The Song of the Cell: An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human
- Downloads：1236
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2023-10-24 16:21:48
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Siddhartha Mukherjee
- ISBN：1982117362
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Annie W
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Would really recommend for anyone interested in bioengineering without a bio background。 Super interesting sections on cancer and cellular therapies。
Luan Uka
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Extremely fascinating topics conveyed in an accessible style， which greatly sparked my interest and imagination。 My only real letdown with this book is the structure， which kind of gets lost after the first third。If it were structured in a more stringent and „efficient“ way， it would have been an easy 5 star， since I love cell biology。
John Findlay
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While this book is certainly not easy reading， it is well worth the effort。 Mukherjee describes the history of developments in cellular therapy， gives an overview of how different types of cells in the body perform their functions and integrate into organs， and mentions several new types of cellular therapy that are becoming， or will become， commonplace。 He also describes some of the ethical considerations that must be wrestled with as it becomes possible to reengineer humans to either remove di While this book is certainly not easy reading， it is well worth the effort。 Mukherjee describes the history of developments in cellular therapy， gives an overview of how different types of cells in the body perform their functions and integrate into organs， and mentions several new types of cellular therapy that are becoming， or will become， commonplace。 He also describes some of the ethical considerations that must be wrestled with as it becomes possible to reengineer humans to either remove diseases or augment personal traits。 There is so much material in the book， and much of it is so complicated， that I found it a slog to read。 I could do only 10-15 pages at a time， and then had to stop and consider what I had learned。 In fact， after finishing the book， I almost wanted to go back and start over to refresh my memory on the many topics covered。 I may do that some day。 While it is not written as a textbook， and contains many individual stories of patients and researchers， it almost could serve as a textbook in some university courses。 In short， I learned a ton， and I have a biology background to begin with。 So， I highly recommend this book， but the reader should be prepared to invest some time in it。 。。。more
Dul Bat
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His style of writing is captivating and poetic。The history of cellular biology intertwined with personal stories。 Educational， catching， thought provoking about the future of medicine。 The author explains the complexity of evolution and what it means to be “a-live”。 I tend to find myself drawn into future of medicine- gene editing part more。“The genomic revolution has induced a kind of moral vertigo” the cellular revolution that will actualize this moral vertigo。
Leonardo
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Incredible， dense description of the history of cell biology and the future ahead。
Sunil Kanojia
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Not an easy book to read but I was determined so I read this book while also listening to it on Audible App。Worth the efforts and one will learn more about "Cellular Intelligence" so crucial for any HEALER to help heal it's client， knowing the cellular elements （including history， pathology and different scientist journey; clarifying the different dimension of evolution of this fantastic CELL's discovery 。。。 still have so many unanswered questions but the KEY element I learned it 。。。 what makes Not an easy book to read but I was determined so I read this book while also listening to it on Audible App。Worth the efforts and one will learn more about "Cellular Intelligence" so crucial for any HEALER to help heal it's client， knowing the cellular elements （including history， pathology and different scientist journey; clarifying the different dimension of evolution of this fantastic CELL's discovery 。。。 still have so many unanswered questions but the KEY element I learned it 。。。 what makes cell to say that these foreign elements of disease vitreous or elements are not me！！！ The song of the Cell is a wonderful story telling using all scientific means available to us post Covid-19 and a must for any student of LIFE， since cell is the smallest living unit of LIFE。 In Gratitudes 🙏🏽 Sunil 。。。more
Charlie Shaw
