Water-Bioelectric Theory of Cancer

Is Cancer a loss of Coherence? Association Induction Hypothesis explained

Hi, I’m Aastha, and welcome to Live Longer World, where I interview scientists researching the frontiers of longevity science and write about health & longevity practices.

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“About two-thirds of the human body is water.”

This is a statement we’ve grown up hearing. When you picture this, I imagine you view liquid water inside our bodies being mixed with cells, proteins and all the other fun stuff. But what if I told you that this water is not the liquid water you and I are most familiar with? And no, it’s not ice or vapor form either.

Water in our cells behaves in its own way. And this behavior of water dictates many important functions of cells, including our health and the manifestation of disease. So what I’m saying is:

1. Water in our cells is not just free-flowing liquid water - it behaves in special ways.

2. This special behavior of water dictates critical functions in our cells that determines our health, including potentially, cancer.

In today’s essay, I will introduce you to one forgotten theory in biology that explains how water in our cells plays a large role in bioelectricity. And if you’ve read my previous essay on bioelectricity or listened to any of my podcasts with Mike Levin, you will be familiar with how bioelectricity¹ is critical in cancer, regeneration, and longevity.

Here is what I will discuss:

1. A theory on how the structure of water in cells effects bioelectricity (Association-Induction hypothesis or AIH)

2. Longevity Implications of taking AIH seriously

3. My water-bioelectric theory of cancer (hypothesis, but not crazy)

Association-Induction Hypothesis

Don’t be afraid of the textbook-like name of this hypothesis. The basics laid out simply, which I’ll do, will widen your perspective on understanding not just cells, but also disease and health.

In my bioelectricity essay, I wrote about the role of ion channels and ion pumps in enabling the flow of selective ions in and out of the cell, which thereby creates a charge difference inside and outside the cell. This results in bioelectricity when these charges flow.

Pertaining to ion pumps, I made a small footnote saying that the ion pump theory had come into question, critiqued by what is called the Association-Induction hypothesis proposed by Gilbert Ling. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve taken some time to zoom in on this small footnote, and realized that this theory ought to be explained through more than a footnote.

Ion pumps don’t work - Membrane pump theory rejected

Ling rejected the membrane pump theory which was key in explaining how ions distribute inside and outside the cell. Briefly, the membrane pump theory states that ion pumps (proteins on the cell membrane) are responsible for pumping in and out certain ions - mostly pumping in potassium ions and keeping out sodium ions. This difference in ion concentration in and out of the cells creates a charge difference.

In addition to other critiques of the membrane pump theory², Ling said that in order for the pump to work, it would require amounts of ATP that are larger than what is feasible for us to generate. So, there must be a different way in which cells create their ion distribution, and this different way was laid out through his AIH theory.

AIH states that there is a tight coupling between the proteins, ions, and water inside our cells, and it’s the nature and structure of this connection that gives rise to ion flow dynamics, and ultimately bioelectricity. Let me explain.

Water and AIH

As mentioned above, typically, it’s assumed that water in our cells behaves like the liquid water that is familiar to us. Ling said that water in our cells is in fact not in a free-flowing state - if you punctured a cell, you wouldn’t have water gushing out. Instead, water is bound in multiple layers to the proteins inside the cell in a structured way. The core concepts of AIH are as follows:

1. Proteins are central to cell structure and function. They have binding sites where other molecules, like ATP, can attach.

2. ATP (the energy currency of the cell) binds to proteins and polarizes them. What this means is that ATP shifts the protein’s electron distribution, thereby creating charge.

3. Polarized proteins generate tiny electric fields.

4. These electric fields of the protein in turn influence nearby water molecules, which get attracted to the protein and just like magnets, form ordered layers.

5. Each water layer in turn attracts other water layers. Thus, these water layers reinforce one another, creating what Ling called a “stacked dipole” structure.

6. The result is structured (or ordered) water bound to the protein surface.

   1. As mentioned, this water behaves very differently from normal liquid water — it’s more organized, stable, and selective.

7. Structured water and polarized proteins create an environment that attracts some ions and excludes others. Specifically, it favors potassium (K⁺) and excludes sodium (Na⁺). For why, see footnote³.

8. This natural preference for potassium helps maintain the electrical difference between the inside and outside of the cell, which is vital for processes like nerve impulses and muscle contractions.

If you glossed over the above points, here is the TLDR version of AIH that explains it.

TLDR:

ATP binds to protein and polarizes protein. Polarized protein attracts the nearby water molecules which get ordered in layers by the protein. This ordered water selectively adsorbs potassium ions, not sodium ions. Thus, the inside of the cell has higher potassium ions compared to sodium, which creates a charge difference. This charge difference leads to bioelectricity.

