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The Dance of Life: The New Science of How a Single Cell Becomes a Human Being
A renowned biologist's cutting-edge and unconventional examination of human reproduction and embryo research
Scientists have long struggled to make pregnancy easier, safer, and more successful. In The Dance of Life , developmental and stem-cell biologist Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz takes us to the front lines of efforts to understand the creation of a human life. She has spent two decades unraveling the mysteries of development, as a simple fertilized egg becomes a complex human being of forty trillion cells. Zernicka-Goetz's work is both incredibly practical and astonishingly her groundbreaking experiments with mouse, human, and artificial embryo models give hope to how more women can sustain viable pregnancies. Set at the intersection of science's greatest powers and humanity's greatest concern, The Dance of Life is a revelatory account of the future of fertility -- and life itself.
Scientists have long struggled to make pregnancy easier, safer, and more successful. In The Dance of Life , developmental and stem-cell biologist Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz takes us to the front lines of efforts to understand the creation of a human life. She has spent two decades unraveling the mysteries of development, as a simple fertilized egg becomes a complex human being of forty trillion cells. Zernicka-Goetz's work is both incredibly practical and astonishingly her groundbreaking experiments with mouse, human, and artificial embryo models give hope to how more women can sustain viable pregnancies. Set at the intersection of science's greatest powers and humanity's greatest concern, The Dance of Life is a revelatory account of the future of fertility -- and life itself.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published February 25, 2020
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654 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
May 6, 2020
There is without doubt a fascination for all of us - even those who can find biology a touch tedious - with the way that a tiny cellular blob develops into the hugely complex thing that is a living organism, especially a human. In this unusual book which I can only describe as a memoir of science, Magalena Zernicka-Goetz, assisted by the Science Museum's Roger Highfield, tells the story of her own career and discoveries.
At the heart of the book, and Zernicka-Goetz's work, is symmetry breaking, a topic very familiar to readers of popular physics titles, but perhaps less so in popular biology. The first real breakthrough from her lab was the discovery of the way that a mouse egg's first division was already asymmetrical - the two new cells were not identical, not equally likely to become embryo and support structure as had always been thought. As the book progresses, throughout the process of development we see how different symmetries are broken, with a particular focus on mammals, producing the different structures we see in a living organism.
We also read a fair amount on chimeras, where cells from different organisms can be combined (causing some dramatic newspaper headlines) and why they are valuable for research, with important and balanced discussion of the ethical limits of human embryo research, plus some fascinating material on effectively creating artificial embryoids. Part of the appeal here is the way that the authors portray the slow and not always steady progress - sometimes under significant attack from opposing scientists - that typifies real science, as opposed to the simplistic picture we often get, particularly from the way what we're taught at school simply delivers the end results without following the way the ideas and experiments have developed through a lot of grunt work.
Although the book is very well written, as someone from a physics background I do find the sheer quantity of things that have to be named a struggle. When I tell people physics is vastly simpler than biology, most non-scientists are non-plussed, but in physics, almost everything matter does can be dealt with using just three particles and two forces. Here, in one page alone, the authors feel the need to tell me about methylation, argenine residues, histones, trophectoderms, CARM1, H3, SOX2, NANOG and pluripotency transcription factors - and that's by no means an unusual page.
Despite this, though, there was no doubt the book is fascinating. The only reason I've not given it five stars is that I'm not a fan of memoirs. It's not that I want a science book to be impersonal, and I appreciated some insights into Zernicka-Goetz's background (there were interesting parallels in her ingenuity arising from initially doing science under the limitations of working in 1980s Poland with Andre Geim's novel approach based on his early experience in Russia that led to the development of graphene) - but there was far too much autobiographical material for me. I appreciate a lot of readers love this, but I found it got in the way a little. (It was also weird, reading a book with two authors, written in the first person singular.)
Ultimately, though, this remains a truly remarkable story and a book that deserves a place on any serious science bookshelf.
At the heart of the book, and Zernicka-Goetz's work, is symmetry breaking, a topic very familiar to readers of popular physics titles, but perhaps less so in popular biology. The first real breakthrough from her lab was the discovery of the way that a mouse egg's first division was already asymmetrical - the two new cells were not identical, not equally likely to become embryo and support structure as had always been thought. As the book progresses, throughout the process of development we see how different symmetries are broken, with a particular focus on mammals, producing the different structures we see in a living organism.
