The Language of Life: How Cells Communicate in Health and Disease

Description

Cells talk—and scientists are listening. One of the most intriguing topics in molecular biology, biochemical communication is the cornerstone of modern medicine and the mainstay of cutting-edge pharmaceutical research. For nearly a century, researchers have been straining to hear the whispered conversations among cells, hoping to master the basics of their language. They know that if we can decipher and translate this cellular chatter, we have the potential for sending signals of our own that could repair wounds, reduce cholesterol, control insulin levels, or even block the reproduction of cancer cells. The possibilities are extraordinary. The Language of Life reveals the private conversations of cells. In place of words, however, cells use chemicals, linking molecule to molecule to construct sentences that obey formal rules of grammar and syntax as binding as those that govern our own spoken and written language. Through the exchange and interpretation of chemical signals, they report every newsworthy event, record every memory, respond to every bodily injury. If you've ever wondered how your body copes with stress and change, why you can't lose weight, or shake unreasonable fears; if you've pondered the origins of cancer or the epidemic of diabetes; or if you've wished for a glimpse into the future of medicine, this is a book you must read. Debra Niehoff examines the communication breakdowns that underlie some of our most common and intractable disorders and shows how intervening in these crises by sending signals of our own not only gives us the drugs to cure what ails us, but promises more effective and better targeted medications in the future. The Language of Life blends the vision of science with the poetry of life itself. It is a fantastic story of discovery that artfully conveys the epic of the developing embryo, the miracle of the human brain, and the stories of battles waged by cells on the front lines of a never-ending war against disease.