We Are Electric: Inside the 200-Year Hunt for Our Body's Bioelectric Code, and What the Future Holds
(Libby/OverDrive eAudiobook)

Book Cover
Average Rating
Contributors
Adee, Sally Author, Narrator
Published
Hachette Audio , 2023.
Status
Checked Out

Available Platforms

Libby/OverDrive
Titles may be read via Libby/OverDrive. Libby/OverDrive is a free app that allows users to borrow and read digital media from their local library, including ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines. Users can access Libby/OverDrive through the Libby/OverDrive app or online. The app is available for Android and iOS devices.

Description

Science journalist Sally Adee breaks open the field of bioelectricity—the electric currents that run through our bodies and every living thing—its misunderstood history, and why new discoveries will lead to new ways around antibiotic resistance, cleared arteries, and new ways to combat cancer. You may be familiar with the idea of our body's biome: the bacterial fauna that populate our gut and can so profoundly affect our health. In We Are Electric we cross into new scientific understanding: discovering your body's electrome. Every cell in our bodies—bones, skin, nerves, muscle—has a voltage, like a tiny battery. It is the reason our brain can send signals to the rest of our body, how we develop in the womb, and why our body knows to heal itself from injury. When bioelectricity goes awry, illness, deformity, and cancer can result. But if we can control or correct this bioelectricity, the implications for our health are remarkable: an undo switch for cancer that could flip malignant cells back into healthy ones; the ability to regenerate cells, organs, even limbs; to slow aging and so much more. The next scientific frontier might be decrypting the bioelectric code, much the way we did the genetic code. Yet the field is still emerging from two centuries of skepticism and entanglement with medical quackery, all stemming from an 18th-century scientific war about the nature of electricity between Luigi Galvani (father of bioelectricity, famous for shocking frogs) and Alessandro Volta (inventor of the battery). In We Are Electric, award-winning science writer Sally Adee takes readers through the thrilling history of bioelectricity and into the future: from the Victorian medical charlatans claiming to use electricity to cure everything from paralysis to diarrhea, to the advances helped along by the giant axons of squids, and finally to the brain implants and electric drugs that await us—and the moral implications therein.  The bioelectric revolution starts here.

More Details

Format
eAudiobook
Edition
Unabridged
Street Date
02/28/2023
Language
English
ISBN
9781668621509

Discover More

Author Notes

Loading Author Notes...

Similar Titles From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for titles you might like if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
These books have the appeal factors accessible and persuasive, and they have the genre "science writing -- biology"; and the subject "neurobiology."
These books have the appeal factors accessible, persuasive, and thought-provoking, and they have the genre "science writing -- biology"; and the subjects "neurobiology," "cells," and "immune system."
These books have the appeal factors thought-provoking, and they have the genre "science writing -- biology"; and the subjects "cell physiology" and "neurobiology."
These books have the appeal factors accessible, well-researched, and persuasive, and they have the genre "science writing -- biology"; and the subjects "cell physiology," "human biology," and "neurobiology."
These books have the appeal factors accessible, well-researched, and persuasive, and they have the genre "science writing -- biology"; and the subjects "cell physiology," "neurobiology," and "molecular biology."
These books have the appeal factors accessible, persuasive, and thought-provoking, and they have the genre "science writing -- biology"; and the subjects "cell physiology," "neurobiology," and "molecular biology."
These books have the appeal factors well-researched, persuasive, and thought-provoking, and they have the genre "science writing -- biology"; and the subjects "cell physiology," "neurobiology," and "cells."
These books have the appeal factors accessible, well-researched, and persuasive, and they have the genre "science writing -- biology"; and the subjects "human body," "human biology," and "neurobiology."
These books have the appeal factors accessible, persuasive, and thought-provoking, and they have the genre "science writing -- biology"; and the subjects "neurobiology" and "cells."
These books have the appeal factors persuasive and concise, and they have the genre "science writing -- biology"; and the subjects "human body," "cell physiology," and "human biology."
These books have the appeal factors well-researched and comprehensive, and they have the genre "science writing -- biology"; and the subjects "human body," "cell physiology," and "human biology."
These books have the appeal factors well-researched, and they have the genre "science writing -- biology"; and the subjects "human body," "cell physiology," and "human biology."

