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Available
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Publication
Simon & Schuster 2022
Description
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--all could be viewed as the results of cells, or systems of cells, functioning abnormally. And all could be perceived as loci of cellular therapies. In The Song of the Cell, Mukherjee tells the story of how scientists discovered cells, began to understand them, and are now using that knowledge to create new treatments and new human
Media reviews
The Telegraph
The rise of the ‘new human’ – how stem cells are revolutionising medicine.
Siddhartha Mukherjee's brilliant The Song of The Cell explains how these building blocks will upend our understanding of life itself.
very cell in your body, from toenail to brain, comes from a single original cell:
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the fertilized egg that was you at conception. So every different organ and tissue in the human body can in principle be produced by an embryonic cell, or stem cell. That being the case, why don’t we grow new limbs after injury, like salamanders and starfish do? Alas, our cells don’t always do what we’d wish. At least, not yet.
The prospect of the kind of “cellular engineering” that might make such therapies possible is one among many themes of The Song of The Cell, whose author, the oncologist Siddhartha Mukherjee, previously wrote the bestselling The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer (2010). Cancer itself is a recurring thread here too, being another way in which our cells can rebel against our hopes and desires. (There are some particularly moving scenes at the bedside of a friend and patient of the author’s.) What can make the disease so intractable, he explains, is that a single tumour can contain cells that have mutated in different ways, so that it is “an assemblage of nonidentical diseases”. So even novel therapies that sequence a tumour’s genome are not guaranteed to succeed.
No one knows how the planet’s first biological cell – the shared ancestor of all living things, from magic mushrooms to Liz Truss – constructed itself, billions of years ago. But somehow a bunch of proto-genetic material surrounded itself with a protective bubble and life got going. Later, single cells decided it might be worth getting together – perhaps huddling for defence, though again no one really knows – and so multicellular organisms such as shrubs and lizards were eventually made possible. As Mukherjee explains, cells have evolved into exquisite nanobots, packed with all sorts of machinery for energy production, replication, and – in the case of immune cells – hunting and killing.
Immunotherapy – the re-education of a patient’s own immune cells, the better to target cancer or other disease – is one of the cutting-edge medical interventions that really interest Mukherjee, and he relates some fascinating case studies of how it can work or fail. The problem is often that the supercharged immune cells go after other innocent organs (say, the liver) as well as the enemy. In a short but excellent chapter on the covid-19 pandemic, meanwhile, Mukherjee explains the especially vicious cellular effects of the Sars-Cov-2 virus’s hijacking and subverting of the immune system itself. Still it isn’t known how exactly this is done. “The monotony of answers is humbling, maddening,” the author writes. “We don’t know. We don’t know. We don’t know.”
What we do know, however, is already impressive. The fact that living tissues are made from cells was first discovered only in the late 17th century, by microscope-building investigators such as Robert Hooke and the Dutch cloth merchant Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek. (Hooke called them “cells” because their structure reminded him of monks’ rooms.) Two hundred years later, it was still common for surgeons who dropped a scalpel on a blood-and-pus-soaked floor simply to wipe it off on their gowns for reuse. (Pus was thought to have splendid healing powers.) And now, a mere 150 years later, we can rewrite the DNA inside cells to cure some kinds of vision or hearing loss.
By engaging in such medical magic, Mukherjee argues that we are in a sense creating “new humans”, which might be thought a slight overstatement, but one cannot begrudge him his delight in his chosen science. Indeed, the subject of the cell is so vast in his hands – covering not only the anatomy of single cells, but also everything from IVF and heart attacks to battlefield medicine, deep-brain stimulation for depression, the Thalidomide disaster, the discovery of insulin, and gene-edited babies – that he has effectively attempted to write a book about the entirety of human biology and modern medicine. The guiding metaphor of “new humans”, as we allegedly shall be once immunological and genetic engineering becomes routine, is therefore structurally useful if not altogether convincing.
It is fortunate, then, that Mukherjee he is such an engaging writer, alert to both nanoscopic beauty and the potential deceptions of metaphor. After a particularly gruelling hospital episode, he comments: “Ever since that evening, I never use the word ‘bloodbath’ casually.” The most immediate parts of the book, indeed, are the periodic case studies from the author’s clinical practice, written with compassionate warmth and humour, and the personal glimpses into an ordinary scientific life and the dedication that goes with it. At one lovely point, he relates how he spends Monday mornings alone in a darkened room at his hospital, looking at blood samples under a microscope. It’s his favourite time of day. “I love looking at cells, in the way a gardener loves looking at plants.”
