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Published Oct 2009
256 pages
Genre: Science, Health and the Environment
Publication Information
Everything about our existence—movement and memory, imagination and reproduction, birth and, ultimately, death—is governed by our cells. They are the basis of all life in the universe, from the tiniest bacteria to the most complex animals. In the tradition of the classic Lives of a Cell, but with the benefit of the latest research, internationally acclaimed embryologist Lewis Wolpert demonstrates how human life derives from a single cell and then grows into a body, an incredibly complex society made up of billions of them. When we age, our cells cannot repair the damage they have undergone; when we get ill, it is because cells are so damaged they stop working and die.
Wolpert examines the science behind topics that are much discussed but rarely understood—stem cell research, cloning, DNA, mutating cancer cells—and explains how all life evolved from just one cell. Lively and passionate, this is an accessible guide to understanding the human body and life itself.
"His range is so great that he has little time to delve beneath the surface of any of the subjects he raises, making this a cursory introduction for the novice in basic cell biology and its implications." - Publishers Weekly
"Despite a somewhat helpful glossary, lay readers would be better served by a generously illustrated textbook." - Kirkus Reviews
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Lewis Wolpert is Professor Emeritus of Biology as Applied to Medicine at University College, London. His books include Six Impossible Things before Breakfast and Malignant Sadness, the basis for a BBC television series.
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