We Are Electric: Inside the 200-Year Hunt for Our Body’s Bioelectric Code, and What the Future Holds

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.)