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An excellent treatise om the pathology of the human systems and the nature of and functions of the immune system， antibodies and their propagation， nature of the specificity of， where they are produced， and the function of T and B cells in cellular immunity。 A very detailed account of both cellular and circulating antibodies and host reactions。Al scientists from Leewenhoek to the present day are mentioned and their particular enhancements to the study of antibody formation， action and methode of An excellent treatise om the pathology of the human systems and the nature of and functions of the immune system， antibodies and their propagation， nature of the specificity of， where they are produced， and the function of T and B cells in cellular immunity。 A very detailed account of both cellular and circulating antibodies and host reactions。Al scientists from Leewenhoek to the present day are mentioned and their particular enhancements to the study of antibody formation， action and methode of eliminating harmful and cidal agents。 。。。more
Jared
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Mukherjee has established himself as a master science writer。 In his latest work， he takes on the vast field of cell biology and does not disappoint。 He takes the reader on a journey of the discovery of cells， their structure and function， and how the cell plays an integral role in human physiology， the COVID-19 pandemic， and biology in general。 This may sound like a biology textbook， but it is not。 Mukherjee masterfully details the history of the discovery of cells from the early microscopists Mukherjee has established himself as a master science writer。 In his latest work， he takes on the vast field of cell biology and does not disappoint。 He takes the reader on a journey of the discovery of cells， their structure and function， and how the cell plays an integral role in human physiology， the COVID-19 pandemic， and biology in general。 This may sound like a biology textbook， but it is not。 Mukherjee masterfully details the history of the discovery of cells from the early microscopists and details many great discoveries in biology and medicine related to cells。 He gives credit where it is due and seems to leave no stone unturned， acknowledging the contributions of those who originally discovered something， even though they did not name it or usually get credit for it。 In particular， he recounts the fascinating （and tragic） circumstances surrounding the discovery of the pancreas' function。 This may sound like a history of science textbook， but it is not。Mukherjee applies his personal experience as a medical doctor and researcher to the text。 He shares anecdotes from his own work， the work of colleagues， and other current scientists to give the reader a fresh look at the current developments related to the topics he brings up。 He condemns He Jian Kui's reckless use of CRISPR， explores the use of deep brain stimulation， shares recent advances in stem cell research and cancer therapy。 In short， the author has blended together various components: biology， history， and modern applications into a narrative that is instructive， fun， and thought-provoking。 He openly shares his personal experience （both good and bad）， a vulnerability that invites the reader further into the narrative。 While rich with science， he makes it accessible through useful analogies， clear explanations， and humor。 Anyone can enjoy this book， and everyone should。 。。。more
Dabi
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My personal taste has this book at a solid 2 stars but that feels disrespectful， and I acknowledge it’s Good， I just didn’t like it。 So 3 stars。This is objectively a very good book。 It’s well written， the prose is beautiful， the information is good， the intertwining scientific fact and personal story is very well done， the thesis of the book is fascinating。Unfortunately I am fundamentally flawed because I did not enjoy the experience of this book。 I found it interminable and far too long。 It was My personal taste has this book at a solid 2 stars but that feels disrespectful， and I acknowledge it’s Good， I just didn’t like it。 So 3 stars。This is objectively a very good book。 It’s well written， the prose is beautiful， the information is good， the intertwining scientific fact and personal story is very well done， the thesis of the book is fascinating。Unfortunately I am fundamentally flawed because I did not enjoy the experience of this book。 I found it interminable and far too long。 It was too surface level an exploration for me and yet at 14 hours long it was just entirely too long。 The writing is very poetic， but unfortunately I do not enjoy reading hundreds of pages of poetry like this book。 。。。more
David
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Very interesting and informative but got very science journally near the end。
Rach
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So interesting and inspiring
Victoria K
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Very interesting， I didn't know about a lot of the more recent findings in cell biology that were mentioned in the book！ It was a little heavy and I sometimes struggled with pacing。 Very interesting， I didn't know about a lot of the more recent findings in cell biology that were mentioned in the book！ It was a little heavy and I sometimes struggled with pacing。 。。。more
Jessica McDonald
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3。5
Kalil Zaidan