We also read a fair amount on chimeras, where cells from different organisms can be combined (causing some dramatic newspaper headlines) and why they are valuable for research, with important and balanced discussion of the ethical limits of human embryo research, plus some fascinating material on effectively creating artificial embryoids. Part of the appeal here is the way that the authors portray the slow and not always steady progress - sometimes under significant attack from opposing scientists - that typifies real science, as opposed to the simplistic picture we often get, particularly from the way what we're taught at school simply delivers the end results without following the way the ideas and experiments have developed through a lot of grunt work.
Although the book is very well written, as someone from a physics background I do find the sheer quantity of things that have to be named a struggle. When I tell people physics is vastly simpler than biology, most non-scientists are non-plussed, but in physics, almost everything matter does can be dealt with using just three particles and two forces. Here, in one page alone, the authors feel the need to tell me about methylation, argenine residues, histones, trophectoderms, CARM1, H3, SOX2, NANOG and pluripotency transcription factors - and that's by no means an unusual page.
Despite this, though, there was no doubt the book is fascinating. The only reason I've not given it five stars is that I'm not a fan of memoirs. It's not that I want a science book to be impersonal, and I appreciated some insights into Zernicka-Goetz's background (there were interesting parallels in her ingenuity arising from initially doing science under the limitations of working in 1980s Poland with Andre Geim's novel approach based on his early experience in Russia that led to the development of graphene) - but there was far too much autobiographical material for me. I appreciate a lot of readers love this, but I found it got in the way a little. (It was also weird, reading a book with two authors, written in the first person singular.)
Ultimately, though, this remains a truly remarkable story and a book that deserves a place on any serious science bookshelf.
November 23, 2022
clumsy integration of science, half-baked social commentary, and disconnected personal anecdotes. promising but doesn't deliver.
August 2, 2020
This really could have used the guidance of a strong editor to turn what unfortunately turned out to be a clumsy book into one that would have offered better insight into cell biology and earl fetal development. The author is clearly knowledgeable in their subject, but there’s not as much background needed on the topic to offer to the lay reader before diving in to details that aren’t well explained. The personal info could easily have been jettisoned to amplify the science. There also seems to be a bit of inside baseball with which journal would and wouldn’t publish findings and who in the field did and didn’t support the new theories that feels superfluous.
July 23, 2021
This was such a fantastically written and enjoyable book. Initially, embryology wasn’t something I knew a lot about in depth. I’d touched upon it in previous studies but there’s so much to this amazing field of science and it was so interesting to learn about.
Next level storytelling, beautifully lyrical and enthuses passion. It’s a very informative read too and has the most perfect balance between the science and the authors own life. It’s a great read for the scientist and non scientist alike and the author does a fantastic job at explaining more technical concepts and science - I learnt a lot!
And I adored the end chapter about the authors personal experiences as a scientist, navigating herself around as adversities in science, struggles with balance, family and her research. Very empowering and overall, a very inspirational book!
Next level storytelling, beautifully lyrical and enthuses passion. It’s a very informative read too and has the most perfect balance between the science and the authors own life. It’s a great read for the scientist and non scientist alike and the author does a fantastic job at explaining more technical concepts and science - I learnt a lot!
And I adored the end chapter about the authors personal experiences as a scientist, navigating herself around as adversities in science, struggles with balance, family and her research. Very empowering and overall, a very inspirational book!
July 26, 2023
I got hooked by the first few chapters, a perfect combination of science and wonder. But then it drifted into obscure experiments and personal anecdotes.
August 17, 2020
I think this would be great for those who are in the medicinal science research field or with great interest of the topic. It is very dry for me, I have to skim through and skip all the obstacles she faced on research, references on medicinal papers/people etc... I would give a 1-star but I give one extra in respect to those who work hard behind the scene and what she and many other has provided with their life time work on scientific research.
