Neuroblastoma cells given Tong Ren healing were stained and mounted using the Vybrant Apoptosis Kit # 2 (Molecular Probes, Invitrogen). This kit uses annexin V 488 to stain apoptotic and dead cell membranes green. Propidium iodide stains the DNA of non-viable cells red. This kit distinguishes dead cells from living cells from apoptotic cells. Cancer cells given Tong Ren were all found to be either dead or dying.

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Hello! I'm happy to join you on Zaadz!

As a senior in high school I'm majoring in biotechnology. Last year I had a brainstorm about the artificial sweetener aspartame, which has been controversial for many years since its approval during the Reagan administration. (Did you know that the FDA approved aspartame courtesy of Donald Rumsfeld? Remember him?) Anyway, it occurred to me that nobody had ever looked at whether the toxicity of aspartame could be greater in the presence of caffeine. I ran some experiments and discovered that caffeine seems to potentiate the neurotoxicity of aspartame in cultured crayfish neurons. (Don't feed your crayfish Diet Coke.) My work, however, is still preliminary and I have yet to prove that diet sodas are definitely harmful to humans. I believe that this is the case, because of the overwhelming evidence against aspartame.

I won a prize in the state science fair for my aspartame research and this landed me an internship at a neuropharmacology laboratory. There I assisted researchers in studying the neuroprotective effects of an herbal product on cerebral ischemia (a laboratory model of strokes). As a result I know a lot more about neuropharmacology and neurochemistry than the average person of my age. But I guess I'm not average. :D

I'm also passionate about philosophy, metaphysics and spirituality. I practice mindfulness meditation, Buddhist and Hindu mantra chanting, and Chinese energy healing. I took Reiki Level I when I was 10 years old and I've just been certified in Tong Ren (about which more later). I also practice Tui Na (Chinese acupressure) and I'm really good at it! I also developed my own style of energy healing, which I call Vajraprana. My Zaadz icon is the symbol I created to represent Vajraprana healing. It consists of a Tibetan vajra overlaid on the chemical diagram for pinoline, a substance naturally produced by the pineal gland. What I do is tune in on people, determine what their nutritional or biochemical deficiencies are, and then correct their metabolism. It works even over the telephone.

By now you're probably wondering what a Paraneuropsychopharmacologist is. I'd be too, if I hadn't invented the word! Paraneuropsychopharmacology is the study of paranormal effects or metaphysical practices (such as remote healing) on neurochemical or physiological functions. A Paraneuropsychopharmacologist would use modern biochemical methods to study the interactions of living tissue with spiritual energies, such as Tong Ren or Vajraprana, for example.

Tong Ren is a remarkable healing style that can restore bioelectrical or chi deficiencies and increase blood flow in order to heal disease. Tong Ren works by drawing on the collective unconscious. To focus Tong Ren on a person, all you have to do is hit a rubber acupuncture doll on selected points with a hammer.

Sounds strange? Yes.

Does it work? Absolutely. (One of Tong Ren's many mottos is, "We are crazy, but not stupid!")

I give full credit for Tong Ren to my teacher, Master Tom Tam. For more information about Tong Ren and a video of a Fox News report on it, see http://www.tongrenhealer.blogspot.com/ Tong Ren is now being studied at the Dana Farber Cancer Center in Boston.

At a Tong Ren class (or “Guinea Pig Class,” as it is known) people gather to receive healing for all their complaints. One might expect the class to be rather depressing. In actuality it can be a very joyous experience as jokes are told, people discuss their progress in overcoming disease, and miraculous stories are shared. I was in one class where a woman at an early stage of breast cancer received Tong Ren treatment. Ten minutes later, she jumped up in excitement and screamed that her lump had disappeared. Tong Ren therapy even works on babies, animals and autistic children, proving that the placebo effect is not a factor in the healing effects. I have also successfully used it for my own ADD.

This is where the Paraneuropsychopharmacology comes in. Just this last week, I began applying Tong Ren therapy to cultured neuroblastoma cells at my lab. Neuroblastomas are a type of neural cancer.

I studied the cell's morphology (size and shape). The typical cancer cell is round; I hypothesized that the Tong Ren therapy would cause the cell to differentiate so that it would revert to the neuronal phenotype, characterized by dendritic and axonal processes. The results were spectacular. In only four days, the cancer cells treated with Tong Ren reverted to the neuronal type and then underwent programmed cell death. The control cells did no such thing.

A little more background: Apoptosis is a natural process that allows damaged cells to commit suicide for the greater good of the organism. Cancer cells lack the ability to undergo apoptosis. Once the cancer cells that were treated with Tong Ren had reverted to the neuronal morphology, they killed themselves. This was especially evident with a color shift from red to purple in the cell medium; a chemical known as phenol red changes color depending on the pH of the medium. Because the cells had died, the pH of the media had become more basic, meaning that the cells had ceased to produce acidic compounds—an indicator of cell death.

So…excellent! As far as I know, mine was the first in vitro demonstration of Tong Ren. Now I just need to repeat the experiment to make sure that the results are consistent.

Updates will follow.

In the meantime, stay off of diet soda!

—Miles