He also has an amusing habit of describing British places (Oxford, Oldham) as interminably rainy or foggy purgatories in which scientists must nonetheless doggedly pursue the truth, with wry asides at “the English habit of deadly euphemism” he encountered as a student. One scientific mentor, he relates, had a habit of reacting to an idea he thought ludicrous by calling it “subtle”. Mukherjee remembers: “At lab meetings, I must confess, I was often rather subtle.” In a more flattering sense of that term, he still is. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member LisCarey
Siddhartha Mukherjee is a cancer physcian and researcher, and gives us a fascinating history of cell biology and cellurlar medicine. Though cancer is a central interest for him, he clearly makes the case that most of modern medicine, not just cancer research and treatment, is cellular medicine.
He
This wasn't immediately as effective as one might think, but it did ensure that van Leeuwenhoek's work got more attention, was preserved, and eventually made him an important figure in the history of cell biology.
Mukherjee gives us an absorbing history of the advance of the science of cell biology, and the beginnings of cellular medicine, starting with the beginning of vaccination--in the Middle East, Africa, India, and China, before reports of it reached Europe, and Edward Jenner learned of milkmaids being apparently immune to smallpox after getting cowpox. It's a fascinating history, and revealing of how much we overlook in the condensed and biased versions of history we get in school.
The main focus of this book, though, is how cellular biology has permeated medical research and the practice of medicine, especially but not only in the research, understanding, and treatment of cancer. Cancer, of course, is not one disease, but many diseases, caused by mutant cells that have a lot in common but many differences, too. No one approach is effective against all cancers. Sometimes seemingly the same cancer in one person responds differently when it spreads to different parts of the body. Mukherjee tells stories of heartwarming victories, but also of heartbreaking losses in the battle against cancer in different patients.
In the course of this, he shares the intricacies of the immune system, its complexities and still-unfolding mysteries. The narrator, Dennis Boutsikaris, does an excellent job, witha wondefully clear reading that expresses Mukherjee's passion for his topic,
Altogether, an excellent listen. Highly recommended.
I bought this audiobook.
He
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starts in the 1600s, when English polymath Robert Hooke, and Ducth clost merchant Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (how did I not know before this that van Leeuwenhoek was a cloth merchant?) separately discovered the cell while working with early microscopes. Van Leeuwenhoek was mostly dismissed because he was a cloth merchant and didn't describe his discovery, or present it, in scientific terms. Hooke was much more respected, being a scientist, but his polymath interests made it harder for him to get a lot of attention for cells. When van Leeuwenhoek read one of Hooke's papers and wrote to him, Hooke had another person who had seen the same thing, and van Leeuwenhoek had a much more persuasive voice to make the case for what he'd seen.This wasn't immediately as effective as one might think, but it did ensure that van Leeuwenhoek's work got more attention, was preserved, and eventually made him an important figure in the history of cell biology.
Mukherjee gives us an absorbing history of the advance of the science of cell biology, and the beginnings of cellular medicine, starting with the beginning of vaccination--in the Middle East, Africa, India, and China, before reports of it reached Europe, and Edward Jenner learned of milkmaids being apparently immune to smallpox after getting cowpox. It's a fascinating history, and revealing of how much we overlook in the condensed and biased versions of history we get in school.
The main focus of this book, though, is how cellular biology has permeated medical research and the practice of medicine, especially but not only in the research, understanding, and treatment of cancer. Cancer, of course, is not one disease, but many diseases, caused by mutant cells that have a lot in common but many differences, too. No one approach is effective against all cancers. Sometimes seemingly the same cancer in one person responds differently when it spreads to different parts of the body. Mukherjee tells stories of heartwarming victories, but also of heartbreaking losses in the battle against cancer in different patients.
In the course of this, he shares the intricacies of the immune system, its complexities and still-unfolding mysteries. The narrator, Dennis Boutsikaris, does an excellent job, witha wondefully clear reading that expresses Mukherjee's passion for his topic,
Altogether, an excellent listen. Highly recommended.
I bought this audiobook.
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LibraryThing member waldhaus1
Presenting physiology from an atomic perspective. The bell presented as the atom of physiology. It’s physiological roles are explored along with historical perspectives about who and how they were discovered. I have some quibbles with the narrators pronunciation. But who knows who our what is
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right. It finishes with an exploration of cloning and genetic modification and asking the question: how does society deal with that. Show Less
LibraryThing member tangledthread
Once again the author brings complex concepts of biology and medicine to the lay public in this homage to the living cell. The first part of the book is devoted to the origins of cell biology through the use of primitive microscopes, observational techniques, and primitive experimentation. This is
The story picks up as the narrative enters modern times and we are introduced to Nobel Prize winners who advance the understanding of cellular anatomy and physiology are applied to the practice of medicine. Examples of patients who are treated by techniques developed as a result of these advances are included.
