The embryonic development of frogs under strong DC magnetic fields

Possible influence of d.c. magnetic fields on the early embryonic development of frogs was studied. Embryos of African clawed toads, Xenopus laevis, were exposed to 1.0 T magnetic fields with different gradients of a range from 10 T/m to 10³T/m either during cleavage to neurula stage, blastula to neurula stage, or neurula to tail bud stage. The developmental processes of embryos during and after magnetic field exposures were followed to examine a possibility of teratogenic effects. The results suggest that the magnetic field exerts no harmful or modifying effects on the important morphogenetic movements such as gastrulation and neurulation. However, it was observed that embryos which were exposed to the gradient magnetic fields during cleavage to neurula stage occasionally developed into tadpoles with reduced pigmentation or some axial anomalies such as the formation of curled tail. Tadpoles with edema or microcephaly were also observed. Compared with the control, the rate of malformation was higher by about 35 %. The influence of oxygen concentration in Ringer´s solution on the embryonic development was also studied, and toxicity of oxygen with high concentration was discussed.