The Cell /anglais - Hardcover

CHALLONER JACK

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1782402071 ISBN 13: 9781782402077

Publisher: IVY PRESS, 2015

Synopsis

The microscopic cell is Earth’s greatest success story, and the common ancestor we share with all other organisms. Formed over three and a half billion years ago, life exploded from this minuscule powerhouse, first throughout the seas and then, over millions of years, across the lands to create the complex living forms populating the planet today. Yet, how has such a minute organism been so powerful? What has enabled it both to create and break down life on earth over billions of years? And, how have cells interacted to create an extraordinary diversity of plant, aquatic, terrestrial, and avian life? Here, Jack Challoner shines a spotlight on the passage of the cell through time to explore how a continual myriad of interactions and symbiotic relationships have been, and continue to be, the extraordinary catalyst for life.

About this title

About the Author

Jack Challoner is the author of more than thirty books on science and technology. He also works as an independent science consultant for print, radio and TV.

Review

“High school biology didn’t do much to make cells seem like fascinating, psychedelic visual art. The plant and animal cell diagrams splashed across textbook pages are a world away from what the billions of cells dividing, dying, or busily making proteins actually look like. The Cell more than makes up for that shortfall. . . . Amazing micrographs show the tiny building blocks of life in rich, strange detail. . . . If the images didn’t come with scientific explanation, it would be easy to confuse them with radical abstract art.”
  (Wired 2015-12-01)

 “The Cell offers scores of beautifully intimate views of the complex organic universes of cells. Their sheer physical diversity is striking. Adipose tissue bound in collagen gives the impression of seaweed caught in an old net. Bundles of collagen fibrils mimic bamboo forests. Cells undergoing mitosis looks like jellyfish breaking apart. . . . The pictures would wow a child, but the book covers an astonishing amount of ground and would be an intriguing addition to any introductory biology class.” (Publishers Weekly 2016-01-15)

“In his beautiful visual exploration of the cell, Challoner uses an exuberance of imaging techniques as well as infographics and data figures to illustrate this fundamental unit of life. Handsome and elegantly designed, this tour through the cell’s history and diversity in form and function is a delight to peruse. Each page is its own lovely rabbit hole, parsed to allow for quick snippets of “cyte-seeing” or hours-long, leisurely pleasure reading. This stunning collection would make a winning addition to the library of any lover of life and science.” (American Scientist 2016-01-15)

“Small really is beautiful: Psychedelic images show the inner workings of cells in stunning detail. . . . The book, although enjoyable to look at, aims to show readers just how amazing and beautiful science can be.”
  (Daily Mail 2015-12-02)

“[Challoner’s] book about cells featuring micrographed images of the biological blueprints for each and every living thing in the universe could be considered more than an informational and visual tome—it could easily be a photographic work of art.” (Tech Times 2015-12-02)

Edition details

• Publisher: IVY PRESS
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1782402071
• ISBN 13: 9781782402077
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 192