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What if your cells could talk—not just through molecules, but through light? In this episode of Ignition Sequence, host Dylan Bohbot sits down with Dr. Nirosha Murugan, Canada Research Chair and biophysicist at Wilfrid Laurier University, to explore how the body emits and responds to light, magnetism, and electricity—and why that may be key to detecting disease, regenerating limbs, and even decoding consciousness itself.

Dr. Murugan unpacks her pioneering work measuring ultra-weak light emissions from living cells, detecting cancer noninvasively, and using electric and magnetic fields to kickstart regeneration in non-healing species. From the physics of life to brain photonics and quantum biology, this episode dives into emerging frontiers that challenge our deepest assumptions about how biology communicates, heals, and perceives the world.

Is light just a metabolic byproduct—or could it be a fundamental language of life?

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. Why living cells and tissues emit ultra-weak light—and how to detect it

2. How magnetism, electricity, and photonics may help us regenerate limbs

3. The surprising role of mitochondria in cellular light production

4. How Dr. Murugan’s lab detects early-stage cancer using light patterns

5. What it means to think of biology not just as chemistry, but as energy

Timestamps

00:00:27 – Meet Dr. Nirosha Murugan: biophysicist studying light, magnetism, and life

00:03:17 – How cells emit light—and how her lab detects it using astrophysics tools

00:06:01 – Bio-photon emissions vs. bioluminescence: what’s the difference?

00:09:22 – Regenerating limbs using electricity, magnetic fields, and silk-based scaffolds

00:17:06 – Detecting cancer noninvasively by reading cellular light patterns

00:21:03 – Brain light emissions: are they a form of communication or consciousness?

00:27:30 – Can light in the brain travel like fiber optics? Early research insights

00:31:15 – Intelligence without neurons: what slime molds reveal about cognition

00:34:14 – Rethinking biology as an energetic—not just chemical—landscape

00:38:07 – Altered states, psychedelics, and surprising findings about brain light

00:44:16 – Scientific resistance, open inquiry, and the future of interdisciplinary biology

00:49:06 – Off-topic reflections: why aviation, nature, and creativity still matter

🔗 Helpful Links

🔹 Exploring ultraweak photon emissions as optical markers of brain activity paper: https://sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225002792

🔹 Accelerator Media: https://acceleratormedia.org