The Master Builder: How the New Science of the Cell is Rewriting the Story of Life

Well written. The material is presented in an easily accessible manner. 👍

I am a psychologist, not a biologist, so my expertise is limited. I have a longstanding interest in cells, owing to my unusual—but by no means unique—view: For us to have minds, our cells must have some mind-like qualities. I have read several excellent books on cell biology and thus already was convinced that the mainstream gene-centered view is outdated and that cells are intelligent far beyond our comprehension. But, for a lay reader, I think Arias’s book is in a class by itself. I think of it as Cell Biology 101, masterfully taught. But it is far more than that: It is truly visionary, while acknowledging that we are only on the cusp of a new vision.What I find most mind-boggling: We are composed of 40 trillion human cells living in symbiosis with 100 trillion bacteria. That’s 140 trillion living organisms in a huge, multilayered community, in continuous communication. From what I’ve read, I think of cells as exemplifying social cognition. Reading through this book cemented that conviction. Then I got to page 302, the last page in the book: “Cells are intuitive and social, sensing and reactive to their environment in a complex, emergent manner.” I am not crazy to think of cells as mind-like. But their capacity to get along with each other in a 140-trillion numbered community is a lot better than ours.

Un tema fascinante y muy bien escrito para que entienda cualquiera con la mínima formación

Libro muy recomendable a quien busque una visión actualizada de las cuestiones básicas de la Biología y nuestra propia concepción como Humanos.Complejo pero expresado de forma simple y accesible.No somos un puñado de genes, sino un puñado de células que comparten genes y los usan para diferentes propósitos.Me encantaría discutir con el autor unos pasos aún más allá, y enfrentarnos a la gran cuestión subyacente: ¿cómo se pudo formar la primera célula eucariota?Desde Tenerife

Convincingly argued, after reading , there can be little doubt that the cell is the master of the body using the DNA bricks with the protein morter. On concluding, the reader will be humbled and wiser about the body human and how it functions. Mildly repetitions, it does leave the reader still wondering how it all works.

The book is very well written and provides both an historical reference of work and discussion of leading edge research. It provides a compelling case for a central role of the cell in human development