Píseň buňky - Proměny medicíny a lidského těla – Mukherjee Siddhartha (2025)

American oncologist, scientist and writer Siddhartha Mukherjee, well known to Czech readers through translations of his earlier works The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer and The Gene: An Intimate History, presents a compelling new story. The Song of the Cell explains how scientists gradually discovered and, from the 17th century onwards, observed cells, the basic units of living organisms. It describes how they learned to understand the vital connections between cells that form tissues, organs and organ systems, and the cellular interdependence that gives rise to remarkable physiological functions such as immunity, reproduction, perception, understanding, repair and rejuvenation. It also examines what happens when cells fail and development takes a pathological course, as well as how the continual expansion and deepening of knowledge about cellular physiology and pathology is bringing about revolutionary changes in biology and medicine. Hip fractures, cardiac arrest, Alzheimer’s disease, kidney failure, arthritis, pneumonia and covid can all be viewed in a new way as consequences of abnormal cell or system function. This opens the way to a new kind of medicine based on therapeutic cell modification, the development of new drugs and treatments, and new approaches to healing and transforming the human body. Mukherjee’s engaging scientific explanations are interwoven with stories from the lives of past and present researchers, his own experiences, and sometimes painful memories of patients and friends taken by illness.