Sir: Lionel Milgrom's account of Jacques
Benveniste's research ("The memory of molecules",
19 March) failed to make it clear that the
experiment discussed, where a biological signal is
recorded, transmitted over the Internet, and
applied to water elsewhere to regenerate the
biological effects of the source, is not just an
idea but rather an experiment that has already
been carried out, with impressive results (see
Benveniste's web pages at www.digibio.com).
We invited him to describe his work at our weekly
colloquium to learn more about the research, which
seems both scientifically interesting and
potentially of considerable practical importance.
While the results claimed may seem surprising, the
Cavendish Laboratory has been host to many
surprising discoveries during the 125 years of its
existence, and the controversial nature of the
claims was not seen as good cause to follow the
herd and veto his making a presentation.
In regard to the Nature condemnation of 1988, my
conclusion at that time was that its authors had
made an insufficient case for its headline claim
"High-dilution experiments a delusion", and
nothing since has led me to see the frequent
denunciations of the work as anything other than
the hysteria that frequently accompanies claims
that challenge the orthodox point of view.
The manifestations of scientific prejudice, well
documented by Michel Schiff in the book The Memory
of Water, can be extraordinary; another reason why
we felt it important to invite Dr Benveniste to
talk at our colloquium and be able to present his
results to scientists in an uncensored form. I am
grateful to The Independent for following on with
its article.
Professor Brian Josephson, Cavendish Laboratory,
Department of Physics, University of Cambridge
published in The Independent, March 22nd., 1999.