Similar Authors From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for other authors you might want to read if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
These authors' works have the appeal factors accessible and thought-provoking, and they have the genre "science writing"; and the subjects "cell physiology," "human biology," and "molecular biology."
These authors' works have the appeal factors accessible, well-researched, and persuasive, and they have the genre "science writing"; and the subjects "cell physiology," "human biology," and "molecular biology."
These authors' works have the appeal factors well-researched and persuasive, and they have the genre "science writing"; and the subjects "cell physiology," "human biology," and "molecular biology."
These authors' works have the genre "science writing"; and the subjects "cell physiology," "human biology," and "cells."
These authors' works have the genre "science writing"; and the subjects "human body," "cell physiology," and "human biology."
These authors' works have the appeal factors accessible and persuasive, and they have the genre "science writing"; and the subjects "human biology" and "physiology."
These authors' works have the appeal factors accessible, well-researched, and persuasive, and they have the genre "science writing"; and the subjects "human body," "human biology," and "cells."
These authors' works have the appeal factors accessible, persuasive, and thought-provoking, and they have the genre "science writing"; and the subjects "human body," "human biology," and "cells."
These authors' works have the appeal factors accessible, persuasive, and thought-provoking, and they have the genre "science writing"; and the subjects "human biology," "cells," and "immune system."
These authors' works have the appeal factors persuasive and scholarly, and they have the genre "science writing"; and the subjects "cell physiology," "human biology," and "molecular biology."
These authors' works have the appeal factors persuasive, and they have the genre "science writing"; and the subjects "human biology," "neurobiology," and "cells."
These authors' works have the appeal factors well-researched and comprehensive, and they have the genre "science writing"; and the subjects "human body," "cell physiology," and "human biology."

Published Reviews

Choice Review

All living organisms are made of cells that have electrically charged, positive and negative particles. The human body has trillions of such cells. While this has been known for a long time, its implications for the proper functioning of various organs are more recent. Adee, a science and technology writer and journalist, explores the history of bioelectricity and its importance to the operation of organs such as the brain and the heart. The book's five parts cover the early knowledge of the electrical nature of life discovered through Galvani's experiments on frogs in the 18th century, through the use of electricity for healing injuries, to the present use of magnetoencephalography for mapping the complex operations of the brain. Adee makes the case for a greater integration of the physics of electricity with biology. This has been borne out to some extent with the founding of the journal Bioelectricity in 2018. There are many experimental biophysicists from the last five decades who are mentioned in this readable book for their contributions to the understanding of the electrical nature of living matter. The book has good endnotes. Summing Up: Recommended. All readership levels. --Nanjundiah Sadanand, Central Connecticut State University

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Powered by Syndetics

Publisher's Weekly Review

Journalist Adee debuts with a revelatory survey of bioelectricity, the electrical currents that enable "perception, motion, and cognition." Such currents, Adee writes, are "what makes gummy bears taste sour, why we can pick up a glass of water to wash away the taste, and how we know we were thirsty in the first place." Though scientists have long known that the brain and the nervous system communicate via bioelectrical signals, in recent decades, discoveries have made it clear that every cell makes use of them: electrical prompts in utero helps embryos develop properly, for example, and research is being done on preventing birth defects by "re-tuning our electrics." As well, biolectricity has had a "contentious" history, Adee shows, in part because its study has been "scattered across a wide range of disciplines, many of which think the others are peddling poppycock." She masterfully shows the implications of new discoveries and spotlights where the science doesn't add up (there's controversy surrounding whether transcranial direct current stimulation could help with depression or PTSD, for example). With lucid explanations and fascinating anecdotes, Adee is the perfect guide to this hidden realm. Pop science fans, take note. Agent: Carrie Plitt, Felicity Bryan Assoc. (Feb.)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Powered by Syndetics

