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In parapsychology, there is a classic healing experiment in which seeds are stressed and then randomly assigned to either a healing or a control group. Several of these studies have found that there is greater germination rate and growth in the healed group. A field trial, using this basic design, was run in 2000 on an organic farm. In this experiment, the healthy organic seeds were not stressed beforehand, and the healer was asked to enhance the seeds for enhanced germination, greater growth, and better health. Only the 3rd aspect gave significant results, with the plants grown front the enhanced seeds having less fungal disease, F(3, 24) = 3.13, p = .044. This replication study has 2 primary hypotheses: The 'enhanced' seeds will have greater growth, and they will have better health, than the controls. There were 7 trials beginning in April, and the final harvest was in December. The authors used a randomized double-blind design with 4 treatment conditions: 1 jar of seeds (HX) was 'enhanced' by the healer while a control person mimicked his actions with a 2nd jar (NH), and 2jars (C1, C2) remained untreated on the table. Alter an assistant randomly relabelled the jars (A, B, C, and D), the seeds were germinated in trays in a polytunnel, planted out after 3 weeks, and (about 10 weeks later) harvested in 2 sections, half of each group (row) 1 week, and the other half a week later. Each lettuce was weighed upon harvesting and, after trimming, was rated for slug and fungal damage and sent off to market. Only 5 trials (plantings) were conducted, owing to 2 trials that were not planted out in time. The enhanced (HX) seeds produced a heavier crop with less damage, but the planned (rank) analysis is insufficiently powered with the reduced number of trials, and a more appropriate analysis was substituted. Adapting front previous studies of 'intentionality' effects on biological systems, z-tests and effect sizes were computed for the HX group for each harvest, and Stouffer's Z method to combine them across the 5 plantings (trials). The analysis showed that the HX seeds produced lettuces with gross and net weights significantly larger than chance expectation, with average effect sizes in the .10 to .20 range. The 2nd hypothesis was also confirmed by significantly reduced slug and fungal damage, with slightly smaller average effect sizes than the growth measures. Moreover, the HX seeds yielded about 10% more crop (by weight) during the season than any of the other 3 treatment conditions, suggesting a practical value for the commercial farmer. This is good news for organic farming, where the lack of fungicide and artificial fertiliser can result in a lower yield., Acknowledgements with deep gratitude, go to the following: Radford Mill Farm for once again assisting this work so wholeheartedly; Paul Young, without whose financial assistance this study could not have [...]

Abstract Background Practitioners of the alternative medical practice 'external Qigong' generally claim the ability to emit or direct "healing energy" to treat patients. We investigated the ability of experienced Qigong practitioners to enhance the healthy growth of cultured human cells in a series of studies, each following a rigorously designed protocol with randomization, blinding and controls for variability. Methods Qigong practitioners directed healing intentionality toward normal brain cell cultures in a basic science laboratory. Qigong treatments were delivered for 20 minutes from a minimum distance of 10 centimeters. Cell proliferation was measured by a standard colony-forming efficiency (CFE) assay and a CFE ratio (CFE for treated samples/CFE for sham samples) was the dependent measure for each experiment. Results During a pilot study (8 experiments), a trend of increased cell proliferation in Qigong-treated samples (CFE Qigong/sham ratios > 1.0) was observed (P = 0.162). In a formal study (28 experiments), a similar trend was observed, with Qigong-treated samples showing on average more colony formation than sham samples (P = 0.036). In a replication study (60 experiments), no significant difference between Qigong-treated samples and sham samples was observed (P = 0.465). Conclusion We observed an apparent increase in the proliferation of cultured cells following external Qigong treatment by practitioners under strictly controlled conditions, but we did not observe this effect in a replication study. These results suggest the need for more controlled and thorough investigation of external Qigong before scientific validation is claimed.

Background: Practitioners of the alternative medical practice 'external Qigong' generally claim the ability to emit or direct "healing energy" to treat patients. We investigated the ability of experienced Qigong practitioners to enhance the healthy growth of cultured human cells in a series of studies, each following a rigorously designed protocol with randomization, blinding and controls for variability., Methods: Qigong practitioners directed healing intentionality toward normal brain cell cultures in a basic science laboratory. Qigong treatments were delivered for 20 minutes from a minimum distance of 10 centimeters. Cell proliferation was measured by a standard colony-forming efficiency (CFE) assay and a CFE ratio (CFE for treated samples/CFE for sham samples) was the dependent measure for each experiment., Results: During a pilot study (8 experiments), a trend of increased cell proliferation in Qigong-treated samples (CFE Qigong/sham ratios > 1.0) was observed (P = 0.162). In a formal study (28 experiments), a similar trend was observed, with Qigong-treated samples showing on average more colony formation than sham samples (P = 0.036). In a replication study (60 experiments), no significant difference between Qigong-treated samples and sham samples was observed (P = 0.465)., Conclusion: We observed an apparent increase in the proliferation of cultured cells following external Qigong treatment by practitioners under strictly controlled conditions, but we did not observe this effect in a replication study. These results suggest the need for more controlled and thorough investigation of external Qigong before scientific validation is claimed.