Customer Reviews

Life Itself: Exploring the Realm of the Living Cell

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
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For most of us the cells that make up our bodies are as well known as aliens from another galaxy. I took college biology back in an era that seemed not far distant from when Leeuwenhoek developed the microscope. In that time cells seemed to be blobish creatures that led mysterious, ill-defined lives. Boyce Rensberger brings us a fascinating, up to date, tale of who these little people are. I say "little people", because in the telling of it you can't but wonder if these smallest parts of biological existence don't lead an almost sentient life. I found myself developing a personal theory that millions of years ago a group of cells got together and decided to build some big creatures that would go out and hunt food for them. They are in charge, not us.

Our cells have ports in their membranes that require a special key to get in. If a morsel of cell food (glucose) arrives in a little boxcar (vesicle) it must have a key that fits in the membrane receptor. Vesicles travel around the cell cytoplasm on microtubules, which are like so many train tracks. A seven step process takes place that changes the glucose to pyruvate which is then shipped to little organelles called mitochrondia which change this substance to ATP which is the universal cell food. The marvelous thing is that things are moved, and acted on by various protein molecules. How do little things like molecules dash about carrying out various assignments? In another part of the book the author describes the replication of the chromosomes. Not only do molecules carry out this assignment, but another molecule checks the finished work for accuracy. Throughout the book I kept saying over and over, "but how can these molecules actually do this?" How do cilia and sperm cells wag? Essentially a protein molecule holds on to a stiff fiber, reaches over to another fiber and bends it towards the first fiber. Incredible.

I'm just a layman, but this is one of the most exciting science books that I have ever read. Mr. Rensberger makes it very accessible by providing diagrams, and by using extremely useful analogies to help you understand a most complex life form. I've also taken a college course in human physiology, but these little microscopic life forms seem much more fascinating and complex than the operation of the human body itself.

This is one of the very best biology books I've ever read, in a league with Dawkins. Beautifully clear explanations. Makes things concrete and visualizable. Good quotes and interesting historical perspectives. Just technical enough that you are getting the real stuff not some dumbed-down substitute but minus detail of interest only to people going into the field(s). You actually get a perspective on the topic you *don't* get from the textbooks (the publishers should make the textbook writers study how this guy does it). The first Amazon reviewer complained about the ageing chapter -- yeah, it wasn't that strong on evolution of ageing, but overall this is still a better book than Austad's book on ageing and vastly more engaging than Rose (if you're looking for biology of ageing, Halliday is better than either in my opinion).

I have only one serious complaint here: I would have liked ten times as many illustrations and some in color but I'm sure that would have raised the price a lot.

After reading another reviewer's complaints about the author's treatment of the biology of aging, I went back and reread that section. I think I have become so accustomed to "reading around" such wording in evolutionary writing that I didn't even notice it until I looked for it. Sure enough, the author does sound as if he is making group selection arguments, but I don't think that is what he means. I think he is just being a bit sloppy with his language. If the Hayflick limit offers no insights into organismal aging, as the earlier reviewer claims, it nonetheless is a curious observation that average species lifespan correlates closely with the allowable number of cell divisions for the species. As a non-biologist scientist, I found the book a fascinating update to my highschool biology course (ancient history).While it gives a clear explication of the workings of the cell, it is written engagingly and simply enough that I am having my middle school children read it as an introduction to biology before they take it in high school. A book this size and at the level it is written obviously can't do justice to the full depth and breadth of cellular biology and biochemistry, but it does provide a sound introduction and certainly whets the appetite of the scientifically inclined.

This is a remarkable book on the biology of the human cell in that it goes into a level of detail you would expect only in a textbook - without boring or confusing the reader, and in a relatively short book. How does Rensberger pull this off? Certainly with logical organization and clear writing, but there is more to it. He eliminates all but a whiff of organic chemistry. He takes advantage of the fact that evolution so often utilizes existing molecules and pathways to do new things: if you ignore some of the minor chemical modifications, one description covers many different processes. Most human cells can function on their own in a cell culture; a recurrent theme of the book is that human cells retain most of the capabilities of their free living ancestors, yet are coordinated into a single effective organism. From previous reading, I do know that Rensberger omitted some very interesting material on the learning and sensory capabilities of individual cells; e.g. many all over the body are sensitive to light. This topic would have benefited from his talent, and if necessary there is other material which could have been omitted. Development of the embryo is certainly interesting, but I don't quite see how it fits in with the rest of the book (as contrasted to cell reproduction); also, perhaps there was a little too much on molecular motors. The field of cellular biology is very dynamic, and Rennsberger gives the reader a good historical perspective, historical being like 20 years, to better appreciate what we now know. While theoretically this book requires no background, I would suggest it only for readers who already have some superficial knowledge of DNA and genetics - and who are truly interested in the subject area.

