The dance of life The new science of how a single cell becomes a human being
Book - 2020
"Embryologist Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz has spent two decades unraveling the mysteries of fetal development. By studying embryonic mouse cells, she witnessed the embryo's ability to rid itself of abnormal cells as it prepared for implantation in the womb. When Zernicka-Goetz became pregnant at 44, she received a call that took her by surprise: a sample test of the cells in her own placenta indicated that the fetus had trisomy-2, a disastrous extra copy of the second chromosome, which increased the risk of miscarriage or serious birth defects. It seemed likely that the best choice was to have an abortion. But the plasticity of the embryonic mouse cells in her studies gave her hope; if mouse cells were able to course correct, then pe...rhaps human cells were capable of similar resiliency. Six months later, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy, and the experience inspired her to begin a series of studies to test this hypothesis. Her subsequent experiments with early human embryos and artificial "three parent" embryos were not only groundbreaking; they also proved that embryotic cells could be artificially nurtured through the trials and tribulations of their early development. To say that her work is controversial would be an understatement, but as Zernicka-Goetz notes, harm can arise as much from doing nothing as from taking risks. And with profound implications for stem cell research, infertility treatment, prenatal diagnostic testing, immunotherapy, and genetic engineering, not to mention women's reproductive health, the stakes have never been higher. At once thought-provoking and thoroughly moving, The Dance of Life sheds new light on how a simple fertilized egg becomes a complex human being"--
- Subjects
- Genres
- Autobiographies
- Published
-
New York :
Basic Books
2020.
- Language
- English
- Main Author
- Other Authors
- Edition
- First edition
- Physical Description
- vii, 289 pages ; 25 cm
- Bibliography
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 235-272) and index.
- ISBN
- 9781541699069
- Introduction Conception
- Chapter 1. White Dress
- Chapter 2. Chance and Destiny
- Chapter 3. Painting Cells
- Chapter 4. Breaking Symmetry
- Chapter 5. Birth of the Body Plan
- Chapter 6. Cracking Open the Black Box
- Chapter 7. Should Human Embryos Be Used in Research?
- Chapter 8. Simon
- Chapter 9. Quest for the Synthetic Embryo
- Chapter 10. New Age of Creative Biology
- Chapter 11. The Dance of Life
- Acknowledgments
- Notes
- Index
Review by Library Journal Review
Review by Kirkus Book Review