In the membrane pump theory version, the ATP pumps do work to push the sodium ions out of the cell, whereas in Ling’s version, the tight connection between ATP-protein-water creates an environment whereby potassium ions are naturally attracted to the inside of the cell, and sodium ions are not.

What this means is that in the AIH model, proteins, water, and ions work together as a coherent, self-organizing system.

1. The system remains stable without constant energy input, unlike traditional models that rely on membrane pumps and active transport.

2. This makes the living cell an electrically ordered environment, not just a bag of chemicals.

Before I can state my cancer theory, I have to explain how researchers have taken Gilbert Ling’s AIH ideas forward. Again, these are relevant to understanding how we age.

AIH extended: Coherence, Microtubules, and Mitochondria

As explained, AIH implies a tight connection between proteins-water-ions. This connection creates a stable configuration in the cell, providing organization to other molecules and structures in the cell and allowing them to work smoothly. At the same time as these structures benefit from the protein-water-ion stability, they also contribute to adding stability to the cell.

Microtubules are one such structure, I want to highlight. They are long, cylindrical protein filaments that form part of the cytoskeleton, the cell’s internal framework. Microtubules are traditionally known for roles in cell division, transport, and structural support, but emerging theories suggest they might even play a key role in consciousness. Because of their highly ordered and polar structure, microtubules may help maintain and transmit coherence across the cell by acting like biological cables — organizing electric fields, guiding molecular traffic, and possibly coordinating long-range order among proteins and water. They may even support subtle vibrational or electromagnetic signaling that helps preserve the polarized state described in AIH.

The below is how the connection between AIH, mitochondria, ATP, and microtubules likely plays out:

1. AIH maintains order in cells by organizing proteins, water, and ions into a stable, polarized matrix that functions without constant energy input.

2. This ordered matrix helps stabilize the surrounding intracellular environment, influencing the behavior of organelles, cytoskeletal elements, and signaling molecules.

3. Other structures contribute to maintaining cellular stability as well — most notably, the microtubules.

4. Microtubules are known to generate coherence / stability in cells by providing cell’s internal timing, communication, and spatial organization. They are like the conductors of a biochemical orchestra. For example, microtubule oscillations can help synchronize timing for ion channel openings, vesicle transport, gene expression timing, cell cycle transitions etc.

   1. The oscillations also generate EM fields which might be how microtubules coordinate these activities mentioned above

   2. So any dysfunction in these oscillations could result in internal EM field collapse, coordination across cells breaks down, and might lead to cellular incoherence (which could be a marker for disease and death)

5. There is a 2-way feedback loop between AIH and microtubules. Any disturbance in stability created by AIH may affect microtubule oscillations. And any disturbance in microtubule oscillations may affect AIH or in general the cell’s stability

6. There is also a 2-way feedback loop between microtubules and mitochondria.

   1. Microtubules guide mitochondria to areas where ATP is needed. Mitochondria frequently travel along or anchor to microtubules. Given AIH needs ATP, microtubules play a role in guiding ATP to AIH.

   2. Microtubules depend on mitochondrial ATP to maintain their own polarized state and structural integrity.

7. So any disruption in microtubules might cause mitochondria guidance to collapse. And any disruption in ATP might cause microtubules to not perform leading to incoherence.

Implications of AIH

If the Association-Induction Hypothesis (AIH) is correct, it challenges many foundational assumptions in modern biology and medicine. It suggests that the cell is not primarily driven by random molecular collisions or by membrane pumps using constant energy, but rather by a stable, structured network of polarized proteins, ordered water, and selectively adsorbed ions. This perspective radically elevates the role of water from passive solvent to active organizer of life. In terms of aging, it implies that cellular decline may not be caused solely by damage or mutation, but by the gradual loss of this internal coherence — the ability of proteins to maintain polarization and structure surrounding water. If that’s true, interventions aimed at preserving protein structure, ATP availability, and water ordering could become central strategies for extending healthspan. In medicine, this framework could lead to new diagnostic tools that detect early shifts in cellular order, and new treatments that restore the cell’s natural electrical balance. Overall, AIH reframes the cell as an organized, self-regulating system — and opens the door to rethinking aging, disease, and healing from the ground up.

My cancer theory based on AIH:

The ideas / inspiration are largely borrowed from a chapter titled A New Paradigm of Cancer: Loss of Coherence Precedes Mutation from Laurent Jaeken’s book The Coacervate-Coherence Nature of Life.

The common paradigm in the field is to think of cancer as being caused by genetic mutations. Due to damage, our DNA acquires mutations which turn cancerous - this is known as the somatic mutation theory of cancer. People like Dr. Seyfried have challenged this theory saying that it’s not genetic mutations that cause cancer, but in fact it’s damage to the mitochondria. In some cases, the mutation might be downstream of the mitochondrial damage, but it’s not the primary cause. Charley Lineweaver with his Atavistic theory of cancer says that the genetic mutations that cause cancer are not random as stated by the somatic mutation theory, but can be predicted using an evolutionary lens.