A great text to supplement boring textbook descriptions of the cell organelles. Honors/AP Bio students have truly enjoyed reading about the inner workings of the cells, the molecular motors that drive movement, and the genetic basis of life. A great book that brings contemporary biology to life. Highly recommended!

This book is well-written and informative. I really enjoyed it and found it useful for spicing up my lectures on cell biology. Unfortunately, in the last chapter the author makes a number of group selectionist arguments (unambiguously disproven in the 1960s) in trying to explain aging. The Hayflick limit, while interesting, does not offer any insight into the question of organismal aging.

For a clear treatment of the topic, try Michael Rose's "The Evolutionary Biology of Aging" or, if that's too technical, Steve Austad's "Why We Age."

I have been looking for this book my whole life! Rensberger connects the most basic chemical reactions to how we're alive as human beings. I just read the description of human conception and it gripped me like a thriller novel, even though I know how it turns out. This book is my new "foundation" recommendation for friends who know I'm a biology buff and want to know where to start.

The only hesitation I have is the date; the book is eight years old, and some of the information is notably dated. I am reading a library copy and holding out for an updated edition.

This has to be one of the best science books I've ever read. I've always been put off by cell biology which seem masses of unrelated disconnected facts. This book puts it all together, covering both the science we know and the experimental techniques we used to learn it. Of the many books I read each year, about five get to stay in my library while the rest are tossed. This book easily makes that cut.

If you have any interest in cell biology, whether a scientist or a "house-husband," this is where to come. Thoughtful, analogies and illustrations ease transmition into the life of the smallest living organism. Within, Life Itself you will find a prisim, which will portrey the visions of the most overlooked beauty known to man, the cell.

Cells taken from animal and human tissue or organs can be frozen slowly into a state that preserves all their internal structures and bonds unharmed so that when unfrozen and put into a nutrient broth they regain life. The same happens with some multicelled organisms like platelets that when dehydrated slowly they flatten out but their internal structures stay preserved for months or even years and when moistened they revive. Are these cells or organisms alive or dead? This book starts by shaking my school definition of life: "a living being is born, it grows, it reproduces itself and it dies". The previously mentioned inanimate state surely preserves the essence of life, so maybe "Life Itself" could be redefined as the structures that make it possible. This is already too philosophical for me, but not less amazing.

Can you cope with more philosophizing? One-celled organisms are virtually immortal; unless they are really killed, they can divide forever. Cells from a multicelled organism have given up immortality for the benefit of the whole organism; depending on the species, cultured cells can only divide a certain number of times, afterwards they stop dividing and eventually die. Cancer cells seem to be renegade cells that "regain" immortality at the expense of the organism; cultured cancer cells behave like one-celled organisms in the sense that they can divide forever.

The chapter on genetics explains the basics in a much simpler way than most genetics books that I have read (including a perfect explanation of the promoter region for gene activation or inhibition). I recommend this book as an introduction or complement to books that deal with genetics and promoters but without explaining them so clearly, like Nature Via Nurture : Genes, Experience, and What Makes Us Human, Cracking the Genome: Inside the Race to Unlock Human DNA, Endless Forms Most Beautiful: The New Science of Evo Devo and In Search of Memory: The Emergence of a New Science of Mind. This book lets you also understand books like Microcosmos: Four Billion Years of Microbial Evolution better (specially mitosis, meiosis, metabolism, etc.), but it goes also the other way around: Microcosmos explains how various aspects and organelles within multicelled organisms could have emerged out of symbiotic relationships between one-celled organisms.

You will find chapters explaining the cell and its main internal structures or organelles in "living-room size", DNA replication and mitosis (cell division), metabolism (consuming energy stored in ATP to perform the cell's basic functions), the immune system (antigens, vaccines, phagocytes, killer cells and even AIDS and allergies), motion (can you believe motion is achieved by thousands of "flexing" proteins?), aging and telomeres, cancer and a genetic auto-shut-down or cell suicide program and even some elementary embryology... All this and more is explained in a language understandable to all of us and with the help of brilliantly simple drawings. Can you ask more?