What doyouthink?
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473 pages, Hardcover
First published October 25, 2022
The whole process can be imagined as an elaborate postal system. It begins with the linguistic code of genes (RNA) that is translated to write the letter (the protein). The protein is written, or synthesized, by the cell’s letter writer (the ribosome), which then posts it to the mailbox (the pore by which the protein enters the ER). The pore routes it to the central posting station (the endoplasmic reticulum), which then sends the letter to the sorting system (the Golgi), and finally brings it to the delivery vehicle (the secretory granule). There are, in fact, even codes appended to proteins (stamps) that enable the cell to determine their ultimate destination. (p.86 of 473)In the following excerpt the author is self consciously reviewing his previous use of metaphors and then proceeding to suggest that the whole system of cells that make up a human body is a "cellular civilization."
Our metaphors have changed. Flip back a few pages, and we imagined the cell as a lone spaceship. Then, in the chapter “The Dividing Cell,” the cell was no longer single but became the progenitors of two cells, and then four. It was a founder, the originator of tissues, organs, bodies—fulfilling the dream of one cell becoming two and four. And then it transformed into a colony: the developing embryo, with cells settling and positioning themselves within the landscape of an organism.This following is an isolated comment that I found interesting. It was listed as one of many unsolved mysteries.
And blood? It is a conglomerate of organs, a system of systems. It has built training camps for its armies (lymph nodes), highways and alleys to move its cells (blood vessels). It has citadels and walls that are constantly being surveyed and repaired by its residents (neutrophils and platelets). It has invented a system of identification cards to recognize its citizens and eject intruders (T cells) and an army to guard itself from invaders (B cells). It has evolved language, organization, organization, memory, architecture, subcultures, and self-recognition. A new metaphor comes to mind. Perhaps we might think of it as a cellular civilization. (p.242 of 473)
Or why patients with certain neurodegenerative diseases—Parkinson’s among them—have a markedly lower risk of cancer. (p.363 of 473)