The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher

In 1974, Lewis Thomas wrote in 'The Lives of a Cell' that the function of humans is communication:

'We pass thoughts around, from mind to mind, so compulsively and with such speed that the brains of mankind often appear, functionally, to be undergoing fusion.'

Thirty-some years later, with the twittering Internet and its newsgroups, email, websites, and media, these words show real prescience.

'Or perhaps we are only at the beginning of learning to use the system, with almost all our evolution as a species still ahead of us. Maybe the thoughts we generate today and flick around from mind to mind...are the primitive precursors of more complicated, polymerized structures that will come later, analogous to the prokaryotic cells that drifted show more through shallow pools in the early days of biological evolution. Later, when the time is right, there may be fusion and symbiosis among the bits, and then we will see eukaryotic thought, metazoans of thought, huge interliving coral shoals of thought.

The mechanism is there [n.b.: in the human brain], and there is no doubt that it is already capable of functioning...

We are simultaneously participants and bystanders, which is a puzzling role to play. As participants, we have no choice in the matter; this is what we do as a species.' show less

A collection of very short essays from the 1970s in which Lewis Thomas, a medical researcher, muses about various topics related to medicine, biology, and nature. He is particularly interested in mitochondria, social insects and the ways in which human society does or doesn't resemble theirs, and the importance of basic research in medical science.

This is regarded as a real classic of science writing, or at least of writing by a scientist, so it's a little surprising it took me this long to get to it. I must say that, when I first started it, I didn't exactly think it was living up to its reputation. The essays here are really tiny, more a series of individual thoughts than anything else. And Thomas not infrequently uses some technical show more terms without explaining them, which I didn't find too much of a problem, but which does make it feel less accessible than I was expecting. He also engages in a fair amount of speculation and the occasional flight of fancy that aren't at all scientific, which bugs me possibly more than it ought to.

But the more I read, the more I came to appreciate Thomas's writing. It's rather beautiful, always thoughtful and often thought-provoking, and laced with subtle wit. And although it is very much of its time, aside from a few now-humorous remarks about computers, it's actually aged quite well.

So. Do I still think Lewis Thomas is over-hyped, for lack of a better phrase? Well, yes, a bit. But he is still good. show less

Lewis Thomas is a name I remember from my undergraduate days; my biology professors were fond of quoting him. I knew very little about him other than the fact that he wrote scientific essays in polished prose and was evidentally at one time quite well known even among the general public. But fame is fleeting and few of those who came of scientific age after his death in 1993 recognize his name. I suppose ten years hence Stephen Jay Gould will be equally obscure.

I discovered a first edition of this book in the famed "Strand" used bookstore during a recent trip to Manhattan. I was amazed at its physical appearance -- the pages had not yellowed, nor was the cover the garish psychedelic mess that books from the early 1970s tended to have. show more In short, the book would look quite in place in a modern bookstore. Having now read the slender tome, I would have to say that the contents seem (with few exceptions) equally modern.

Much like many of Stephen Jay Gould's books, "The Lives of a Cell" is a collection of essays originally printed elsewhere. In this case, the venue was the New England Journal of Medicine, but thankfully (in my opinion, at least) they mostly deal with issues of basic biology. The first thing I noticed was that Thomas used the term "genome" quite frequently and without explanation -- while few people today would fail to understand the term, I wonder what people in 1974 made of it; I myself don't recall hearing the term until 1991, when I met a student of Fred Blattner's who was working on the E. coli genome, and even as late as 1997 I recall having to explain the term to my parents. Secondly, it is interesting how obsessed Thomas seemed to be with endosymbiosis. Repeatedly, the theme that eukaryotic cells as we know them could not exist without the endosymbiotic help of mitochondria and chloroplasts is brought up. This also adds to the modern feel of the book because in recent years endosymbiosis has become a popular topic again as genome sequencing has allowed more detailed studies of endosymbionts and their relation to free living microbes to be undertaken. Thomas even suggested a genome project (although not in so many words): Mixotricha paradoxa, a protist that moves by the work of embedded endosymbiotic spriochetes -- in other words, its "limbs" are actually other organisms.

Other topics that Thomas addresses also are quite modern -- Thomas' pleas that biology look beyond the traditional reductionistic approach to look at entire systems are more or less identical with the sorts of editorials on the subject that one reads today, and his assertions that language has a biological basis predate Pinker's by decades.

The only things that don't quite hold up are Thomas' thoughts on international politics (which were understandably mired in the dated topics of the Cold War and fears of US-USSR nuclear war), and his view on computers, which like that of many people of his time, was based on the misunderstanding (propagated from films from the 1950's onward) that computers were genuinely thinking machines rather than simply fancy programmable calculators.

