BIOPHOTON

抄録

A remarkable advancement has recently achieved in the field of photonics and optical electronics to develop high sensitivity technology for quantitative measurement and analysis of extremely weak optical signals such as not detectable by the human eye. Over the past decades or so, we have been engaged in research and development of super-high sensitivity technology of detecting and processing ultraweak photonic information characterized by extremely low level light containing merely a small number of photons.
In this invited paper, recent progress and trends in biophoton research, i. e., novel applications of this technology of photonic measurements are reviewed and summarized together with their new findings and results. Biophoton is a new concept representing ultraweak photon emission phenomenon closely related to life processes and biological activities, observable quite generally in nature. Hence this phenomenon is considered as a novel source of biological and vital information originating from a variety of microscopic and macroscopic living systems.