Absence of biomagnetic effects in Nitella

The ability of N. flexilis and N. translucens to survive exposure to magnetic fields up to 1.6 T for extended periods of time was tested. Internodal cells subjected to such fields for as long as 72 h showed no evidence of damage. The active response of internodal cells was studied using an especially constructed sample chamber which allowed the use of intracellular microelectrodes. Action potentials in longitudinal and transverse fields as large as 2.0 T appeared identical to those in zero field. The results are in sharp contrast to observations reported by Arajs et al. (1975, Proceedings of the International Conference on Magnetism and Magnetic Materials).