The author is well read and uses literature and metaphor to illustrate and sometimes embellish scientific ideas and concepts. As a hematologist and oncologist, his thinking reflects a deep respect for both the art and science of the practice of medicine.
As this long treatise on the various aspects of the cell comes to a close, the author reflects that much of the past century's research has been based on atomism, attempting to advance scientific understanding by breaking things down to their component parts. He reflects that what we don't understand is how these units relate to one another in a more holistic way and future advances may rely on developing this sort of understanding. Hence the title The Song of the Cell.....using the metaphor of music to encourage the understanding of how cells interact (sing) together for the outcomes we observe.
A favorite quote:
p. 274 "To see his drawings of neurons is to realize how much can be learned by just seeing. It is to return to characters such as Da Vinci or Vesalius who imagined drawing as thinking: an astute observer and draftsman could generate a scientific theory as much as an experimental interventionist. Cajal sketched what he saw and his understanding of how the nervous system "worked" emanated entirely from drawing cells and drawing conclusions."
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a bit slow going. The story picks up as the narrative enters modern times and we are introduced to Nobel Prize winners who advance the understanding of cellular anatomy and physiology are applied to the practice of medicine. Examples of patients who are treated by techniques developed as a result of these advances are included.
The author is well read and uses literature and metaphor to illustrate and sometimes embellish scientific ideas and concepts. As a hematologist and oncologist, his thinking reflects a deep respect for both the art and science of the practice of medicine.
As this long treatise on the various aspects of the cell comes to a close, the author reflects that much of the past century's research has been based on atomism, attempting to advance scientific understanding by breaking things down to their component parts. He reflects that what we don't understand is how these units relate to one another in a more holistic way and future advances may rely on developing this sort of understanding. Hence the title The Song of the Cell.....using the metaphor of music to encourage the understanding of how cells interact (sing) together for the outcomes we observe.
A favorite quote:
p. 274 "To see his drawings of neurons is to realize how much can be learned by just seeing. It is to return to characters such as Da Vinci or Vesalius who imagined drawing as thinking: an astute observer and draftsman could generate a scientific theory as much as an experimental interventionist. Cajal sketched what he saw and his understanding of how the nervous system "worked" emanated entirely from drawing cells and drawing conclusions."
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LibraryThing member ehousewright
This is the third of Dr. Mukherjee's books that I have read-- and I recommend them all highly. I love the historical approach, as he shows scientists building towards our current understanding and possible futures. I also like that he is not only a scientist and science historian but a working
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physician, bringing practical knowledge as well as theory and experimentation. I look forward to whatever comes next! Show Less
LibraryThing member scottjpearson
Siddhartha Mukherjee, one of our age’s most brilliant medical writers, is a cancer doctor with research interests in the basic sciences of cell biology and genetics. He is also an engaging writer with a deep knowledge of the history of science. His books, one of which has won a Pulitzer Prize,
In this book, he describes the long history of this field and how it has given us more understanding about our bodies’ various facets. He describes how cell biology has impacted various organ systems and translates knowledge of basic science to clinical effects. He also describes patient stories of contemporary impacts of research and cutting-edge research trials that hope to impart new wisdom to the medical establishment.
In this and other works, I’ve read few other authors who can make the history of medicine come alive to the same degree as Mukherjee. His passion for the subject combines many aspects, including stories about scientists’ personal lives, scientific details that have huge impacts on patients (i.e., all of us), and ethical challenges of managing biological innovations.
This book contains a lot of biological knowledge and healthcare experience. Reading about biology is not for the feint of heart. But his prose makes the process enjoyable. Aspiring healthcare workers and biological researchers will benefit from perusing its pages. It can teach a bunch about cell biology while keeping the reader mentally and spiritually engaged. This book provides us with a fun way to learn more about our bodies so that we don’t fall asleep in the process.
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combine all these crosscurrents to convey a compelling narrative. He’s done it for both genetics and cancer, and here, he hits another home run writing about cell biology.In this book, he describes the long history of this field and how it has given us more understanding about our bodies’ various facets. He describes how cell biology has impacted various organ systems and translates knowledge of basic science to clinical effects. He also describes patient stories of contemporary impacts of research and cutting-edge research trials that hope to impart new wisdom to the medical establishment.
