We Are Electric

Starred review from November 7, 2022
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.

December 1, 2022
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(2022) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.