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em vez de pegar um dos dois livros anteriores do autor q já tenho há bastante tempo， inventei de começar a obra dele com o mais recente （mas também é o q tem a temática q mais me interessa） e não me decepcionei。 ele é bem objetivo e filosófico na medida certa， alternando entre explicações médicas， relatos históricos e estudos de caso de uma maneira bem fluida e correta。 li esse livro todo em audiobook e devo confessar q não é o melhor meio pra consumir uma obra como essa， apesar da excelente nar em vez de pegar um dos dois livros anteriores do autor q já tenho há bastante tempo， inventei de começar a obra dele com o mais recente （mas também é o q tem a temática q mais me interessa） e não me decepcionei。 ele é bem objetivo e filosófico na medida certa， alternando entre explicações médicas， relatos históricos e estudos de caso de uma maneira bem fluida e correta。 li esse livro todo em audiobook e devo confessar q não é o melhor meio pra consumir uma obra como essa， apesar da excelente narração。 são muitas informações e por vezes é muito fácil pra mim me distrair durante a escuta de um audiobook， e daí qndo me dou conta a informação já se perdeu。 de toda forma， não é como se eu devesse ter memorizado tudo， mas sim compreendido o grande argumento q perpassa toda a obra。 ansioso pra ler os demais dele！ 。。。more
Patti Barnes
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Fascinating
Tanya
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I have so much respect and admiration for Siddhartha Mukherjee。 It's amazing that so much knowledge and talent reside in one individual。 He is a medical researcher par excellence with a scientific mind that blows me away， yet also writes beautiful prose filled with sophisticated metaphors and snippets of poetry he just happens to know。I really loved The Emperor of All Maladies and The Gene。 The Song of the Cell was a little harder for me to stretch my mind around。 I felt that the material was al I have so much respect and admiration for Siddhartha Mukherjee。 It's amazing that so much knowledge and talent reside in one individual。 He is a medical researcher par excellence with a scientific mind that blows me away， yet also writes beautiful prose filled with sophisticated metaphors and snippets of poetry he just happens to know。I really loved The Emperor of All Maladies and The Gene。 The Song of the Cell was a little harder for me to stretch my mind around。 I felt that the material was all excellent and well-explained， but didn't fit as neatly into a thematic package as the previous books。 Yes， immunology and cancer and organs and IVF and Covid all connect back to cellular biology， but it felt a little like a catch-all for anything Mukherjee wanted to talk about。I am always fascinated by what he teaches - not enough to go back and register for a university class on the topic （！）， but I'll keep reading whatever he writes。 I just wish I could remember it all。。。 。。。more
Felicia Mitchell
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It took me a long time to read this book， which I bought because it is so long （and I knew I would want to revisit it）。 Then I bought the audiobook because I felt I would tune in more frequently， and I did。 Sometimes I would realize that I might never pass a test on everything I was learning， but I was intrigued to learn about the history of our awareness of the cell and its role in the systems of the human organism。 I was happy to be a bit more knowledgeable about the cell。Read The Song of the It took me a long time to read this book， which I bought because it is so long （and I knew I would want to revisit it）。 Then I bought the audiobook because I felt I would tune in more frequently， and I did。 Sometimes I would realize that I might never pass a test on everything I was learning， but I was intrigued to learn about the history of our awareness of the cell and its role in the systems of the human organism。 I was happy to be a bit more knowledgeable about the cell。Read The Song of the Cell if you like this kind of book， or if you read everything Mukherjee writes， as I do。 Perhaps the most important thing I can say here that somehow the universe transpired for me to be listening to the section on stem cells and stem cell transplants on the morning a friend was receiving a stem cell transplant in hopes to save his life after being diagnosed with a rare cancer。 It was eerie to listen to the facts and to think of the miraculous medicine that a stem cell is。 。。。more
Peter
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We are maybe in our late adolescence or early adulthood in our understanding of the human。 So much to yet learn and understand……
Natalie
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Would read again。 Great biology review but entertaining as well。 Learned a lot about advances that have been made in cellular therapy up to the present。 Packed with stories to illustrate the effects that cellular diseases like cancer or anemia have on people。
Warren
