Bioimpact of hypomagnetic fields

Anotace: Hypomagnetic fields (HMF), or nearly zero magnetic fields, are fields with a value of magnetic flux density lower than the Earth's geomagnetic field. The effects of these so-called weak magnetic fields can manifest in living organisms by influencing biological functions such as the circadian system, calcium balance in cells, DNA methylation, concentration of reactive oxygen species, as well as changes in metabolic and developmental processes. This article describes how HMF affects selected cellular structures through specific exposure parameters, whose selective impact has been verified on the proliferative activity of the yeast strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In 25 experiments, the inhibitory effect of a time-varying magnetic field at a level of 0.365 µT was confirmed, which corresponds to the magnitude of magnetic flux density in the vicinity of 100 kV power lines. Global organizations also point out the possible correlation between HMF generated by 50 Hz power lines and various diseases, particularly childhood leukemia.