April 4, 2020
What I liked: Some of the small details about how Zernicka-Goetz did her research into the very early days of how embryos break their symmetry and begin to develop structure. For example:
> At first, it is easy to see where a sperm has entered an egg. It leaves behind a little bump, called a fertilization cone. Built from the egg's cytoskeleton and consisting of filaments of the protein actin, the bump persists for about half an hour. That was just enough time to insert a tiny bead or two to mark the spot. We would make the beads stick by dipping them in a mixture of proteins called phytohemagglutinin, which is commonly used to make cells clump together. Because hands are not steady enough, Karolina would pick up a sticky bead using a robotic manipulator and place it onto the egg's surface as a second robotic hand held the freshly fertilized egg perfectly still.
Despite a promising start, though, the book ended up a disappointment.
Most of the scientific material would be a better fit for a Nature feature. (And, honestly, Nature would have better explanations and figures. Some of the explanations here are deplorable.)
Some of the research covered here is extremely recent. But it isn't really ready for a book. Zernicka-Goetz is a star researcher in an exciting field. But this book focuses almost entirely on her work rather than on the whole field. I think the goal must have been to highlight her personal travails, instead of making a scientific reference work. It's not enough, though. Zernicka-Goetz does overcome some obstacles, but nothing compelling. A grant was declined, a paper wasn't immediately accepted to Nature (so they had to try Science), there are hints but nothing specific about sexual discrimination. She moves from a prestigious position to an even more prestigious position. In her own pregnancy, some of the cells sampled from the placenta are genetically abnormal, but it amounts to nothing. We are missing too much. The last chapters attempt to place the work in a broader context, discussing the ethics of embryo selection in IVF, CRISPR, etc. These chapters are completely bland and generic, guaranteed not to offend anyone or really say anything at all. (Did Zernicka-Goetz even contribute to these chapters?) Maybe one could be annoyed because the science described in this book is hardly even related to most of these issues, and yet the authors present them almost as corollaries.
> Even though Turing is best known for his work laying the foundations of modern computing, and was neither a biologist nor a chemist, he would become hugely influential in my field thanks to a paper he published in 1952, working at the University of Manchester. His paper, "The Chemical Basis of Morphogenesis," provided deep insights into how an organism becomes organized in space and time and marked the first instance, so far as I know, that mathematical modeling was used to illustrate how two interacting chemicals with different diffusion rates can generate stable patterns
> The point where a sperm entered an egg seemed to predict the future symmetry of the embryo. When the embryo first cleaved in two, that entry point would be aligned with the plane along which the first division took place
> You might think it was odd that mammalian embryos were thought to be unlike other creatures and not break their symmetry until—relatively speaking—late in their development. But when we carried out our experiments, this notion was considered a heresy.
> If only we could reason with our embryos: "Please develop more slowly so I can have some sleep, and let's catch up later." Alas, we can't. The work was exacting and relentless and took a huge toll. Each experiment required a day and a night of careful work and 100 percent concentration to generate a handful of individual chimeras
> To carry out research to identify the mechanism, we needed financial support. But this was not forthcoming. Whenever I applied for funding for this work, one or another anonymous referee would say there was no evidence the cells were different this early in development, therefore there was no mechanism to discover. You wouldn't believe how many of my grant applications were rejected this way and how many months I wasted by writing them.
> Although the embryos can in theory adopt any orientation to implant in the mother, we saw that they attach on the side containing the clump of cells that become the embryo proper. Mouse embryos implant the other way around. As I mentioned earlier, although human and mouse blastocysts appear similar at first, their architectures look dramatically different after a few days
> When the paper eventually appeared in April 2017, it was entitled "Assembly of Embryonic and Extraembryonic Stem Cells to Mimic Embryogenesis In Vitro." They are now known as "ETS-embryos," and they provide a simplified model to gain insight into mouse, and perhaps one day also human, development without a need to study the embryo itself.
> There are now clinics that transfer mosaic embryos if they are normal-looking, as they argue the embryos have a chance to self-correct and develop normally.
