The Language Of Life. How Cells Communicate In Health & Disease

Debra Niehoff0309089891

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.

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Table of contents :
Cover Page……Page 1
Title Page……Page 4
ISBN 0-309-08989-1……Page 5
CONTENTS……Page 6
INTRODUCTION……Page 8
1 SMALL TALK……Page 16
BETTER MOVEMENT THROUGH CHEMISTRY……Page 19
GROUP DECISIONS……Page 26
THE TALK OF THE TOWN……Page 34
A PATTERN LANGUAGE……Page 42
2 BUILD IT AND THEY WILL TALK……Page 48
FROM THE GROUND UP……Page 52
A SURFEIT OF SIGNALS……Page 55
COULD YOU REPEAT THAT PLEASE?……Page 59
A COMMUNITY OF EFFORT……Page 67
SNAP TO IT……Page 74
A LIVING LANGUAGE……Page 82
3 PLAITING THE NET……Page 88
MEET THE CONTRACTORS……Page 95
THIS END UP……Page 99
OUTSIDE IN……Page 109
AN ARM AND A LEG (AND A BACK AND A BRAIN)……Page 119
TWO STEPS FORWARD, ONE STEP BACK……Page 134
A FEW WELL-CHOSEN WORDS……Page 142
4 LIFE IN THE BALANCE……Page 146
FLESH AND BLOOD……Page 148
BAD, MAD, OR OUT OF CONTROL?……Page 157
EATING TO LIVE, LIVING TO EAT……Page 172
INSIDE THE BLACK BOX……Page 176
WEIGHT WATCHING: AN EXERCISE IN FUTILITY……Page 182
5 “THE SCENARIO-BUFFERED BUILDING”……Page 192
“FAR-SPEAKING” CLOSE UP……Page 197
DRIVERS WANTED……Page 206
SPEAK, MEMORY……Page 217
THE ART OF WAR……Page 230
6 THE VIRTUAL CELL……Page 248
THINKING OUT OF THE “STRAIGHT LINE” BOX……Page 251
BUILDING AIRPLANES IN THE SKY……Page 258
A SYSTEM OF CENTERS, THE PRINCIPLES OF POEMS……Page 264
INTRODUCTION……Page 268
1 SMALL TALK……Page 269
2 BUILD IT AND THEY WILL TALK……Page 271
3 PLAITING THE NET……Page 277
4 LIFE IN THE BALANCE……Page 288
5 “THE SCENARIO-BUFFERED BUILDING”……Page 297
6 THE VIRTUAL CELL……Page 309
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS……Page 312
A……Page 314
B……Page 316
C……Page 317
D……Page 319
E……Page 320
G……Page 322
H……Page 324
I……Page 325
M……Page 326
N……Page 328
P……Page 330
R……Page 331
S……Page 333
T……Page 335
W……Page 336
Z……Page 337