufferers heal themselves in their sieepV
AN OUT-of-work boiler-maker from South Devon claims he is on the verge of a breakthrough in the treatment of multiple sclerosis -using six inch blocks of wood.
Andrew Fletcher believes sufferers from the crippling neurological disease can ease their symptoms simply by tilting their beds.
Two woman who were each blind in one eye apparently regained their sight after sleeping at an angle.
And now the 43-year-old Paign-ton man has embarked on a worldwide research project in a bid to prove his theory — and force a cynical medical establishment to sit up and take notice.
Mr Fletcher, who has no scientific or medical qualifications, is trying to recruit 300 MS sufferers via the internet to test his ideas.
by JON ROSAMOND
He wants volunteers to sleep with their heads and shoulders raised by six inches and to record their observations in a diary.
The cause of MS, which affects 85,000 people in the UK alone, has baffled scientists for years.
Mainstream studies are concentrating on immunology and virology, cell biology, epidemiology and genetics.
One high-tech theory is that a virus or bacterial infection prompts the body's immune system to attack itself.
But Mr Fletcher, of Berry Drive, insists that fluids are driven through the body by gravity — and that chemical impulses cannot travel through the nervous system so effectively when the spinal cord is lying horizontally.
He insists that some of the 100 participants who have signed up for his trial so far are already reporting improvements in their symptoms.
"People have stopped sweating so much at night, they've stopped getting up to go to the loo, their balance is better in the morning and they don't feel so stiff," he said.
"I've got an oil tanker skipper from Bolivia taking part, a cardiologist from South Africa and even a neurologist from Canada.
"He is sceptical but he's going to give it a try. It all suggests that I'm on the right track."
Betty lams, an MS sufferer and author from California, has also reported positive results after sleeping with her head raised.
"I'm very excited about this study. Together we will make a difference," she said.
Although the powers that be in Britain have branded Mr Fletcher's earlier research efforts "unscientific," they seem unwilling to repeat

ANDREW Fletcher, who is looking for volunteers to put his theory to the test.
the work on a larger scale.
"Most medical studies are funded by charities and huge drug companies — and there are no profits in my idea because it's so simple," he said.
"The Multiple Sclerosis Society are not being helpful. There seems to be a reluctance to accept new ideas.
"Adrian Sanders (Torbay's MP) tried to get the Prime Minister and Department of Health to listen, without success.
"I intend to use my data to beat the MS Society with a big stick and force them to take action — even if it bankrupts me."
Determined
Adrian Ellis, the charity's spokesman, told the Herald Express: "He's a determined man — you can't knock him for that.
"But neurologists can't see how sleeping at a slightly different angle would affect MS, which is a complex disorder.
"Let's see the proof. Then we'll prick up our ears and pay attention."
Mr Ellis conceded that alternative therapies had a "hard time" from the medical establishment because their claims are harder to prove.
"The list of these therapies is as long as your arm. If people find benefit from one of them, we would not try to stop them using it.
"But we would urge people to approach it with caution and get advice from a doctor."
What is multiple sclerosis?
MULTIPLE sclerosis is a> disease of the brain and spinal cord and occurs when the fatty sheath that protects the nerve fibres becomes scarred.
When the myelin sheath is working properly, electrical impulses to the muscles and sensory organs are passed quickly and efficiently.
If it is damaged the messages become slower, distorted or non-existent.
The symptoms depend on which nerves are affected but include blurred vision, pain behind the eyes, ringing in the ears, tingling or numbness in the arms or legs.
Some people experience giddiness, loss of balance, difficulty with walking, speech problems and incontinence.
Countries with temperate climates, such as the UK, have a higher incidence of MS and the condition is more common in northern latitudes such as Scotland.