Kirkus Book Review

A science writer explores bioelectricity and the developments of exciting new electrical treatments. While the idea that our minds and bodies are powered by electricity is well known, Adee shows how recent cutting-edge research suggests remarkable possibilities. Devices such as pacemakers and defibrillators are commonplace, but scientists are now having success using electrical impulses to treat rheumatoid arthritis and even spinal damage and paralysis. There is evidence that small, controlled jolts of electricity delivered from outside the skull can temporarily improve mental clarity and physical performance. When Adee volunteered to try it, she was amazed at the results, although she acknowledges that the process is still experimental. It has been a long road so far, and the author spends the first third of the book tracing the research that established the existence of bioelectricity and how it works. In the early days, the field attracted an array of quacks, con men and pseudo-scientists, which was a hindrance to serious work. There was also the problem that medical researchers and physicists lacked a shared scientific language. Progress occurred anyway, and the structure of the nervous system was gradually uncovered. After that, the roles of electrical signals in cell division, communication, and specialization became a focus of study. All of these developments have opened important new frontiers, including possible effective treatments for cancer. Some of the current research projects that Adee discusses--e.g., using electrical diodes to implant memories--sound like they belong more in science fiction. Yet there was a time when electroencephalogram technology, now used widely in brain scanning, was dismissed as ludicrous. Adee emphasizes that much of the new research will inevitably hit dead ends, as much scientific inquiry inevitably does, and many experiment results are proving difficult to reliably replicate. Nevertheless, she provides a wealth of material to think about. A clear, intriguing examination of a field with huge potential. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Powered by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Reviews

Journalist Adee debuts with a revelatory survey of bioelectricity, the electrical currents that enable "perception, motion, and cognition." Such currents, Adee writes, are "what makes gummy bears taste sour, why we can pick up a glass of water to wash away the taste, and how we know we were thirsty in the first place." Though scientists have long known that the brain and the nervous system communicate via bioelectrical signals, in recent decades, discoveries have made it clear that every cell makes use of them: electrical prompts in utero helps embryos develop properly, for example, and research is being done on preventing birth defects by "re-tuning our electrics." As well, biolectricity has had a "contentious" history, Adee shows, in part because its study has been "scattered across a wide range of disciplines, many of which think the others are peddling poppycock." She masterfully shows the implications of new discoveries and spotlights where the science doesn't add up (there's controversy surrounding whether transcranial direct current stimulation could help with depression or PTSD, for example). With lucid explanations and fascinating anecdotes, Adee is the perfect guide to this hidden realm. Pop science fans, take note. Agent: Carrie Plitt, Felicity Bryan Assoc. (Feb.)

Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly.

Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly.
Powered by Content Cafe

Reviews from GoodReads

Loading GoodReads Reviews.

Citations

APA Citation, 7th Edition (style guide)

Adee, S. (2023). We Are Electric: Inside the 200-Year Hunt for Our Body's Bioelectric Code, and What the Future Holds (Unabridged). Hachette Audio.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Adee, Sally. 2023. We Are Electric: Inside the 200-Year Hunt for Our Body's Bioelectric Code, and What the Future Holds. Hachette Audio.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Adee, Sally. We Are Electric: Inside the 200-Year Hunt for Our Body's Bioelectric Code, and What the Future Holds Hachette Audio, 2023.

Harvard Citation (style guide)

Adee, S. (2023). We are electric: inside the 200-year hunt for our body's bioelectric code, and what the future holds. Unabridged Hachette Audio.

MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)

Adee, Sally. We Are Electric: Inside the 200-Year Hunt for Our Body's Bioelectric Code, and What the Future Holds Unabridged, Hachette Audio, 2023.

Note! Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy. Citation formats are based on standards as of August 2021.

Copy Details

CollectionOwnedAvailableNumber of Holds
Libby200

Staff View

Loading Staff View.