Author : Dr. P. D.GUPTA
Former Director Grade Scientist, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India
www.daylife.page
“Like light and shadow, love and hate were inseparable. One could not exist without the other”
Let’s first understand light. Light is a form of energy ( electromagnetic radiation) to which our body organs react. The wave length of light ranges from 400 to 700 nanometers. . The Sun is the biggest source of light on this earth.
Infect, Sir C V Raman (1888-1970), Indian Physicist awarded Nobel Prize for his discovery of light spectrum. He showed for the first time that different wave lengths impart different colours.
Light travels at a speed of 299,972 kilometers per second in the form of wave The alternation of the day and night (circadian cycle) is due to earth’s movements around the Sun. In other words Sun regulates all of us. Our modern ways of living don’t quite match up with our natural clocks and hence we have so much of sickness today.. In fact, by disturbing clock rhythms we are creating chaos and confusion in the body.
Light Helps in formation of cancer
Biological activities are regulated by the daily light– dark cycle (circadian rhythm) results in two different ways. Instead of sleeping in the dark during night, if we are exposed to light in the night, then we will have negative impact due to disruption of circadian rhythms. Light pollution is excess or obtrusive light created by humans and a side effect of industrial civilization. This was well documented in night shift workers. The increased cancer risk has been reported in nurses, radio-telephone operators, flight attendants, and women employed in the enterprises, in which 60% of employees work at night. Several studies revealed a clear association between night shift work and increased incidence of BC in Scandinavian countries, focusing our attention towards “Light at Night” (LAN) as a potential “carcinogen” linking with reduced secretion of light sensitive melatonin (anti- cancerous) and progression of BC. Melatonin, "hormone of the darkness," has also been attributed for its potential as anti-carcinogenic and anti-oxidative properties. imbalance of natural melatonin- oestrogen by artificial light at night could be linked with the increase in hormone regulated BC among women the exposure of electric light.
Another great scientist Albert Einstein had shown that when light strikes on certain substances, the substances gave out electrons and blue light does the maximum. Blue light is supposedly beneficial during daylight hours because they boost attention, reaction times, and mood. However, these lights are great for the daytime because they keep us awake and bad at night because they often impede sleep and also damage DNA present in our cell. Now blue light emitters like mobile telephones, TVs, laptops, etc at night are the culprits for rising of breast and other hormonal regulated cancers worldwide.
Not only night time exposer to light even during day time also the sun's UV-A rays are primarily responsible for the development of cancer, but high-energy visible (HEVIS) light can also cause the oxidative stress that damages cellular DNA. That is why we were advised by our fore fathers to do “SANDHYA” only during morning and evenings. At this time both UV-A and HEVIS are minimum in the sun rays.
Fighting cancer with Light
Photodynamic therapy uses a drug activated by light to kill cancer and other abnormal cells. In this treatment, a photosensitizer is combined with an immune protein that delivers the photosynthesizer to cancer cells. When light is applied, the photosynthesizer kills the cancer cells. This process also causes an immune response inside the tumor that can cause more cancer cells to die. When near-infrared light is applied, the cells swell and then burst, causing the cancer cell to die. Photoimmunotherapy is in clinical trials in patients with inoperable tumors. This study demonstrated a high response rate of 86.2% curing cancers,( including 55.2% complete remission CR and 31.0% partial remission).
Cancer irradiation with hadron beams (Hadrontherapy is a form of radiotherapy to treat and cure tumours that are often inoperable or resistant to traditional radiotherapy treatments) a method to which CERN contributed by propelling carbon ion therapy of radioresistant tumours into the medical world some thirty years ago, has treated more than 300 000 patients to date. (The author has his own study and views)
