The Language of Life: How Cells Communicate in Health and Disease

Author by : Debra Niehoff
Languange Used : en
Release Date : 2005-04-15
Publisher by : National Academies Press

ISBN :

Description : Cooperation requires conversation. Human beings speak to one another. Sounds, scents, and postures allow animals to make their point. While individual cells can't talk, hiss, growl, or bare their teeth, they nevertheless communicate regularly. Their language is based not on words or gestures, but on chemistry â€"using molecules where we would use words, constructing sentences from chains of proteins. The cells that make up the bodies of muticellular organisms inform, wheedle, command, exhort, reassure, nurture, criticize, and instruct each other to direct every physiological function, report every newsworthy event, record every memory, heal every wound. And each of those chemical conversations represents an opportunity for scientists and physicians. The molecular biologists who worked for over a decade to sequence the human genome have sometimes referred to that sequence as the "book of life." To our cells, that "book" is no more than a dictionaryâ€"only living cells can converse, forming the network that allows our 60 trillion cells to function as a single organism. For nearly a century, researchers have been straining to hear the whispered conversations among cells, hoping to master the basics of their language. They know that if we can decipher and translate this cellular chatter, we have the potential for sending signals of our own that could repair wounds, reduce cholesterol, control insulin levels, or even block the reproduction of cancer cells. The possibilities are as endless as they are intriguing. The Language of Life is a fantastic story of discovery, blending the vision of science with the poetry of life itself....

Author by : Debra Niehoff
Languange Used : en
Release Date : 2005-05-15
Publisher by : National Academies Press

ISBN :

Description : Cooperation requires conversation. Human beings speak to one another. Sounds, scents, and postures allow animals to make their point. While individual cells can't talk, hiss, growl, or bare their teeth, they nevertheless communicate regularly. Their language is based not on words or gestures, but on chemistry â€"using molecules where we would use words, constructing sentences from chains of proteins. The cells that make up the bodies of muticellular organisms inform, wheedle, command, exhort, reassure, nurture, criticize, and instruct each other to direct every physiological function, report every newsworthy event, record every memory, heal every wound. And each of those chemical conversations represents an opportunity for scientists and physicians. The molecular biologists who worked for over a decade to sequence the human genome have sometimes referred to that sequence as the "book of life." To our cells, that "book" is no more than a dictionaryâ€"only living cells can converse, forming the network that allows our 60 trillion cells to function as a single organism. For nearly a century, researchers have been straining to hear the whispered conversations among cells, hoping to master the basics of their language. They know that if we can decipher and translate this cellular chatter, we have the potential for sending signals of our own that could repair wounds, reduce cholesterol, control insulin levels, or even block the reproduction of cancer cells. The possibilities are as endless as they are intriguing. The Language of Life is a fantastic story of discovery, blending the vision of science with the poetry of life itself....

Author by : Brian Treanor
Languange Used : en
Release Date : 2013-11-11
Publisher by : Fordham Univ Press

ISBN :

Description : Modern environmentalism has come to realize that many of its key concerns—“wilderness” and “nature” among them—are contested territory, viewed differently by different people. Understanding nature requires science and ecology, to be sure, but it also requires a sensitivity to history, culture, and narrative. Thus, understanding nature is a fundamentally hermeneutic task....

Author by : Anthony Reading
Languange Used : en
Release Date : 2011-06-16
Publisher by : Springer Science & Business Media

ISBN :

Description : The book introduces a radically new way of thinking about information and the important role it plays in living systems. It opens up new avenues for exploring how cells and organisms change and adapt, since the ability to detect and respond to meaningful information is the key that enables them to receive their genetic heritage, regulate their internal milieu, and respond to changes in their environment. It also provides a way of resolving Descartes’ dilemma by explaining the workings of the brain in non-mechanical terms that are not tainted by spiritual or metaphysical beliefs. The types of meaningful information that different species and different cell types are able to detect are finely matched to the ecosystem in which they live, for natural selection has shaped what they need to know to function effectively in those circumstances. Biological detection and response systems range from the chemical configurations that govern genes and cell life to the relatively simple tropisms that guide single-cell organisms, the rudimentary nervous systems of invertebrates, and the complex neuronal structures of mammals and primates. The scope of meaningful information that can be detected and responded to reaches its peak in our own species, as exemplified by our special abilities in language, cognition, emotion, and consciousness, all of which are explored within this new framework....