In this and other works, I’ve read few other authors who can make the history of medicine come alive to the same degree as Mukherjee. His passion for the subject combines many aspects, including stories about scientists’ personal lives, scientific details that have huge impacts on patients (i.e., all of us), and ethical challenges of managing biological innovations.
This book contains a lot of biological knowledge and healthcare experience. Reading about biology is not for the feint of heart. But his prose makes the process enjoyable. Aspiring healthcare workers and biological researchers will benefit from perusing its pages. It can teach a bunch about cell biology while keeping the reader mentally and spiritually engaged. This book provides us with a fun way to learn more about our bodies so that we don’t fall asleep in the process.
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LibraryThing member nmele
Mukherjee's book is a history of the development of human knowledge about cells and cellular biology and also a review of current research and treatments involving cells. I learned a good deal from the history and was fascinated by the possibilities ongoing research is opening up.
LibraryThing member neurodrew
This is the third book I have read by this author. He always writes very well, and knows how to enliven the science with personal stories, dramatic clinical histories, and personal facts about the scientists discussed. I think his approach is formulaic, in a sense. All of his scientists are
I marked many interesting points in his book:
p. 50 - 1858 Rudoph Virchow's doctrine of the cells - omnis cellula ex cellula
p. 98 - 1878 Walther Flemming describing mitosis in salamandar eggs
p. 109 -1968 Robert Edwards & Walter Steptoe (with usual modern nurse who does not get a Nobel) pioneer in vitro fertilization
p. 124 - 2018 "JK", the Chinese scientist who sensationally implanted genetically altered human embryos
p. 137 - 1200 or so, Albertus Magnus described animal and bird embryos
p. 141 - 1920 or so, microtransplantation of embryo parts creates two headed tadpoles
p. 143 - 1961 thalidomide birth defects and FDA scientist Frances Kelsey blocking approval in the US
p. 155 - 150 AD Galen and black bile causing cancer and depression (black bile in Latin is melan-cholia)
p. 165 - 1881 Giulio Bizzonero describes platelets and their role in clotting
p. 178 - 2020 At the shrine of the Indian godess Shitala in Kolkatta, describing variolation for smallpox
p. 211 - 1987 Alain Townsend describing immune function based on class I MHC molecules - structure looking like an open bun for an antigen hot dog
p. 214 - 1990s Class I MHC antigens from inside cells recognized by T8 cells, and peptides in lysozomes loaded on Class II MHC sensed by T4 lymphocytes
p. 227 - 1500 BC or so, Vedic philosophy "atman" (self) and "Brahman" (universal, multitudinous self)
p. 239 - 1994 Immune checkpoint inhibitor CTLA4
p. 252 - 2020 SARS-COV2 stops infected cells from secreting interferon type 1 that signals early infection to T cells
p. 278 - Ramon y Cajal drawings of nerve cells and synaptic boutons
p. 292 - 2003 Helen Mayberg deep brain stimulation in Brodmann area 25 (subcallosum cingulate gyrus) for treatment of depression
p. 300 - 1920 Frederick Banting and the discovery of insulin, in the islets of Langerhan (described in 1869)
p. 321 - 1960 Till and McCulloch paper showing the existence of bone marrow stem cells
p. 324 - 1963 graft vs host disease
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introduced with some tidbit about their outside interests ("rowing fanatic"), habits, appearance, idiosyncrasies, and usually some explanatory biography that motivated them to study a certain topic. The discoveries are always sudden and "breathtaking", although all of them are peering through microscopes at cell cultures. A lot of graduate students and post-docs are involved, and the question of credit for fundamental discoveries comes up often, but the poverty wages of post-docs are never discussed. I am in awe of Mukherjee's genius and productivity, although I do not see how he can be a writer, a clinician, a basic cell biology scientist, a husband and parent, without a large research staff. It woiuld take me a year or two to read all the articles and books he cites. His cell biology history and description is not comprehensive, and he is clearly more familiar with developments in his field of oncology. I marked many interesting points in his book:
p. 50 - 1858 Rudoph Virchow's doctrine of the cells - omnis cellula ex cellula
p. 98 - 1878 Walther Flemming describing mitosis in salamandar eggs
p. 109 -1968 Robert Edwards & Walter Steptoe (with usual modern nurse who does not get a Nobel) pioneer in vitro fertilization
p. 124 - 2018 "JK", the Chinese scientist who sensationally implanted genetically altered human embryos
p. 137 - 1200 or so, Albertus Magnus described animal and bird embryos
p. 141 - 1920 or so, microtransplantation of embryo parts creates two headed tadpoles
