Lancaster farming. (Lancaster, Pa., etc.) 1955-current, January 17, 1976, Image 16
16— Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Jan. 17, 1976 Electric fields used for chick growth UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - A tendency of strong electric fields to accelerate the growth of male chicks for a few weeks after birth was reported by a Penn State professor today to the first International Symposium on Envlromcntal Concerns in Rlghts-of-Way Management, held at Mississippi State University. Dr. H. B. Graves, associate professor of poultry science, reported his findings on chick growth during a presentation in which he was Joined by Dr. Guy McKee, also of Penn State and Westlnghouse electrical engineer John Bankoske. The three were members of a session which included H. A. Kornberg, of the Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto, Calif., and Louise B. Young, of Winnetka, 111., author of “Power over people.” “Our findings are the result of less than a year’s work.” says Graves, “and P. L. ROHRER & BRO., INC. must be regarded as simply the opening steps in what is projected as an intensive investigation into other effects, if any, of exposure to electric fields and of the neuroendocrine of other mechanisms by which those effects may occur.” The Penn State resear chers are using fields from five to ten times stronger than those found near high voltage lines currently in operation i. the U.S. Aside from the accelerated growth and a tendency of exposed chicks to be less active than controls, Graves has found no other evidence of either benign or destructive effects on the animals. Dr. McKee reported similarly negative findings in preliminary experiments on mice. Dr. McKee told the symposium of slight amounts of tip damage he observed in certain plants (alfalfa, bluegrass and com) exposed to strong fields. Strong “Tip damage," he cautioned, “is not un common in nature, in plants that cannot muster sufficient moisture to nourish their extremities." Electrically "irradiated” plants, McKee said, do exhibit a corona effect; their tips light up like bulbs on a Christmas tree when photographed in total darkness. McKee speculates that excessive heat generated by the coronal discharge kills certain cells near the tip of the plant. “We are now preparing to test this hypothesis,” he said, "by looking for the presence or absence, after exposure to high electric fields, of ATP, the ’powerhouse’ of the cell.” Graves found that chicks exposed to 40 and 80 KV (per meter) for four days (24 hours a day) exhibited a ten per cent increase in gross weight; the increase was seen in males only, not in females. “Wc are speculating,” he said, "that the force field either operates by stimulating the male neuroendocrine system and that the enhanced growth response is a result of that stimulation or that reduced activity of the exposed chicks shunts energy into growth rather than into body maintenance.” “But in those animals the effect was permanent. With the present animals, ex posure to a strong electric field appeared to accelerate growth for about five weeks only. After that, the control animals began to catch up with the experimental animals. We suspect that a hormonal mechanism is at work, but at this point we cannot demonstrate that exposure to force fields is either healthy or unhealthy for small animals.” Graves intends to look at brain wave activity, hat ching, feeding and reproductive behavior as the experiments progress. Graves and McKee are working under a grant from the Electric Power Research Institute. hogs that look healthy can lose more money than one like this: The respiratory complex is a major cause of "hidden' disease losses Hogs may appear healthy, but many can be fighting off disease and losing efficiency Pneumonia is a key factor in the respiratory disease complex But it s often brought on by atrophic rhinitis Atrophic rhinitis is an infection in the hog’s snout By damaging the air passageway which normally filters out dust and bacteria atrophic rhinitis opens the door for pneumonia Tylan Plus Sulfa is the only feed additive cleared for both atrophic rhinitis and pneumonia It has proved its ability to treat pneumonia, and to maintain weight gains and feed efficiency in the presence of atrophic rhinitis That's why we recommend it For additional information on Tylan Plus Sulfa r ' & r i Contact your Feed Supplier, Serviced by New Holland Supply Co.