> At first, it is easy to see where a sperm has entered an egg. It leaves behind a little bump, called a fertilization cone. Built from the egg's cytoskeleton and consisting of filaments of the protein actin, the bump persists for about half an hour. That was just enough time to insert a tiny bead or two to mark the spot. We would make the beads stick by dipping them in a mixture of proteins called phytohemagglutinin, which is commonly used to make cells clump together. Because hands are not steady enough, Karolina would pick up a sticky bead using a robotic manipulator and place it onto the egg's surface as a second robotic hand held the freshly fertilized egg perfectly still.
Despite a promising start, though, the book ended up a disappointment.
Most of the scientific material would be a better fit for a Nature feature. (And, honestly, Nature would have better explanations and figures. Some of the explanations here are deplorable.)
Some of the research covered here is extremely recent. But it isn't really ready for a book. Zernicka-Goetz is a star researcher in an exciting field. But this book focuses almost entirely on her work rather than on the whole field. I think the goal must have been to highlight her personal travails, instead of making a scientific reference work. It's not enough, though. Zernicka-Goetz does overcome some obstacles, but nothing compelling. A grant was declined, a paper wasn't immediately accepted to Nature (so they had to try Science), there are hints but nothing specific about sexual discrimination. She moves from a prestigious position to an even more prestigious position. In her own pregnancy, some of the cells sampled from the placenta are genetically abnormal, but it amounts to nothing. We are missing too much. The last chapters attempt to place the work in a broader context, discussing the ethics of embryo selection in IVF, CRISPR, etc. These chapters are completely bland and generic, guaranteed not to offend anyone or really say anything at all. (Did Zernicka-Goetz even contribute to these chapters?) Maybe one could be annoyed because the science described in this book is hardly even related to most of these issues, and yet the authors present them almost as corollaries.
> Even though Turing is best known for his work laying the foundations of modern computing, and was neither a biologist nor a chemist, he would become hugely influential in my field thanks to a paper he published in 1952, working at the University of Manchester. His paper, "The Chemical Basis of Morphogenesis," provided deep insights into how an organism becomes organized in space and time and marked the first instance, so far as I know, that mathematical modeling was used to illustrate how two interacting chemicals with different diffusion rates can generate stable patterns
> The point where a sperm entered an egg seemed to predict the future symmetry of the embryo. When the embryo first cleaved in two, that entry point would be aligned with the plane along which the first division took place
> You might think it was odd that mammalian embryos were thought to be unlike other creatures and not break their symmetry until—relatively speaking—late in their development. But when we carried out our experiments, this notion was considered a heresy.
> If only we could reason with our embryos: "Please develop more slowly so I can have some sleep, and let's catch up later." Alas, we can't. The work was exacting and relentless and took a huge toll. Each experiment required a day and a night of careful work and 100 percent concentration to generate a handful of individual chimeras
> To carry out research to identify the mechanism, we needed financial support. But this was not forthcoming. Whenever I applied for funding for this work, one or another anonymous referee would say there was no evidence the cells were different this early in development, therefore there was no mechanism to discover. You wouldn't believe how many of my grant applications were rejected this way and how many months I wasted by writing them.
> Although the embryos can in theory adopt any orientation to implant in the mother, we saw that they attach on the side containing the clump of cells that become the embryo proper. Mouse embryos implant the other way around. As I mentioned earlier, although human and mouse blastocysts appear similar at first, their architectures look dramatically different after a few days
> When the paper eventually appeared in April 2017, it was entitled "Assembly of Embryonic and Extraembryonic Stem Cells to Mimic Embryogenesis In Vitro." They are now known as "ETS-embryos," and they provide a simplified model to gain insight into mouse, and perhaps one day also human, development without a need to study the embryo itself.
> There are now clinics that transfer mosaic embryos if they are normal-looking, as they argue the embryos have a chance to self-correct and develop normally.
March 31, 2020
It was an interesting read and I feel I learned more about the beginnings of life. It could have been enhanced by drawings for the uninitiated like me
July 1, 2025
"The Dance of Life: Symmetry, Cells and How We Become Human" di Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz è un'opera straordinaria che esplora il meraviglioso mondo della simmetria cellulare e il processo attraverso il quale diventiamo esseri umani. Questo libro affascinante offre una prospettiva unica sulla biologia dello sviluppo e sulle complesse interazioni che si verificano all'interno del nostro corpo.