p. 143 - 1961 thalidomide birth defects and FDA scientist Frances Kelsey blocking approval in the US
p. 155 - 150 AD Galen and black bile causing cancer and depression (black bile in Latin is melan-cholia)
p. 165 - 1881 Giulio Bizzonero describes platelets and their role in clotting
p. 178 - 2020 At the shrine of the Indian godess Shitala in Kolkatta, describing variolation for smallpox
p. 211 - 1987 Alain Townsend describing immune function based on class I MHC molecules - structure looking like an open bun for an antigen hot dog
p. 214 - 1990s Class I MHC antigens from inside cells recognized by T8 cells, and peptides in lysozomes loaded on Class II MHC sensed by T4 lymphocytes
p. 227 - 1500 BC or so, Vedic philosophy "atman" (self) and "Brahman" (universal, multitudinous self)
p. 239 - 1994 Immune checkpoint inhibitor CTLA4
p. 252 - 2020 SARS-COV2 stops infected cells from secreting interferon type 1 that signals early infection to T cells
p. 278 - Ramon y Cajal drawings of nerve cells and synaptic boutons
p. 292 - 2003 Helen Mayberg deep brain stimulation in Brodmann area 25 (subcallosum cingulate gyrus) for treatment of depression
p. 300 - 1920 Frederick Banting and the discovery of insulin, in the islets of Langerhan (described in 1869)
p. 321 - 1960 Till and McCulloch paper showing the existence of bone marrow stem cells
p. 324 - 1963 graft vs host disease
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LibraryThing member nmarun
Undoubtedly, this book goes in-depth about the internals of a cell. This is the first book of Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee that I've read and I'm inclined to read his previous books as well.
His analogies about the process of protein reaching its destination using a postal service and that of a human
I found the text fascinating, enlightening and illustrative on the topic of "What a cell actually does".
His analogies about the process of protein reaching its destination using a postal service and that of a human
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genome to a library helps etch the concepts in our minds. The write is so elegant and involved that many a times I was imagining these cell components as little lives living inside the 'fortress' of the cell city performing their job, mostly diligently - there are failures at times - just like us humans.I found the text fascinating, enlightening and illustrative on the topic of "What a cell actually does".
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LibraryThing member Iudita
The information in this book was really interesting and well presented. However it is information dense and I would recommend reading it slowly, not only to take it in, but to prevent yourself from getting burned out by it. I was reading it on a deadline and pushed through it which left me feeling
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a bit overwhelmed with the material at times. It is very readable and easy to understand so don't be put off by the science. Just take your time with it. Show Less
LibraryThing member podocyte
A nice summary of the history cell research and introduction to the work being done in today's cell biology laboratories.
LibraryThing member kristykay22
Dudes. Have you ever thought about the fact that you are made entirely of cells? And somehow they coordinate their individual activities so you can grow, heal, think, live, and die? Holy shit! In this very readable and fascinating book, Mukherjee weaves together basic cell biology, the history of
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how we learned what we know so far about cells, his own experience as an oncologist and researcher, and his own personal life experiences. Somehow he keeps all the threads in order and after finishing this book, the reader has a pretty well-rounded understanding of what is going on with our crazy cells, what we still don't understand, and the many people who got us to this point. As a cancer person, this really helped me understand my own treatment (I finally get exactly what it is that neutrophils do and how the CDK4/6 inhibitors I took in my first and second lines of treatment really work!). Even non-cancer people can prepare to have their minds blown. Do you understand diabetes? The immune system? How a sperm and egg turn into a person? Maybe you think you do, but I bet you will learn a few things if you dig into this book. I read Mukherjee's Pulitzer-prize winning history of cancer, The Emperor of All Maladies, and really liked it but found his prose sometimes a bit too flowery for my taste. In The Song of the Cell, he keeps the same novelistic writing style, but (for the most part) reins in the overly florid metaphors. This book was just great. Highly recommended. Show Less
Awards
Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction (Longlist — 2023)
BookTube Prize (Octofinalist — Nonfiction — 2023)
PROSE Award (Winner — 2023)
Notable Books List (Nonfiction — 2023)
New York Public Library Best Books: For Adults (Top Ten — 2022)
Language
Original publication date
2022-10
ISBN
9781982117351