Miracle Of Medicine
Inclined Therapy in the Sunday Independent


DELIGHTED
John Cann is standing on his own two feet again after eight years of paralysis in his legs - and he is convinced it's
all down to a simple bed treatment.
John had no feeling in his legs for eight years after an operation went wrong, but following two years of treatment using a raised bed method pioneered in the West Country, he has got the feelings back in his legs -and now is determined to walk.
The 69-year-old is amazed at the effect the simple treatment has had over the past two years and has urged other people to try it for themselves.
'I raised the bed and that night I had no pain at all,' he said. 'I had been going until about three in the morning and then had to have an injection to get back to sleep.
'Now I make a point of standing up with my standing frame every day while I watch the news in the evenings to build up my strength.
'I never give up and now I have set myself the next aim to go for. I am going to walk unaided. I may need crutches and then sticks, but I am going to walk again.'
Former engineer Andrew Fletcher, who invented the Naturesway Sleep System six years ago, said that he was astonished when he visited John at his home in Gunnislake to see him standing.
He says that many people have benefitted from the simple treatment of raising the head of their beds a few inches, but in the case of John it had been very dramatic.
'It was just incredible,' said Andrew. 'I was nearly in tears. Here was a man who was told there was nothing that could be done for him; had felt nothing for eight years and then in the last two years has got feeling back in his legs.'
John, a former commercial diver who served in the Army, was keen on rugby and canoeing until the operation left him paralysed.
He was told that however much movement he had after two years, there would be no further improvement -that was until he tried the bed-raising technique.
But as the months went on, he noticed pains travelling through his legs and realised that it was the nerves regen-
erating.
'After all this pain, I noticed I was getting more and more feeling back and found I could flex muscles I had not been able to flex before,' said John.
'The only things that do not hurt are my ankles, and my right knee is not very strong. I can stand, but only using my standing frame at the moment.'
Andrew has now arranged for John to use a parachute harness that will fully support his legs, and a rail is being fitted to a wall at his home so that he can move around on his feet more often. Andrew said that many people were sceptical about the effects of the raised bed method and it had not worked for everyone.
But he added: 'If it can do that for John, what can't it do for the rest of us? I say go out in the garden, grab a couple of house bricks and give it a go.'


Just by raising their beds with a few blocks of wood, or some house bricks, scores of spinal injury sufferers say that they have noticed a dramatic improvement in their conditions. But how can such a simple method seem to succeed where conventional medicine has failed? Chief reporter ANTHONY ABBOTT looks at the apparent phenomenon of the Nataresway Sleep System


ON THE MEND: John Cann is standing again Pictures: sieve Porter

Fighting to be taken seriously

Sunday Independent April 9,2000

PASSIONATE:
ANDREW Fletcher is a passionate believer in the benefits of his simple bed treatment -but he says that he has struggled to make the medical world take serious notice.
Since he first carried out experiments back in 1994, it has been an-uphill battle to be taken seriously despite his website carrying scores of testimonies from sufferers who say that it has given them a new lease of life. He has
manufactured a purpose-built bed, yet he has been unable to market it properly because both the Department of Trade and Industry and his bank have refused to give him financial backing.
Now he hopes to set up a controlled study of ten MS sufferers at Bristol Royal Infirmary in a bid to give doctors more concrete proof of the apparent success of his bed treatment.
He said: 'This is such a simple ,it is just amazing it hasn't been discovered before and it it makes you wonder how much longer the medical world can ignore it.'

Andrew said he was aware some neuro-sur-geons were recommending the raised sleeping methods for MS sufferers, but he is also certain that it can bring benefits to people who are perfectly fit.
But Dr Rosie Jones of the MS Research Unit at Bristol General Hospital, who has promised to look into Andrew's theories, sounded a note of caution. She said: 'We are not dismissing Andrew's thesis out of hand.
'If there is genuine change, and a genuine improvement we will say so.
'We would not want people to miss out on something that may help them, but we must see that
genuine change and we must see it in the right context.'

