Fred Vlès – Early Holistic Biophysicist and Pioneer of “Earthing”

Abstract

The paper reports on the life and works of Fred Vlès (1885-1944) and Paul Reiss (1901-1944), and Charles Laville (1877-1959) who worked in a similar field. Vlès was the founder of the first institute of biophysics in France at the University of Strasbourg, and Reiss was his pupil and associate. They worked in the time of 1910 to 1944 on the acid-alkaline balance and the reduction-oxidation (redox) potentials of the body fluids and tissues and their influence on the proteins and colloids of the “terrain”, along the lines given by the “milieu interne” (internal environment) or homeostasis concept by Claude Bernard. Vlès and Reiss were also electrobiologists and were some of the first scientists to investigate the physiological effects of electrical grounding where also the work of Charles Laville is relevant. In the conclusion we link this historical narrative to contemporary research.