The song of the cell : an exploration of medicine and the new human
by Mukherjee, Siddhartha (Author)
Summary
"The discovery of cells--and the reframing of the human body as a cellular ecosystem--announced the birth of a new kind of medicine based on the therapeutic manipulations of cells. A hip fracture, a cardiac arrest, Alzheimer's, dementia, AIDS, pneumonia, lung cancer, kidney failure, arthritis, COVID... Full description
- Prelude: "The elementary particles of organisms"
- Introduction: "We shall always return to the cell"
- Part one: Discovery
- The original cell: an invisible world
- The visible cell: "Fictitious stories about the little animals"
- The universal cell: "The smallest particle of this little world"
- The pathogenic cell: microbes, infections, and the antibiotic revolution
- Part two: The one and the many
- The organized cell: the interior anatomy of the cell
- The dividing cell: cellular reproduction and the birth of IVF
- The tampered cell: Lulu, Nana, and the transgressions of trust
- The developing cell: a cell becomes and organism
- Part three: Blood
- The restless cell: circles of blood
- The healing cell: platelets, clots, and a "modern epidemic"
- The guardian cell: neutrophils and their kampf against pathogens
- The defending cell: when a body meets a body
- The discerning cell: the subtle intelligence of the T cell
- The tolerant cell: the self, horror antitoxicus, and immunotherapy
- Part four: Knowledge
- The pandemic
- Part five: Organs
- The citizen cell: the benefits of belonging
- The contemplating cell: the many-minded neuron
- The orchestrating cell: homeostasis, fixity, and balance
- Part six: Rebirth
- The renewing cell: stem cells and the birth of transplantation
- The repairing cell: injury, decay, and constancy
- The selfish cell: the ecological equation and cancer
- The songs of the cell
- Epilogue: "Better versions of me".