The Breaths You Were Given
August 16, 2026
Scientific Reports (Nature)
December 2024 · Vol. 14 · Article 29221
Cohen, Delorme, Cusimano et al. · MD Anderson Cancer Center & IONS
Biofield Energy Research
Published by MD Anderson Cancer Center — one of the world’s leading cancer research institutions — in Scientific Reports, a peer-reviewed journal published by Nature. This is mainstream science taking biofield energy seriously at the highest level.
Important note on language: This study uses the term “biofield therapy” — the scientific umbrella term for energy-based healing practices including the system of Reiki. The researchers describe the practitioner as a “self-described biofield therapy practitioner.” The study does not use the word “Reiki,” but its findings are directly relevant to understanding how Reiki energy Reiki works at a biological level. The word “Reiki” does not appear in this paper.
In this study:
Biofield Energy = the energy directed by the practitioner (what Reiki practitioners call Reiki energy)
Reiki = the spiritual energy — related to but not named as such in this paper
What this study is about
The question
Can a biofield energy practitioner affect living cancer cells — and can we measure what happens in both the practitioner’s body and the cells at the same time? This study attempted to capture the mechanism behind biofield energy: what happens in the brain and heart of a practitioner, and what happens at a cellular level, when they direct biofield energy Biofield Energy toward cancer cells?
Why it matters for Reiki
This is among the most rigorous scientific investigations ever conducted into how energy healing might actually work at a biological level. If the practitioner’s brainwaves change during energy work — and if those brainwaves are causally connected to changes in cancer cells — this begins to establish the mechanism by which Reiki energy Reiki may operate.
How the study was designed
Study type
Double-blind case study
The practitioner did not know if they were treating live cells, dead cells, or medium with no cells at any point
Sessions
60 total
Treatment sessions (energy directed toward cells) alternating with rest/control sessions
Distance
~12 inches
The practitioner directed biofield energy from ~12 inches away — no physical contact with the cells at any time
What was being measured simultaneously
The practitioner’s body
64-channel EEG — continuous brainwave monitoring across all frequency bands
Heart rate variability (HRV) — continuous cardiac monitoring
The cancer cells
Tubulin — cytoskeleton structure marker
β-actin — cytoskeleton structure marker
Intracellular Ca²⁺ — calcium uptake in the cancer cells
Human pancreatic cancer cells were used. A parallel sham group had a different person sit at the same distance mimicking the same movements — without directing biofield energy.
What happened — four key findings
Important context — study limitations
Be aware
- This is a case study of a single practitioner — 60 sessions, but still one person. The researchers explicitly call for follow-up investigations with additional practitioners
- Identifying which specific practitioner behaviours (intention, hand position, breath) correlate with the effects is not yet established
- The study does not use the word “Reiki” — it is a study of biofield therapy generally
- Despite these limitations, the methodology is exceptionally rigorous — double-blind design, simultaneous measurement, sham controls, and advanced statistical analysis
- The authors themselves are cautious: “These outcomes suggest a complex relationship… follow-up investigations are warranted”
What the researchers concluded
A biofield energy practitioner’s physiology changes measurably during energy work. Their brainwaves respond differently — even unknowingly — when treating living cells versus dead cells, suggesting a non-conscious biological sensitivity to living systems. Biofield energy affected cancer cell calcium regulation in ways that differed significantly from sham treatment. And the practitioner’s brainwaves showed a statistically significant bidirectional causal relationship with cancer cell activity. These outcomes suggest a complex relationship between physiological responses and cellular effects during biofield energy sessions.
Cohen, Delorme, Cusimano et al. · Scientific Reports (Nature) · December 2024
What this means for the system of Reiki
1
This is some of the most rigorous science ever applied to biofield energy. MD Anderson Cancer Center. Scientific Reports (Nature). Double-blind. 60 sessions. Simultaneous measurement of practitioner and cells. This is not fringe science — it is mainstream cancer research taking energy healing seriously.
2
The practitioner could “sense” live cells without knowing it. The fact that the practitioner’s brainwaves differed when treating live vs dead cells — under double-blind conditions — suggests that something is occurring at a biological level that goes beyond conscious intention. Reiki practitioners who describe “feeling” energy in their hands may be responding to something real.
3
Biofield energy affected cancer cells — not just the recipient’s subjective experience. The Ca²⁺ finding is significant: the energy affected how cancer cells behaved at a molecular level. This is not about belief or relaxation — it is a measurable change in cellular function.
4
The brain and cells appeared to influence each other bidirectionally. The Granger causality finding (p < 0.000001) is extraordinary. It suggests that during biofield energy work, there is a real, measurable, causal link between the practitioner’s brain and the target cells. This begins to point toward a mechanism for how Reiki energy Reiki might work.
5
This study will require replication — but it opens a door. A single-practitioner case study, however rigorous, must be replicated. But the methodology established here creates a template for future biofield energy research. What matters now is that this study exists, was published in a prestigious journal, and cannot be dismissed.
Cohen L, Delorme A, Cusimano A, Chakraborty S, Nguyen P, Deng D, Iqbal S, Nelson M, Wei D, Fields C, Yang P. Examining the effects of biofield therapy through simultaneous assessment of electrophysiological and cellular outcomes. Sci Rep. 2024 Dec 2;14(1):29221. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-79617-3. PMID: 39622875.
Bronwen Logan
I have been practising and teaching the system of Reiki for almost 30 years.
Along the way I helped build the International House of Reiki and created Shibumi International Reiki Association, and I have written a handful of books, including The Reiki Sourcebook, The Japanese Art of Reiki and Your Reiki Treatment.
Today, I focus on creating tools and supporting Reiki students in developing their skills, knowledge and practice. *Reiki with Bronwen*, my new baby, is home for all of this. Most of my study has gone into the Japanese roots of the system.
Outside that: writing, animals, and the Reiki Women Podcast, which I co-founded. I teach privately and online. And there are new books on the way...