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Mukherjee describes the history of how biologists have discovered knowledge of the cell。 Included are stories of success and failure， giving insight into how scientists make advances in fits and starts， always probing and testing， creating new ways of examining how cells work and behave。 The amount we have learned about the cell over the centuries is amazing and Mukherjee makes reading about this vital fundamental branch of biology fascinating。 We learn about the inner workings of the cell， the Mukherjee describes the history of how biologists have discovered knowledge of the cell。 Included are stories of success and failure， giving insight into how scientists make advances in fits and starts， always probing and testing， creating new ways of examining how cells work and behave。 The amount we have learned about the cell over the centuries is amazing and Mukherjee makes reading about this vital fundamental branch of biology fascinating。 We learn about the inner workings of the cell， the functions of the myriad of organelles。 The progression is natural to how these cells multiply， colonize and specialize。 He describes how cells can be manipulated to cure disease and also ponders the many humbling unknowns which provide fertile ground for ongoing research。 This book opens a whole world of cellular structure and function。 。。。more
Scott
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Educational and enjoyable。 He is very good at explaining the biology/bio chemistry。 Almost as educational as a text book， but doesn't read like one at all。 Maybe a little too much about him， but he was trying to keep in interesting/human。 Educational and enjoyable。 He is very good at explaining the biology/bio chemistry。 Almost as educational as a text book， but doesn't read like one at all。 Maybe a little too much about him， but he was trying to keep in interesting/human。 。。。more
Henry Charlton
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A very nice blend of medical anecdotes and delightful factual story telling of the history of the cell and its implications in modern medicine。 As expected for a Mukherjee the focus is on cancer， but that is not necessarily a detraction。 While each chapter represents a different story of the cell， and as such the book can seem a bit scattered， a bit of the way through the threads become apparent。 I appreciated the attention to the morality of cellular research， since while this may not seem to b A very nice blend of medical anecdotes and delightful factual story telling of the history of the cell and its implications in modern medicine。 As expected for a Mukherjee the focus is on cancer， but that is not necessarily a detraction。 While each chapter represents a different story of the cell， and as such the book can seem a bit scattered， a bit of the way through the threads become apparent。 I appreciated the attention to the morality of cellular research， since while this may not seem to be relevant， since it is not factual but subjective， it nevertheless directly influences which lines of research we are allowed to pursue。 Discussion in this sector of cellular medicine， particular for ESC's， is essential if humanity expects to truly begin to cure many diseases rather than just treat them。 Overall I enjoyed the book and was left with a desire to know more about the field， ending with an enriched albeit not satisfied curiosity。 。。。more
Charles Rutherford I。V。
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So poetically and lyrically written。 Seldom do you encounter an author who is not only a subject matter expert but can succinctly explain in an approachable manner some of todays most confounding and exciting concepts in the field of cellular biology。
Derek Van Tilborg
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The song of the cell is written in the same format as the Emperor of all Maladies。 It was probably my favourite read of this year。 The book is structured by the hierarchy of cell biology concepts， often resulting in a somewhat fluid chronology of stories。 The author takes you on a journey of discovery， sometimes jumping back and forth through time。 He starts out with the discovery of the cell itself and along the way， we slowly unravel more and more about its machinery。 We move from cells， to or The song of the cell is written in the same format as the Emperor of all Maladies。 It was probably my favourite read of this year。 The book is structured by the hierarchy of cell biology concepts， often resulting in a somewhat fluid chronology of stories。 The author takes you on a journey of discovery， sometimes jumping back and forth through time。 He starts out with the discovery of the cell itself and along the way， we slowly unravel more and more about its machinery。 We move from cells， to organs， to organisms， and eventually to cellular therapies。 The book alternates perspectives， often looking through the lens of a scientist， patient， or the authors personal experience as a cancer physician/researcher。 Quite often we look through the lens of a microscope as well。 As a biomedical engineer myself， I was very familiar with most of the science in this book。 Still， it was extremely captivating to read。 For me the most interesting parts were often the stories behind the science。 I enjoyed the portrayal of scientists and physicians as actual human beings， having their own personalities and difficulties in life。 Its a lot of fun to learn about the history of these discoveries。 Occasionally you are brought very close to patients and their experiences as well。 There are a few gloomy passages in the book that were very touching （but not nearly as bad as in The Emperor of all Maladies）。 These stories serve as a reminder of the tremendous progress we have made in medicine and the societal relevance of curiosity driven scientific inquiry。 Our current understanding of cell biology is very well explained in the book。 If you want to learn about it， this is a great place to start。 The author does an excellent job at explaining scientific concepts in accessible language。 Often， he interweaves a poetic narrative through the cell biology he’s explaining。 I think this caused me to get extremely excited from this book。 It often left me with a great sense of awe and curiosity for the world。 On top of that， The Song of the Cell reinvigorated me during a motivational dip in my PhD。 。。。more