Sunday Independent
Tilting Beds To Save Lives

EXCLUSIVE by MATT BAMSEY

A FORMER West Country engineer claims that his gravity invention will save thou­sands of lives and even alter our perception of evolution.
Andrew Fletcher, of Paignton, has been bat­tling for nine years to have his theory of grav­ity powered circulation recognised by the med­ical profession.
His studies, which have cost around £13,000, protest that rais­ing a person’s bed a few inches with blocks of wood or ordinary house bricks can guard against life-threatening ill­nesses.
The findings fly in the face of a widely-held consensus in the med­ical world which says patients’ legs should be raised in order to assist circulation and varicose veins.
But Mr Fletcher has been handed a major boost after Cambridge University included his findings on their science and plants for schools (SAPS) website which colleges use as part of their national curricu­lum.
Now the man, who has waged a relentless cam­paign to have his voice heard, says that he is on the brink of blowing the general understanding of science and medicine out of the water. ‘I am overjoyed and extremely grateful that my find­ings have been used on this site and it is an­other huge leap towards gaining full medical recognition for my dis­covery,’ he said. Theory ‘I am now hoping that schools will help to test my theory and its sim­ple tubular
experiments with water flowing up instead of down. ‘I can see light at the end of the tunnel.
MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGH: Andrew Fletcher, of Paignton, says that his novel bed design could save the NHS ‘a fortune’ as well as giving people a far better quality of life
This discovery will undoubtedly save countless thou­sands of lives and will even change our under­standing of the evolu­tionary process as it will show that Darwin’s nat­ural selection is not the primary driving force but, instead, gravity dic­tates and drives evolu­tion.’
Director of SAPS Paul Beaumont said: ‘He has some novel ways on how plants use gravity and we have alerted people to this resource.’
Mr Fletcher’s latest success is with a man from Brixham suffering from diabetes. Three years ago, the man was preparing to undergo laser eye surgery in an attempt to curb a long­standing sight problem. But having tilted the bed, the man’s sight im­proved to such an extent that he decided to scrap plans of going under the surgeon’s knife. ‘The results have been phenomenal,’ said Mr Fletcher. ‘I have helped thousands of people suf­fering from many condi­tions and when the med­ical profession recognises the full implications of this theory, it will literally save the NHS a fortune.’
His therapy system was developed after he discovered how gravity-driven circulation oc­curs within trees and subsequently applied the theory to the human body.
According to Mr Fletcher, even the an­cient Egyptians had in­clined beds, mirroring his now tried and tested five-degree angle.
matt.bamsey® sundayindependent.co.uk

We are seeking more people with varicose veins who are willing to put IBT to the test and feel that this is something that your readers and colleagues will definitely find fascinating and some who have varicose veins and oedema and wish to avoid surgery may want to Help in this important trial and join our Free study which has already produced positive results in only 4 weeks as predicted!

News Release:

An Important Scientific Study into the cause of Varicose Veins and Oedema and Inclined Bed Therapy (I.B.T.) is now underway, which makes use of the way the body uses gravity to move solutes through the vessels to improve circulation and alter the pressure inside the veins to significantly reduce swelling and oedema. Our study is free for anyone to participate in. There are no products to be sold or marketed.

What is Inclined Bed Therapy?

Gravity was identified as the driving force behind circulation in trees in 1994 and was applied immediately to how circulation in the body benefits from the same interaction with salts and sugars in the circulation. A video showing the use of IBT with spinal cord injury can be viewed here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3D7tBQfCxQ

IBT is simply tilting the bed so that the head end is 15 cm’s or 6 inches higher than the foot end providing a level but tilted bed, hence the name Inclined Bed Therapy.0 People with varicose veins, oedema (fluid retention) are needed to participate in an online Diary Study, in order to prove that simply altering our sleeping position can have a positive affect on these problems.

If you or someone you know has Varicose Veins, the standard advise is to raise your legs and tilt your bed the other way to IBT, Or to undergo risky and expensive surgery that is prone to fail because it does not address why the pressure inside the vein causes it to bulge.

Which according to current physiology books makes sense. But what if that logic is incorrect? All the evidence from our study is showing that gravity is not a force we are struggling to overcome but a force that drives the fluids within the body.

Are you prepared to take the 4 week challenge and provide us with your observations? Or do you know someone who has varicose veins and would like to watch them slowly but surely shrink and improve every night they go to bed instead of becoming more unsightly and uncomfortable?

Our study is located on the Naked Scientists forum, who have a regular slot on BBC Radio. http://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=9843.msg121037#msg121037

My wife’s calf showing clearly her varicose vein shadow, which went flat after 4 weeks of Inclined Bed Therapy back in 1994 and has not returned to its former state since. http://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=9843.msg121037#msg121037

Alun has already confirmed my statement on the study thread that Varicose veins will shrink after 4 weeks of IBT and has supplied us with photographic before and after 4 weeks of IBT along with a diary account of his observations. And he is not alone. http://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=9843.75

More reading: http://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=18961.0

We are hoping to find at least 50 more pioneering volunteers who wish to avoid surgery and it’s inherent risks and failures, who are willing to provide us with photographic and a written account of their own experiences sleeping inclined.

So far our study is running towards a predicted outcome that flies in the face of current physiology literature.

Photographic Evidence: Higher Resolution

1^st Photograph: Male 34 years. Varicose vein on calf muscle following 10 weeks of IBT.

2^nd Photograph: Same Male 34 years showing Varicose Vein on Calf Muscle 6 months of IBT

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb31/Andrew_K_Fletcher/Varicose%20veins/Calf10-weeksIBT.jpg

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb31/Andrew_K_Fletcher/Varicose%20veins/jan-2008-2-text.jpg

Look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely Andrew K Fletcher