Robert O. Becker facts for kids

Robert Otto Becker (born May 31, 1923 – died May 14, 2008) was an American orthopedic surgeon and a scientist. He studied how electricity affects living things, a field called electrophysiology. He also explored how electricity could be used in medicine, known as electromedicine.

Dr. Becker worked as a professor at the Upstate Medical Center in State University of New York, Syracuse. He also directed Orthopedic Surgery at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Syracuse. He became well-known for his research into bioelectricity. This is the study of how electrical currents and fields are made by living organisms. He also spoke out about the possible health effects of high-voltage power lines. Many people consider him a key figure in raising awareness about the effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF) on health.

Who Was Robert O. Becker?

Robert Otto Becker was a pioneering scientist. He dedicated his life to understanding the electrical nature of living things. His work helped us learn how our bodies use electricity. He also explored how we might use electricity to heal.

Early Life and Education

Robert Becker was born on May 31, 1923, in River Edge, New Jersey. His parents were Otto Julius Becker and Elizabeth Blanck. He earned his first degree from Gettysburg College in 1946. Then, he went on to get his medical degree in 1948 from the New York University School of Medicine.

After medical school, Becker completed an internship at Bellevue Hospital in New York. He then finished his residency at Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital. He served in the United States Army during World War II from 1942 to 1946. Later, he also served in the United States Army Medical Corps from 1951 to 1953.

On September 14, 1946, Robert Becker married Lillian Janet Moller. They lived in New York City and Valley Stream, New York. In the late 1950s, they settled in Syracuse. There, Becker joined the SUNY Upstate Medical Center.

Exploring Bioelectricity

Dr. Becker greatly increased our understanding of electric potentials in living things. He showed that all living organisms and animals have a small, measurable direct current of electric charge on their body surface. This was a big discovery!

In the 1960s, Becker's research also revealed something amazing about bones. He found that living bone can create electric potentials when squeezed or bent. This property is called piezoelectricity. This discovery led to new ideas about using electricity to help heal broken bones that weren't mending properly. While electrotherapy for bone healing has been explored, its effectiveness is still debated.

Becker also explored how very low frequency waves might relate to how our senses work. He was always curious about the unseen forces affecting life.

The Body Electric: A Key Book

One of Becker's most famous works is the 1985 book The Body Electric: Electromagnetism and the Foundation of Life. He wrote it with Gary Selden. In this book, Becker shared his exciting research about "our bioelectric selves."

How Living Things Regenerate

The book talks a lot about regeneration. This is the ability of some animals to regrow lost body parts. Becker studied regeneration in animals like salamanders and frogs. He looked at how they regrew limbs after amputation.

He believed that electric fields were very important in controlling this regrowth process. Becker mapped the tiny electrical signals in the body during regeneration. He found that the central part of the body was usually positive, and the limbs were negative. When a limb was cut off, the electrical voltage at the wound changed. In salamanders, this voltage change helped the limb regrow. In frogs, the voltage didn't change in the same way, and they couldn't regrow limbs.

Becker then found that applying a small electrical current to the wound could help improve regeneration. This was especially true if the current created a negative charge outside the wound.

Electricity and Bone Healing

Becker also discovered that bone has piezoelectric properties. This means that when bone is put under stress, it generates a small electrical current. This current can help stimulate new bone growth. This idea supports Wolff's law, which states that bone adapts to the loads it is placed under.

Understanding Environmental Electricity

In his book, Becker also discussed electrical signals and magnetic fields in the nervous system. He considered how external factors like Earth's magnetism and solar winds might affect us. He measured electrical properties along the skin. He concluded that the major points used in acupuncture might have a real electrical basis.

In the later parts of The Body Electric, Becker shared his experiences on a committee. This group was looking at the possible health risks of various types of electromagnetic pollution. He presented research suggesting that the harmful effects might be greater than officially recognized. He raised concerns that the official safety guidelines for these fields might not fully protect people.

In 1998, Becker received a patent for a system. This system used electricity to help stimulate tissue healing and regrowth in the body.

The title of his book, The Body Electric, was inspired by a short story collection by Ray Bradbury. That collection was itself named after a poem by Walt Whitman.

Awards and Recognition

In 1964, Dr. Becker received the William S. Middleton Award. This is a prestigious award from the research and development agency of the United States Veterans Health Administration. The SUNY Upstate Medical Center also notes that Becker was given "the Nicolas Andry Award by the American Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons in 1979."

Later Years

In the years before he passed away, Robert Becker lived in Lowville, New York. He died on May 14, 2008, at Lewis County General Hospital in Lowville. His death was due to complications from pneumonia.

Books by Robert O. Becker

• Electromagnetism and Life. State University of New York Press, Albany 1982, ISBN: 0-87395-560-9
• The Body Electric. Electromagnetism and the Foundation of Life (with Gary Selden). Morrow, New York 1985, ISBN: 0-688-06971-1
• Cross Currents. The Promise of Electromedicine, the Perils of Electropollution. Torcher, Los Angeles 1990, ISBN: 0-87477-536-1

Patents

• Iontopheretic system for stimulation of tissue healing and regeneration US 5814094 A 1998

See also

• Electromagnetic radiation and health § Electric power transmission
• L Field
• Electrotherapy