From The Cancer Chronicles #24-#25
© Dec. 1994 by Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D.
Pleomorphism is defined as the "existence of irregular and variant forms of the same species or strain of microorganisms." This is a well-known phenomenon in certain bacteria, yeasts, and other microbes. According to one textbook, "Many fungi, particularly those that cause disease in humans, are dimorphic, that is, they have two forms" (C. Villee, et al. Biology, NY: Saunders, 1985).
Such changeability in microbes is rarely welcomed by doctors. Even Encyclopedia Britannica admits that it "greatly complicates the task of identifying and studying" germs.
Some pleomorphism is relatively simple. For example, common brewer's yeast (S. cerevisiae) grows in an orderly and harmless way except when it is faced with a lack of nutrients. Then it turns nasty, throwing out mold-like growths. While brewer's yeast is health food, scientists call its moldy form "critical for pathogenesis" (i.e., disease).
Interestingly, this change is triggered by "low levels of ammonia," a major source of nitrogen. This is similar to Naessens's theory about the origin of cancer and other degenerative diseases: progressive nitrogen starvation for the healthy cells caused by over-consumption of nitrogen by pathological cells.
Brewer's yeast's unusual behavior permits otherwise stationary cells "to forage for nutrients...at a distance from their initial colonization site" (Cell, 1992;68:1077-1090). They "penetrate the surface of the agar plate and grow down into the medium."
But despite their similarity to Brewer's yeast, the pleomorphic organism Naessens has identified goes way beyond anything found in textbooks.
The somatid is an astonishing shape shifter in culture. In rapid progression (less than 90 hours), it can be spore, double spore, bacteria and double bacteria, microbial globular form, yeast, ascii, mycelial form, fibrous thallus, etc.
"Foraging yeast" resemble one part of the somatid cycle, where yeast also change into mycelial (mold-like) forms. But the somatid is inherent in human blood: its recognition would revolutionize microbiology as well as preventive medicine.
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Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D. is the author of eight books and three documentaries on cancer-related topics. He is an advisor on alternative cancer treatments to the National Institutes of Health, Columbia University, and the University of Texas. He researches and writes individualized "Healing Choices" reports for people with cancer. For information on Healing Choices, you can contact coordinator Anne Beattie @ 144 St. John's Place, Brooklyn, NY 11217; Phone 718-636-4433; Fax 718-636-0186.