I highly recommend this book -- the essays are well written in much the same sort of style that Gould would later use, and it is simply amazing that it dates from 1974. show less

Several years ago an immunologist happened to tell me how much she admired The Lives of a Cell. Lucky for me, because now I’ve read it and there is much in it I hope not to forget.

Early in this charming collection of short essays, Lewis Thomas writes:
“Ants are so much like human beings as to be an embarrassment. They farm fungi, raise aphids as livestock, launch armies into wars, use chemical sprays to alarm and confuse enemies, capture slaves. The families of weaver ants engage in child labor, holding their larvae like shuttles to spin out the thread that sews the leaves together for their fungus gardens. They do everything but watch television.”

Hmm . . . I gave up watching TV years ago so it appears the narrow ground show more differentiating me from an ant is now vanished. Well, I am lazier than an ant. I’ve never captured a slave, for example. Maybe that’s enough to claim I ain’t an ant! But probably I should just admit our kinship and go research which species it’d be best to enlist with.

After all, a large theme for Thomas is the sociability of organisms, their being together with their own kind, driven to finding relationships, congenial or not, with other kinds, forming dependencies capable of sustaining illusions of independence for the party that doesn’t understand the situation. It has about it something of the miraculous.

While reading The Lives of a Cell one becomes impressed by the scope of these relations, by the rarity of “separateness,” by little-known continua in life. This last idea is dramatically illustrated in the process of dying. Thomas shares in his essay “The Long Habit” the following remarkable intelligence:
“Judging from what has been found out thus far, from the first generation of people resuscitated from cardiac standstill…Those who remember parts or all of their episodes do not recall any fear, or anguish. Several people who remained conscious throughout, while appearing to have been quite dead, could only describe a remarkable sensation of detachment . . .
“In a recent study of the reaction of patients to dying of obstructive disease of the lungs, it was concluded that the process was considerably more shattering for the professional observers than the observed. Most of the patients appeared to be preparing themselves with equanimity for death, as though intuitively familiar with the business. One elderly woman reported that the only painful and distressing part of the process was in being interrupted; on several occasions she was provided with conventional therapeutic measures…and each time she found the experience of coming back harrowing; she deeply resented the interference with her dying.”

What could speak more of the completeness of life’s preparations for the living individual in all its natural events?

In what Lewis Thomas tells us, in The Lives of a Cell, the reader enjoys more than mere acquaintance with interesting information. The book quietly extends our perceptions and alters our perspectives. show less

Brief glimpses into the many facets of our biological cosmos. Combines wit, professional insight and a strong sense about the human condition.

Although written in the 1970′s, these essays by Lewis Thomas cover subjects that are still some of the most interesting questions in biology today. From the awe-inspiring complexity of a single cell to our approach to curing diseases, from how our interactions compare to those of social insects to the health care system, the essays in this book will give you a new appreciation for biology and a unique, thoughtful perspective on these fascinating topics. Every time I finished an essay, I was struck by the thought that surely no one really just sits down and writes essays like this any more. More than anything else, the author reminded me of a naturalist, someone from the early twentieth century simply observing, wondering at, and show more trying to learn from nature.

As a scientist, I want that. Every day, I work at science and occasionally I get the feeling this book captures; a feeling of stepping back and no longer working at science, but wondering at it. In every essay, Thomas writes about biology in a deceptively casual, meditative manner which requires intimate knowledge of so much science just to be able to connect the concepts he uses to draw the bigger picture. And he doesn’t just write about it in a science-y way. I think anyone, even a non-scientist, could pick this book up and appreciate the poetic beauty with which he describes life. They might even learn a little biology along the way.

I know I’m handing out 5 star reviews like candy this week, but this another book where all I can say is: read this! The essays are each short, all under 10 pages, and they’re written in a very approachable way. I would highly recommend this book to a book club or even a journal club for all the thought provoking ideas it presents, as well as to any scientist because occasionally we need to be reminded just how awesome what we’re doing really is. show less

Lives of a Cell is a collection of 29 beautifully written essays on science. Although focused on biology, you'll find essays touching on etymology, cosmology and healthcare. That's a blessing for the layperson. The treatment of some topics feels dated. For instance, genetics is mentioned only briefly. On other topics, such as treatment of the elderly and palliative care, Thomas shows great foresight.

In addition, Thomas dispels myths and adds interesting anecdotes. Several stick in my mind. First, mitochondria in our cells have more in common with bacteria than other animals. Second, illness is often caused by bacteria themselves becoming infected or abnormal. Third, symbiosis is an arrangement as common as competition, and often more show more stable. Fourth, many insect species are social and have a critical mass beyond which they act as a single organism. There are many more nuggets which feed the layman's mind and expand horizons.

Given the collection's breadth of outlook, I recommend this for anyone interested in biology, nature or science generally. show less