| Revision as of 14:19, 30 January 2009 view source84.104.135.86 (talk) →External links: there is nothing promotional about rife.org← Previous edit | Revision as of 14:20, 30 January 2009 view source 84.104.135.86 (talk) →Cancer and disease treatment claims: "cancer" does not reflect the contentNext edit → | ||
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== Disease treatment claims == | ||
| Rife said that he could find a Mortal Oscillatory Rate<ref></ref> (M.O.R.) for various pathogenic organisms, and directed his research accordingly, culturing and testing various pathogens with his Universal #3 microscope and his directed radio frequency energy |
Rife said that he could find a Mortal Oscillatory Rate<ref></ref> (M.O.R.) for various pathogenic organisms, and directed his research accordingly, culturing and testing various pathogens with his Universal #3 microscope and his directed radio frequency energy machine. Rife claimed to have documented the precise frequencies<ref></ref> which destroyed specific organisms, and claimed that many, if not all, contagious diseases could be cured using this radiation treatment, using frequencies that were typically in the 10 kHz-100 MHz range (] to mid-]).<ref> | ||
| http://www.rife.org/john%20marsh/rifeinstrumenthistory.pdf See page 15 (approx.) | http://www.rife.org/john%20marsh/rifeinstrumenthistory.pdf See page 15 (approx.) | ||
| </ref> Rife claims that a clinic was set up by a Dr. Milbank Johnson M.D. which conducted tests using Rife's machine on the growth of typhoid in medium, which he claimed demonstrated no motility of typhoid rods which were exposed to Rife's machine.<ref>http://rife.org/miscellaneous/no4test-1.jpg</ref> There is no independent verification of any of these claims. | </ref> Rife claims that a clinic was set up by a Dr. Milbank Johnson M.D. which conducted tests using Rife's machine on the growth of typhoid in medium, which he claimed demonstrated no motility of typhoid rods which were exposed to Rife's machine.<ref>http://rife.org/miscellaneous/no4test-1.jpg</ref> There is no independent verification of any of these claims. | ||
Revision as of 14:20, 30 January 2009
Royal Raymond Rife (May 16, 1888 – August 5, 1971) was an American who claimed to have observed very small viruses by using a special optical microscope. He linked such viruses to various forms of cancer. However, the limitations of optical microscopes, and the size of viruses is such that most viruses cannot be seen under an optical microscope. Furthermore, the scientific understanding is that the estimated 15% of human cancers that are caused by viruses are caused by a number of different types. Rife also claimed to have rendered such viruses and many others inert in the living patient by means of a "beam ray" device, which he claimed devitalized pathogens by inducing resonances in their constituent chemicals.
Rife's reported findings could not be verified, and scientific interest in his claims thus dissipated by the 1950's. However, Rife was the subject of a 1986 book entitled The Cancer Cure That Worked, which claimed that Rife was able to cure various kinds of cancer, but that his work was suppressed by a wide-ranging conspiracy headed by the American Medical Association. The book led to a revival of interest in Rife in some alternative medical spheres, and a variety of devices were marketed bearing Rife's name and claiming to cure diseases such as cancer and AIDS. An investigation by Electronics Australia found that a typical "Rife device" consisted of a nine-volt battery, wiring, a switch, a timer and two short lengths of copper tubing, and that the device delivered an "almost undetectable" current unlikely to penetrate the skin. Several cases of health fraud have involved such "Rife devices", and they have been linked to the deaths of cancer patients who utilized them in place of standard medical therapy.
Biography
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Rife was of Scottish ancestry, born on May 16, 1888, in Elkhorn, Nebraska. While still at university, he began working part time for Carl Zeiss, a leading manufacturer of camera lenses and microscopes, at their New York offices. Rife said that after a while he moved to Germany and worked part time for Carl Zeiss at their Heidelberg offices. It has been asserted he attended the University of Heidelberg but the university does not confirm that.
Rife married Mamie Ah Quinn in 1912 and she passed away in 1957. In 1960, Rife married Amelia Aragon. Rife died on August 5, 1971 in Grossmont Hospital, El Cajon, California, from a combination of valium and alcohol, at the age of 83.
Rife's microscopes
Rife built a number of microscopes. At least one was cannibalized for parts to build one or more of the others. The Rife #5 has never been reported to have worked since its original owner, Dr. Bertram Gonin in England, "was unable to obtain useful results with either No 4 or No 5." Rife patented a high-intensity UV lamp for microscope use in 1929 (Patent #1727618).
On November 20, 1931, forty-four doctors attended a dinner advertised as "The End To All Diseases" at the Pasadena estate of Dr. Milbank Johnson. This dinner was honoring Dr. Arthur I. Kendall, professor at Northwestern Medical School, and developer of the "Kendall Medium" or "K-Medium," and Dr. Royal Rife, the developer of the "Rife microscope." Moving microorganisms from prepared, diseased human tissue were supposedly seen in Berkefeld-000 filtered form, still-photographed and motion pictured.
