
Controlling electric signals in the body could help it heal - rbanffy
https://www.knowablemagazine.org/article/living-world/2018/controlling-electric-signals-body-could-help-it-heal
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TeMPOraL
> _We took the early eye structure from one frog embryo, and implanted it onto
> another embryo’s back. We were interested in two things: First, would the
> recipient be able to see out of that implanted eye on its back? Is the brain
> plastic enough to be able to actually see out of it? Second, we wanted to
> know, what is this eye structure going to do without a brain nearby? Where
> is it going to connect, and what are the neurons going to do?_

Oh my. This is both amazing and a cliché straight from a cheap horror movie.
The actual results are even more surprising - apparently yes, the implanted
eye can be made to sort-of work.

Is anyone here aware of more research in this area?

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VSerge
I find regrettable that the reasoning is still explained/oversimplified in
terms of "electric potential tells body to do this". This is utterly
nonsensical determinism, unhelpful when trying to understand hugely complex
and dynamic systems. To say that ions interact with their environment and
affect it, through their electrical properties (and maybe chemical too), would
be much closer to the reality being described here.

To make an analogy of why determinism is not helpful in biology, consider a
white blood cell catching a few bacteria that would otherwise have tried to
attack the lungs. Determinism would have us say this white blood cell is
protecting the lungs, as if it were its goal. But a white blood cell is just
that, a single cell, with no idea that things such as lungs exist or that they
need protecting. A white blood cell is just a hunter that recognized something
it could eat, and ate it.

If interested in the topic, I was paraphrasing "neither god nor gene" there, a
book by Kupiec and Sonigo, and the one read that changed the way I understood
biology when I was an undergrad in the field.

~~~
azeirah
I find it incredibly fascinating how we human beings are essentially huge
networks of autonomously operating cells, and somehow; that gives rise to a
sense of self and consciousness? What?

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dlwdlw
Theres an interesting book about this “I am a Strange Loop” written by Douglas
Hofstadter

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azeirah
Oh haha, I had no idea I am a strange loop was about that topic. I'm familiar
with Douglas Hofstadter, as I've attempted to read GEB (while playing along
with his examples and exercises!) but had to give up because it took so much
energy, effort and time to get even just a bit further, while I never really
had the idea I was moving towards anything, unfortunately.

I've heard that that book is similar in its topic, but way less arcane, so I
might give it a try when I have some more free time, thanks for the
suggestion!

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manmal
Has this been widely known? I always wondered how cells know what structures
to grow into, especially those at the fringes of tissues. I also wonder what
taking things like calcium channel blockers do to our bodies, or how that
relates to photobiomodulation, which is known for regulating calcium channels.

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leonroy
There is a lot of research in this field which occurred in Russia and the
eastern bloc and is still practised there.

The Scenar device for example is popular for reducing pain and allegedly
speeding healing:
[http://www.scenar.com.ru/en/production/](http://www.scenar.com.ru/en/production/)

Not posting that as proof but as an example of the sorts of devices Russian
health care use.

From what I understand most of the research is untranslated and often ignored
here in the West so it’s good to see some headway occurring on the effect of
electric signals in cellular growth.

~~~
amelius
Another example: the US military uses a device to treat anxiety. It is
commercially available.

[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/wellbeing/7918685/Trea...](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/wellbeing/7918685/Treating-
anxiety-the-Alpha-Stim.html)

[https://www.alpha-stim.com](https://www.alpha-stim.com)

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carapace
If you're interested in this sort of thing pick up a copy of "The Body
Electric" by Robert O. Becker and Gary Selden. [1] Describes investigation of
regeneration among other things. YMMV

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Body_Electric_(book)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Body_Electric_\(book\))

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nerdponx
For some reason this reminded me of the research on how EMFs can affect the
nervous system [0]

[0]:
[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S089106181...](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0891061815000599)

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skate22
Hope Pence doesn't get any ideas.. (joking)