Zernicka-Goetz, una rinomata scienziata nel campo della biologia dello sviluppo, condivide con i lettori la sua esperienza e le sue ricerche pionieristiche. La sua scrittura è accessibile e coinvolgente, anche per coloro che non sono esperti nel campo scientifico. Attraverso un linguaggio chiaro e una narrazione appassionante, l'autrice riesce a trasmettere con entusiasmo i concetti scientifici complessi, rendendoli comprensibili anche per i non addetti ai lavori.
Una delle caratteristiche più notevoli del libro è la sua capacità di far emergere la bellezza nascosta nella scienza. Zernicka-Goetz dipinge un quadro affascinante dei processi cellulari che si svolgono nel nostro corpo, rivelando la straordinaria simmetria che guida la formazione degli organismi viventi. Attraverso esempi concreti e illustrazioni dettagliate, l'autrice ci conduce in un viaggio affascinante nel mondo invisibile delle cellule.
Inoltre, l'autrice esplora le implicazioni etiche e filosofiche della ricerca nello sviluppo embrionale. Questo aspetto del libro aggiunge una nuova dimensione alla lettura, spingendo il lettore a riflettere sull'importanza e sulle implicazioni delle scoperte scientifiche nel contesto della società umana.
"The Dance of Life" è un libro che affascinerà sia gli appassionati di scienza che i lettori curiosi di apprendere di più sullo sviluppo umano. È una lettura che spinge a riflettere sulla meraviglia della vita e sulla complessità dei processi che portano alla formazione di un essere umano. Grazie alla sua scrittura coinvolgente e alle sue narrazioni affascinanti, Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz ci offre una visione unica e approfondita del meraviglioso regno della biologia dello sviluppo.
"The Dance of Life: Symmetry, Cells and How We Become Human" è un libro straordinario che combina la scienza con la bellezza e l'emozione. È un'opera che apre nuovi orizzonti di conoscenza e che lascia il lettore con una profonda ammirazione per i processi che rendono possibile la vita umana. Consiglio vivamente questo libro a chiunque sia interessato a esplorare i misteri della biologia dello sviluppo e a scoprire la danza affascinante della vita stessa.
Nel libro "The Dance of Life: Symmetry, Cells and How We Become Human", l'autrice Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz spiega diversi concetti scientifici complessi. Ecco alcuni di essi:
Simmetria cellulare: Zernicka-Goetz esplora il concetto di simmetria cellulare, ovvero l'organizzazione e la disposizione simmetrica delle cellule durante lo sviluppo embrionale. Spiega come questa simmetria sia fondamentale per la formazione degli organismi viventi.
Differenziazione cellulare: L'autrice spiega il processo attraverso il quale le cellule embrionali si differenziano e assumono specifiche identità e funzioni all'interno dell'organismo. Descrive come le cellule inizialmente indifferenziate acquisiscano caratteristiche specializzate per formare i vari tessuti e organi nel corso dello sviluppo.
Fattori di trascrizione: Zernicka-Goetz discute l'importanza dei fattori di trascrizione, che sono proteine che regolano l'espressione genica durante lo sviluppo degli organismi. Spiega come questi fattori di trascrizione influenzino la differenziazione cellulare e la formazione degli organi.
Blastocisti: L'autrice analizza il ruolo delle blastocisti nell'embrione umano. Le blastocisti sono strutture cellulari che si formano durante le prime fasi dello sviluppo embrionale e sono fondamentali per l'impianto dell'embrione nell'utero materno.
Etica della ricerca sullo sviluppo embrionale: Zernicka-Goetz affronta anche questioni etiche legate alla ricerca sullo sviluppo embrionale, come l'uso di cellule staminali embrionali e le implicazioni delle tecnologie di editing del genoma. Esplora i dilemmi etici e le considerazioni che emergono dalla ricerca in questo campo.
Questi sono solo alcuni degli argomenti trattati nel libro. Zernicka-Goetz offre una panoramica approfondita della biologia dello sviluppo e dei processi che portano alla formazione degli esseri umani, spiegando concetti complessi in modo accessibile e coinvolgente.