August, 1932, Science published a report by Dr. Edward C. Rosenow, M.D. (1875–1966). It said that, in addition to other viruses viewable with the standard lab microscope, small bodies were seen in the filtrate.
Disease treatment claims
Rife said that he could find a Mortal Oscillatory Rate (M.O.R.) for various pathogenic organisms, and directed his research accordingly, culturing and testing various pathogens with his Universal #3 microscope and his directed radio frequency energy machine. Rife claimed to have documented the precise frequencies which destroyed specific organisms, and claimed that many, if not all, contagious diseases could be cured using this radiation treatment, using frequencies that were typically in the 10 kHz-100 MHz range (HF to mid-VHF). Rife claims that a clinic was set up by a Dr. Milbank Johnson M.D. which conducted tests using Rife's machine on the growth of typhoid in medium, which he claimed demonstrated no motility of typhoid rods which were exposed to Rife's machine. There is no independent verification of any of these claims.
Modern revival, marketing, and health fraud
An interest in Rife was revived in the 1980's by author Barry Lynes, who wrote a book about Rife entitled The Cancer Cure That Worked. The book claimed that Rife's beam ray device could cure cancer, but that all mention of his discoveries was suppressed in the 1930's by a wide-ranging conspiracy headed by the American Medical Association. The American Cancer Society described Lynes' claims as implausible, noting that the book was written "in a style typical of conspiratorial theorists" and defied any sort of verification.
Following this revival of interest, devices bearing Rife's name began to be produced and marketed. Such "Rife devices" have been at the center of a number of cases of health fraud in the U.S. and Australia. In one such case, Life Energy Resources mass-produced the REM SuperPro Generator, marketed as a "Rife device" which could cure numerous diseases including cancer and AIDS. The marketers of this device were convicted of felony health fraud; the sentencing judge accused them of "target the most vulnerable people, including those suffering from terminal disease" and providing false hope. Similarly, the American Cancer Society reported in 1994 that Rife machines were being sold in a "pyramid-like, multilevel marketing scheme"; a key component of the marketing approach was the claim that the device was being suppressed by an establishment conspiracy against cancer "cures".
The Attorneys General of Wisconsin and Minnesota sued a marketer of Rife's "frequency generator" for deceptive trade practices and consumer fraud. The Court found that she had violated the law and that, as a result of her actions, a cancer patient had ceased chemotherapy and died four months later.
In Australia, the use of Rife machines has been blamed for causing the deaths of cancer patients who could have been cured with conventional therapy. Although Rife devices are not registered by the U.S Food and Drug Administration and have been linked to deaths among cancer sufferers, the Seattle Times reported that over 300 people attended the 2006 Rife International Health Conference in Seattle, where dozens of unregistered devices were sold.
See also
References
- Bowditch, Peter (2003). "Limited only by the laws of physics". Australian Doctor. Retrieved 2007-12-12.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - RifeBook.htm
- Jones, Newell (1938-05-06). "Cancer Blow Seen After 18-year Toil by Rife". San Diego Evening Tribune - Search for "5/6/38" near "Evening Tribune San Diego, Calif, Cancer Blown Seen". Retrieved 2007-08-22.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Questionable methods of cancer management: electronic devices" (PDF). CA Cancer J Clin. 44 (2): 115–27. 1994. doi:10.3322/canjclin.44.2.115. PMID 8124604.
- ^ Hills, Ben (2000-12-30). "Cheating Death". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2009-01-11.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Willmsen, Christine (2007-12-21). "Pair indicted on fraud charges in medical-device probe". Seattle Times. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - The Science Museum's Synopsis on Rife
- "Patent 1727618". US Patent Office / Google Patent Search. 1927. Retrieved 2007-12-03.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Kendall, Arthur Isaac, MD., PhD. (1931 December No. 6). "Observations on ..." (PDF / Adobe Acrobat 1.2 MB). Retrieved 2007-07-02.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Rosenow, Edward C., M.D. (1932-08-26). "Observations with the Rife..." (Adobe/PDF). Science Magazine (Column 2 first page, last paragraph, fourth line, "herpes"). Retrieved 2007-09-26.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - www.rife.org
- www.rife.org
- http://www.rife.org/john%20marsh/rifeinstrumenthistory.pdf See page 15 (approx.)
- http://rife.org/miscellaneous/no4test-1.jpg
- "Investigators' Reports". FDA Consumer. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. September 1996. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
- Stephen Barrett. "Rife Machine Operator Sued". Quackwatch. Retrieved 2007-02-12.
External links
- Rife.org Reviews the original documents concerning Rife
- Electromagnetic Therapy from the American Cancer Society
- Rife devices from the National Council Against Health Fraud
- Radionics in the Skeptic's dictionary
- Rife's original published claim of his observation of the Typhoid bacillus, California and Western Medicine (December 1931), v. 35, no. 6