The Body Electric

[keehah]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Body_Electric

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 for iontophoresis -- 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."

[matris ursus]

So, would that explain the cancer clusters near cell phone towers?

[keehah]

So, would that explain the cancer clusters near cell phone towers?
Becker's later book would explain more it seems: Cross Currents — The Perils of Electropollution — The Promise of Electromedicine pdf (http://www.eiwellspring.org/BookReviewOfCrossCurrents.pdf)

Dr. Becker’s research shows that exposures to EMF causes stress on the body’s immune system. As the immune system becomes exhausted, it starts to malfunction. This could explain the rapid rise in allergies and immune disorders in the last few decades, where we have been bombarded with ever-increasing radiation from transmission towers and electronic gadgets.

Research has also shown that EMF make some cancer cells grow faster. That doesn’t mean that EMF causes cancer, but it makes it more possible for cancer cells to overwhelm the body’s immune system. The types of cancer that continue to rise are the same types that would be helped by such a growth stimulation, such as brain tumors and leukemia.


http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/07/fashion/07rolfing.html

Rolfing is named after its creator, Ida Rolf, a biochemist from New York City who studied alternative methods of bodywork and healing beginning in the 1920s. She died in 1979 at the age of 82.

Dr. Rolf developed a theory that the body’s aches and pains arose from basic imbalances in posture and alignment, which were created and reinforced over time by gravity and learned responses among muscles and fascia — the sheath-like connective tissue that surrounds and binds muscles together. Rolfing developed as a way to “restructure” muscles and fascia.

The focus on manipulating fascia is part of what distinguishes it from chiropractics, which deals with bones, and from therapeutic massages, which works on muscles.

That also explains why Rolfing has a reputation for being aggressive, even painful at times. Fascia is stubborn material, particularly if it is marked by knots and scar tissue. Rolfers gouge with knuckles and knead with fists, contort limbs and lean into elbows to loosen tendons and ligaments. Patients, meanwhile, need the fortitude to relax and take it during the hourlong sessions.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascia

Fasciae are normally thought of as passive structures that transmit mechanical tension generated by muscular activities or external forces throughout the body. Some research suggest that fasciae might be able to contract independently and thus actively influence muscle dynamics.[3]
The function of muscle fasciae is to reduce friction to minimize the reduction of muscular force.