The Spark of Life: Electricity in the Human Body (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780393078039)

What happens during a heart attack? Can someone really die of fright? What is death, anyway? How does electroshock treatment affect the brain? What is consciousness? The answers to these questions lie in the electrical signals constantly traveling through our bodies, driving our thoughts, our movements, and even the beating of our hearts.

The history of how scientists discovered the role of electricity in the human body is a colorful one, filled with extraordinary personalities, fierce debates, and brilliant experiments. Moreover, present-day research on electricity and ion channels has created one of the most exciting fields in science, shedding light on conditions ranging from diabetes and allergies to cystic fibrosis, migraines, and male infertility. With inimitable wit and a clear, fresh voice, award-winning researcher Frances Ashcroft weaves together compelling real-life stories with the latest scientific findings, giving us a spectacular account of the body electric.

Author: Frances Ashcroft
ISBN-10: 0393078035
ISBN-13: 9780393078039
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Language: English
Published: 09/24/2012
Pages: 352
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.35lbs
Size: 9.60h x 6.50w x 1.40d

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 04/15/2012 pg. 60
Publishers Weekly 05/28/2012 pg. 79
Kirkus Reviews 08/01/2012
Booklist 08/01/2012 pg. 13
Library Journal 08/01/2012 pg. 112
Booklist Editors Choice/Adult 01/01/2013 pg. 7
Choice 05/01/2013