biological functions that were poorly explained, if at all, by the chemical concept. However, there was
a much larger flaw. All of the concepts that excluded electromagnetic effects and processes in biology
were based upon the knowledge of this force extant at the time. In the early years of the present century
the only mechanisms of electrical conduction were metallic and ionic. Even then a strange class of
minor substances was known to exist, located between the conductors and the insulators, called
semiconductors. These were of no practical significance at the time and since they existed only as solid,
crystalline materials, they were ipso facto excluded from the biological world, which as everyone knew
was water-based to permit the all-important chemical reactions. As knowledge at the atomic level
increased, better understanding of the semiconductor substances was acquired. It became known that
instead of large numbers of electrons moving in clouds along the surface of metals, small numbers of
electrons existed within the organized crystalline lattice of the semiconductor where they were not
associated with any single atom but were free to move throughout the entire crystal with ease.
In 1941, Szent-Gyorgyi, a physician and biochemist who had already been awarded the Nobel
Prize for his work on biological oxidation mechanisms and vitamin C, made the startling suggestion
that such phenomena as semiconduction could exist within living systems. He postulated that the
atomic structure of such biological molecules as proteins was sufficiently organized to function as a
crystalline lattice. In the case of the fibrous proteins he proposed that they could join together in
"extended systems" with common energy levels permitting semiconduction current flow over long
distances. Szent-Gyorgyi, while certainly not subscribing to the mystical vitalistic philosophy,
nevertheless felt compelled to state that he believed biological knowledge was considerably less
complete than advertised by the mechanistic establishment. In the Koranyi Lecture delivered in
Budapest that year he stated, "It looks as if some basic fact about life is still missing, without which any
real understanding is impossible."
The modern concept of electrobiology can be considered to have originated with these thoughts
of Szent-Gyorgyi. As the remainder of this volume will show, it is not a return to the vitalism of
imponderable forces and actions, but rather the introduction into biology of advances in knowledge that
have occurred in the field of solid-state electronics. The resulting weight of the evidence seems to
indicate that steady-state or DC currents exist within living organisms where they serve to transmit
information at a basic level. This concept has proven to be of considerable value in understanding
many of the life functions that are poorly explained when viewed solely within the framework of
biochemistry.
PART TWO:
The Role of Electromagnetic Energy in the Regulation of Life Processes
Chapter 2: The Physiological Function of Intrinsic Electromagnetic Energy
Introduction
The Nervous System
Growth Control
Bone
ELECTROMAGNETISM & LIFE - 20