The Body Electric

The Body Electric

Infobox Book
name = The Body Electric: Electromagnetism and the Foundation of Life
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = Robert O. Becker and Gary Selden
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country =
language = English
series =
subject =
genre =
publisher = Harper Paperbacks
release_date = August 5, 1998 (paperback)
english_release_date =
media_type = Paperback
pages = 368
isbn = ISBN 0-688-06971-1
preceded_by =
followed_by =

:"This article is about a science book. See Body Electric for alternative meanings."

"The Body Electric: Electromagnetism and the Foundation of Life" is a book by Robert O. Becker and Gary Selden in which Dr. Becker, an orthopedic surgeon at the time working for the Veterans Administration, describes his research into "our bioelectric selves".

He began by examining why normal bones heal, and then explored the reasons why bones fail to heal properly. In the process he observed several interesting properties of bones and bone growth, proposing that bones are semiconductors and piezoelectric in nature. These tie into the healing process by electrically stimulating bone marrow cells to differentiate into a form of adult stem cells which regrew the bone from within by regeneration. By applying external electrical stimulation in the proper form, he was able to induce bone healing in patients whose bones had failed to heal together.

Later in his research, observing from prior research that silver had been used as an antibacterial material in the past, he used a combination therapy of silver with electrical stimulation (used in this case primarily to drive silver ions further into tissue to enhance its antibacterial action) and observed the desired antibacterial effect. Also observed was that with proper stimulation fibroblasts would dedifferentiate and apparently became able to form new cell types, leading to the possibility of wider uses for regenerative healing in humans and other animals.

From "The Body Electric": "the ('positive silver') technique makes it possible to produce large numbers of dedifferentiated cells, overcoming the main problem of mammalian regeneration - the limited number of bone marrow cells that dedifferentiate in response to electrical current alone. Whatever its precise mode of action may be, the electrically generated silver ion can produce enough cells for human blastemas; it has restored my belief that full regeneration of limbs, and perhaps other body parts, can be accomplished in humans."

Later in the book he explores his concerns with deleterious effects of electromagnetic fields on living organisms.

ee also

* Regeneration (biology)
* Harold Saxton Burr and the L Field


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • I Sing the Body Electric (The Twilight Zone) — Infobox Television episode Title = I Sing the Body Electric Series = The Twilight Zone Caption = Scene from I Sing the Body Electric Season = 3 Episode = 100 Airdate =May 18, 1962 Production =4826 Writer = Ray Bradbury (Based on his short story.) …   Wikipedia

  • I Sing the Body Electric (Bradbury) — Infobox Book name = I Sing the Body Electric! title orig = translator = image caption = cover of the first edition author = Ray Bradbury illustrator = cover artist = country = United States language = English series = subject = genre = Science… …   Wikipedia

  • I Sing the Body Electric (Whitman) — I Sing the Body Electric is a poem by Walt Whitman from his 1855 collection Leaves of Grass .Its original publication, like the other poems in Leaves of Grass , did not have a title. In fact, the line I sing the body electric was not added until… …   Wikipedia

  • I Sing the Body Electric — may refer to: * I Sing the Body Electric (Whitman), an 1855 poem from Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman. * I Sing the Body Electric ( The Twilight Zone ), a third season (1962) episode of The Twilight Zone , written by Ray Bradbury. * I Sing the… …   Wikipedia

  • I Sing the Body Electric (album) — Infobox Album | Name = I Sing the Body Electric Type = Studio album Artist = Weather Report Released = May 1972 Recorded = November 1971 January 13, 1972 Genre = Jazz fusion Length = 46:28 Label = Columbia Records Producer = Reviews = *Allmusic… …   Wikipedia

  • I Sing The Body Electric (album) — Pour les articles homonymes, voir I Sing the Body Electric. I Sing the Body Electric Album par Weather Report Sortie mai 1972 Enregistrement novembre 1971 et janvier 197 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • We Sing the Body Electric — Infobox Album Name = We Sing The Body Electric Type = Album Artist = sincebyman Released = 2003 Recorded = God City Studios Boston, Massachusetts Genre = Hardcore Length = 41:32 Label = Revelation Records Producer = Kurt Ballou Reviews = Last… …   Wikipedia

  • I Sing The Body Electric — (Je chante le corps électrique) est : (1855) un poème de Walt Whitman, tiré du recueil Leaves of Grass. (1962) un épisode de la saison 3 de la série La Quatrième Dimension inspiré d une nouvelle de Ray Bradbury. (1969) un recueil de… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • I sing the body electric — (Je chante le corps électrique) est : (1855) un poème de Walt Whitman, tiré du recueil Leaves of Grass. (1962) un épisode de la saison 3 de la série La Quatrième Dimension inspiré d une nouvelle de Ray Bradbury. (1969) un recueil de… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • I Sing the Body Electric —  Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différentes œuvres portant le même titre. I Sing the Body Electric ou Je chante le corps électrique en français peut désigner : un poème de Walt Whitman tiré du recueil Feuilles d herbe… …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”