Jessica
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This one took me right back to 1997， sitting in Cell Biology， with a few updates of post-1997 discoveries and a more interesting narrative。 Seriously， cells are the coolest and this book will tell you all about them。 I'm not sure how easily this would be understood by someone without a biology/science background。 For the most part， I think the author did a good job of keeping the information relevant with sufficient details but without overdoing it though I did get a little lost in the immune ch This one took me right back to 1997， sitting in Cell Biology， with a few updates of post-1997 discoveries and a more interesting narrative。 Seriously， cells are the coolest and this book will tell you all about them。 I'm not sure how easily this would be understood by someone without a biology/science background。 For the most part， I think the author did a good job of keeping the information relevant with sufficient details but without overdoing it though I did get a little lost in the immune chapters。。。T-cells， B-cells， CDC factors。。。it probably would've been easier to keep track of them had I read the book instead of listened to it while trying to do other things， but such are the sacrifices we make to increase our books consumed rates。 Four stars。 Would recommend to anyone with an interest in biology， science， cell biology， cellular therapies， etc。 。。。more
Adrián Ghiggeri
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I love history， medicine and reading about clinical trials。 But this book has so many fillings！！ It makes it boring and tedious。 I’m really happy I finished it so I don’t have to read it any more。 I did learn a couple of things and that is why I put an extra star。
Nikitha Mupparaju
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Come on！ Amazing as always！ Not as good as his previous work but it’s still a great book。 Personally， I think The Gene is better。 His writing can only be described as poetic， and I appreciated the review of different kinds of cells。 The cellular engineering aspect of it was pretty scary though。 We have seen how plastic surgery can be used for more objectively beneficial changes （healing burn patients）， and also used for more negative changes （creating unreachable beauty standards for people *cou Come on！ Amazing as always！ Not as good as his previous work but it’s still a great book。 Personally， I think The Gene is better。 His writing can only be described as poetic， and I appreciated the review of different kinds of cells。 The cellular engineering aspect of it was pretty scary though。 We have seen how plastic surgery can be used for more objectively beneficial changes （healing burn patients）， and also used for more negative changes （creating unreachable beauty standards for people *cough* the kardashians *cough*）。 How will cellular engineering be used？ Will people try to change the sex of their child？ Give every kid blue eyes and blonde hair？ Doesn’t that erase some of the differences that make us human？ All very scary thoughts… 。。。more
Hoai Nguyen
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Not for meThe book is a rendition of a college-level biology textbook， but without illustration （since I listened to the audiobook version） and sprinkled with his personal experience as a doctor。 Don't get me wrong， it's probably digestible for non-STEM people， but to hear the same story over and over bores me to death。 I understand that it helps to dive into the history and the progress made during the last few centuries， but it was lengthy。 This is my own fault for doing the audiobook: just wa Not for meThe book is a rendition of a college-level biology textbook， but without illustration （since I listened to the audiobook version） and sprinkled with his personal experience as a doctor。 Don't get me wrong， it's probably digestible for non-STEM people， but to hear the same story over and over bores me to death。 I understand that it helps to dive into the history and the progress made during the last few centuries， but it was lengthy。 This is my own fault for doing the audiobook: just wanted to look for discussions of new scientific findings or insights， and it was impossible to do so in this format。Maybe I will try again on a paper format where I can skim half of the book。 Maybe not 。。。more
Stella Reynaga
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Great book！ But not necessarily for someone who’s already taken UAS Genetics， UAS Infectious Disease， and Human anatomy
Ben Dickson
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