Matrix Matters

How the ocean can help us heal complex chronic disease

Kristen Honey, Jody Wright, "Vishwan" Puduru Reddy, Kerstin Damerau, Carol Strohecker (& newbies welcome too! :)

The human body is its own ecosystem -- much like the ocean -- with resilience, hysteresis, synergistic properties, and multi-system dynamics that depend on matrix conditions. Can we use our understanding of the ocean and ecosystems to help us heal? Can we model different scales -- an ocean, a human body, and a microbial community -- to explore ecosystem/human/microbial health in a holistic context that depends on shared key elements like flow & trace minerals as building blocks for function? As one example to think about, chronic illnesses like HIV/AIDS or Lyme disease disrupt the immune system and human body functions (e.g., methylation pathways, detox pathways), preventing optimal function that weakens the human body and makes it vulnerable to other infections. It’s a downward spiral of negative feedbacks, analogous to a backed-up, atrophying ocean or estuary that causes fish kills, destroys coral reefs, etc... analogous to microbial communities that shift when environmental/matrix condition change. I suspect our knowledge of the ocean & large ecosystems, which we can see and visualize, can inform new thinking about system dynamics for health & recovery at the scale of a human body and at the scale of individual microbes & microbial communities...

How the ocean can help us heal complex chronic disease -- Matrix Matters!

We currently have three branches to our SFI group project, in the form of different deliverables:

(1) Membrane formation with nanominerals as protein mimics - SFI group modeling project NetLogo Membrane Formation model amidst different extracellular or matrix conditions.

Simple attractive and repulsive forces between different kinds of molecules can result in higher level structure when it comes to membrane formation. Such rules form cellular membranes as lipid bilayers, which control the intracellular fluid and context for all cellular functions – including gene expression, a la Bruce Lipton (Biology of Belief 2005, 2008). Random shocks, disease, or lack of nutrients (e.g., bioavailable minerals as cellular building blocks) can disrupt the integrity of membranes, translating into greater permeability that can change gene expression and reduc cellular function. Nano-silver & nano-gold, acting as protein mimics, may counterbalance that and allow cell homeostasis for the return of healthy gene expression & cell function. This project & model explores how the lipid-bilayer surround each cell can be impeded & disrupted, as well as self-assembled and self-repaired with appropriate building blocks. The state of the lipid bilayer determines intercellular context/environment/ecosystem, which ultimately determines cell processes & DNA expression. This project emphasizes the importance of the environmental context -- the matrix conditions -- and how small changes in this context can greatly impact function & health.

(2) "How the Ocean Heals Lyme Disease" presentation Invited talk at Academy of Comprehensive Integrative Medicine conference, June 22, in Dallas TX (Kristen) -- Practice talk at SFI CSSS St. John's classroom, 4:00 PM Sunday, June 16th. Everyone welcome & thanks in advance for your feedback!

Dr. Honey’s story begins with her personal journey, after 10+ years of misdiagnosed Lyme disease. Refusing to believe that late-stage Lyme was incurable, Dr. Honey collaborated with other researchers and medical doctors to pioneer a novel treatment protocol using experimental nano-mineral treatments (nano-silver and nano-gold) with trace minerals for therapeutic support (oligotherapy). Peer-reviewed science exists to mechanistically understand how nano-minerals facilitate antibiotic delivery across the blood-brain barrier, combat intracellular infection, and dissolve biofilms. Dr. Honey’s work is inspired by the ideas of others, including René Quinton (also named “French Darwin,” 1866–1925), who first recognized the nutritive elements and healing properties of seawater. These therapeutic tools offer a common-sense approach to healing. They are affordable and readily available to practitioners today, yet overlooked by our medical community. The human body is its own ecosystem—much like the ocean—with resilience, hysteresis, synergistic properties, and multi-system dynamics that depend on matrix conditions. We can use our understanding of the ocean and marine ecosystems to help us heal.

Draft PPT of "How the Ocean Heals Lyme Disease" presentation

(3) Oligotherapy, nano-silver, nano-gold manuscript for a peer-reviewed journal (Kristen et al.). - Begin with big-picture benefits & value of oligotherapy and discuss how nano-tecnology is creating new frontiers in the area of medicinal uses for natural elements, like metals & here we focus on nano-silver & nano-gold. - Silver & nano-silver review. - Gold & nano-gold review.