Author by : Jon Lieff
Languange Used : en
Release Date : 2020-09-22
Publisher by : BenBella Books

ISBN :

Description : Your cells are talking about you. Right now, both your inner and outer worlds are abuzz with chatter among living cells of every possible kind—from those in your body and brain to those in the environment around you. From electrical alerts to chemical codes, the greatest secret of modern biology, hiding in plain sight, is that all of life's activity boils down to one thing: conversation. While cells are commonly considered the building block of living things, it is actually the communication between cells that brings us to life, controlling our bodies and brains, determining whether we are healthy or sick, and directly influencing how we think, feel, and behave. In The Secret Language of Cells, doctor and neuroscientist Jon Lieff lets us listen in on these conversations, and reveals their significance for everything from mental health to cancer. He explains the surprising science of how very different cells—bacteria and brain cells, blood cells and viruses—all speak the same language. This overarching principle has been long overlooked because scientific journals use impenetrable jargon that makes it hard to be understood across disciplines, much less by the general public. Lieff presents a fascinating and accessible look into cellular communication science—a groundbreaking and comprehensive exploration of this biological phenomenon. In these pages, discover the intriguing lives of cells as they ask questions, get answers, give feedback, gather information, call for each other, and make complex decisions. During infections, immune T-cells tell brain cells that we should "feel sick" and lie down. Cancer cells warn their community about immune and microbe attacks. Gut cells talk with microbes to determine which are friends and which are enemies, and microbes talk with each other and with much more complicated human cells in ways that determine which medicines work and which will fail. With applications for immunity, chronic pain, weight loss, depression, cancer treatment, and virtually every aspect of health and biology, cellular communication is revolutionizing our understanding not just of disease, but of life itself. The Secret Language of Cells is required reading for anyone interested in following the conversation....

Author by : Andrew S. Reynolds
Languange Used : en
Release Date : 2018-06-21
Publisher by : University of Chicago Press

ISBN :

Description : Does science aim at providing an account of the world that is literally true or objectively true? Understanding the difference requires paying close attention to metaphor and its role in science. In The Third Lens, Andrew S. Reynolds argues that metaphors, like microscopes and other instruments, are a vital tool in the construction of scientific knowledge and explanations of how the world works. More than just rhetorical devices for conveying difficult ideas, metaphors provide the conceptual means with which scientists interpret and intervene in the world. Reynolds here investigates the role of metaphors in the creation of scientific concepts, theories, and explanations, using cell theory as his primary case study. He explores the history of key metaphors that have informed the field and the experimental, philosophical, and social circumstances under which they have emerged, risen in popularity, and in some cases faded from view. How we think of cells—as chambers, organisms, or even machines—makes a difference to scientific practice. Consequently, an accurate picture of how scientific knowledge is made requires us to understand how the metaphors scientists use—and the social values that often surreptitiously accompany them—influence our understanding of the world, and, ultimately, of ourselves. The influence of metaphor isn’t limited to how we think about cells or proteins: in some cases they can even lead to real material change in the very nature of the thing in question, as scientists use technology to alter the reality to fit the metaphor. Drawing out the implications of science’s reliance upon metaphor, The Third Lens will be of interest to anyone working in the areas of history and philosophy of science, science studies, cell and molecular biology, science education and communication, and metaphor in general....

Author by : Lawrence E. Hunter
Languange Used : en
Release Date : 2012-01-13
Publisher by : MIT Press

ISBN :

Description : A brief and accessible introduction to molecular biology for students and professionals who want to understand this rapidly expanding field. Recent research in molecular biology has produced a remarkably detailed understanding of how living things operate. Becoming conversant with the intricacies of molecular biology and its extensive technical vocabulary can be a challenge, though, as introductory materials often seem more like a barrier than an invitation to the study of life. This text offers a concise and accessible introduction to molecular biology, requiring no previous background in science, aimed at students and professionals in fields ranging from engineering to journalism—anyone who wants to get a foothold in this rapidly expanding field. It will be particularly useful for computer scientists exploring computational biology. A reader who has mastered the information in The Processes of Life is ready to move on to more complex material in almost any area of contemporary biology....