Based on AIH, another theory on cancer is that it’s caused by loss of coherence in the cell. According to AIH and AIH extended that I explained above, normal healthy cells are in a stable coherent state created by the coupling of proteins-water-ions, and the mitochondria-microtubule connection. A breakdown in any of these stages might lead to loss or order in the cell. What if cancer is this loss of order beyond repair? The theory of cancer I’m proposing is that cancer is a loss of order as maintained by AIH. So the question is what stage does this loss of order occur? There could be different levels of causation that creates loss of order in AIH. Similarly, there could be different levels at which to target cancer. Let’s start with looking at the different levels of causation in AIH that could cause disruption to the cell, and ultimately cancer.

1. ATP Deficiency -> Protein not polarized

   1. In AIH, ATP plays a critical role in polarizing the protein which leads to the protein-water-ion connection

   2. Any deficiency in ATP, might disrupt this coupling and hence the coherence in the cell

2. Protein dysfunction -> ATP can’t bind correctly

3. Water doesn’t polarize despite ATP + Protein being fine

   1. This could be due to the water structure itself breaking down

4. Water fails to adsorb the right ions, thereby disrupting the normal charge of the cell

5. Protein-Ion-Water connection is fine, but EMF field is still disrupted

6. Microtubule dysfunction -> Collapse of intracellular coherence

   1. Dysfunction in microtubules might mean that ATP is not guided to the right place or it might mean a general loss in coherence and EM fields given microtubules play a large role in being the cell’s conductor

7. Mitochondria dysfunction which not only disrupts ATP, but is also unable to guide microtubules to the right place

Based on AIH and AIH extended, these are the different levels which could get disrupted, potentially leading to cancer. I recognize that is a bit of a reductionist view, but it’s helpful in parsing out the details and figuring out what to investigate. Of course, given the feedback loop between these different levels, it could be the case that several of these levels fail and a failure in one level causes the other levels to fail. It’s not necessarily the case that in order to fix the problem, we have to fix the level that failed first. In other words, we may not have to address the root cause. We could make a fix at a different level which could restore order back to the cell (again due to the feedback loop and back-up mechanisms that our cells use). For example, if the cell’s coherent structure fails because of ATP deficiency, which in turn causes microtubules to fail as well, we don’t necessarily have to fix the ATP deficiency. We can perhaps fix the microtubule dysfunction without fixing the ATP deficiency which could be enough to restore the cell back to order.

Understanding AIH and its different levels gives us a starting point to investigate cancer from an AIH (loss of order) perspective.

Implications of Cancer theory

If cancer is due to a loss of order and coherence in the cell, and because of a breakdown in one or more of the factors I mentioned above, it implies that we should be looking at some of these levels to diagnose and solve cancer.

We could diagnose cancer by measuring a change in the water structure for example⁴. Some of these diagnostic methods have been tried, I haven’t gone deeper into them to know enough. Or we could solve cancer by restoring the normal EM field of the cell. Perhaps next time I’ll cover some of the different avenues we should explore to diagnose and solve cancer.

Deaths from cancer only keep rising. Clearly whatever we’re doing right now is not working. Maybe our current theory of cancer being a genetic disease is wrong. We need to test new cancer theories. And this cancer-AIH theory seems promising, yet very underexplored.

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Thanks to Benjamin, Cameron, and Glix for feedback on this essay.

1. Briefly, bioelectricity is the flow of charged ions inside our cells, giving rise to electric signals. Many of us are familiar with the electrical signals that power our neurons. Similar to neurons, almost every cell in the body is powered by electric signals. If you’re interested in this topic, I highly recommend reading my essay on it, it’s laid out simply and one reader told me “Aastha, that was so easy to understand, and clear conceptually! You should write textbooks.”

2. For more on why the membrane pump theory might be incorrect, read the first half of this post “A Fundamental Error in Biology.”

3. Why? The hydration shell: When ions are in water, they are surrounded by a “hydration shell” — a layer of water molecules. Sodium is smaller but has a stronger electric field, so it holds its water shell tightly — making it bulkier and harder to fit in. Potassium is larger but has a weaker electric field, so it sheds its water shell more easily and can nestle into the structured water layers.

4. Comment from Benjamin Anderson worth highlight: “This is in fact exactly how the MRI works which is what makes this so interesting! why when we look at water structure as the #1 high fidelity modality for identifying cancer do we not consider that correcting this same biophysical endpoint may not reverse the cancer phenotype with it!”