Zernicka-Goetz, una rinomata scienziata nel campo della biologia dello sviluppo, condivide con i lettori la sua esperienza e le sue ricerche pionieristiche. La sua scrittura è accessibile e coinvolgente, anche per coloro che non sono esperti nel campo scientifico. Attraverso un linguaggio chiaro e una narrazione appassionante, l'autrice riesce a trasmettere con entusiasmo i concetti scientifici complessi, rendendoli comprensibili anche per i non addetti ai lavori.
Una delle caratteristiche più notevoli del libro è la sua capacità di far emergere la bellezza nascosta nella scienza. Zernicka-Goetz dipinge un quadro affascinante dei processi cellulari che si svolgono nel nostro corpo, rivelando la straordinaria simmetria che guida la formazione degli organismi viventi. Attraverso esempi concreti e illustrazioni dettagliate, l'autrice ci conduce in un viaggio affascinante nel mondo invisibile delle cellule.
Inoltre, l'autrice esplora le implicazioni etiche e filosofiche della ricerca nello sviluppo embrionale. Questo aspetto del libro aggiunge una nuova dimensione alla lettura, spingendo il lettore a riflettere sull'importanza e sulle implicazioni delle scoperte scientifiche nel contesto della società umana.
"The Dance of Life" è un libro che affascinerà sia gli appassionati di scienza che i lettori curiosi di apprendere di più sullo sviluppo umano. È una lettura che spinge a riflettere sulla meraviglia della vita e sulla complessità dei processi che portano alla formazione di un essere umano. Grazie alla sua scrittura coinvolgente e alle sue narrazioni affascinanti, Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz ci offre una visione unica e approfondita del meraviglioso regno della biologia dello sviluppo.
"The Dance of Life: Symmetry, Cells and How We Become Human" è un libro straordinario che combina la scienza con la bellezza e l'emozione. È un'opera che apre nuovi orizzonti di conoscenza e che lascia il lettore con una profonda ammirazione per i processi che rendono possibile la vita umana. Consiglio vivamente questo libro a chiunque sia interessato a esplorare i misteri della biologia dello sviluppo e a scoprire la danza affascinante della vita stessa.
Nel libro "The Dance of Life: Symmetry, Cells and How We Become Human", l'autrice Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz spiega diversi concetti scientifici complessi. Ecco alcuni di essi:
Simmetria cellulare: Zernicka-Goetz esplora il concetto di simmetria cellulare, ovvero l'organizzazione e la disposizione simmetrica delle cellule durante lo sviluppo embrionale. Spiega come questa simmetria sia fondamentale per la formazione degli organismi viventi.
Differenziazione cellulare: L'autrice spiega il processo attraverso il quale le cellule embrionali si differenziano e assumono specifiche identità e funzioni all'interno dell'organismo. Descrive come le cellule inizialmente indifferenziate acquisiscano caratteristiche specializzate per formare i vari tessuti e organi nel corso dello sviluppo.
Fattori di trascrizione: Zernicka-Goetz discute l'importanza dei fattori di trascrizione, che sono proteine che regolano l'espressione genica durante lo sviluppo degli organismi. Spiega come questi fattori di trascrizione influenzino la differenziazione cellulare e la formazione degli organi.
Blastocisti: L'autrice analizza il ruolo delle blastocisti nell'embrione umano. Le blastocisti sono strutture cellulari che si formano durante le prime fasi dello sviluppo embrionale e sono fondamentali per l'impianto dell'embrione nell'utero materno.
Etica della ricerca sullo sviluppo embrionale: Zernicka-Goetz affronta anche questioni etiche legate alla ricerca sullo sviluppo embrionale, come l'uso di cellule staminali embrionali e le implicazioni delle tecnologie di editing del genoma. Esplora i dilemmi etici e le considerazioni che emergono dalla ricerca in questo campo.
Questi sono solo alcuni degli argomenti trattati nel libro. Zernicka-Goetz offre una panoramica approfondita della biologia dello sviluppo e dei processi che portano alla formazione degli esseri umani, spiegando concetti complessi in modo accessibile e coinvolgente.
April 28, 2020
Zernicka-Goetz presents findings from her own lab as well as some from her peers’ labs about the very initial stages of cell development after an egg is fertilized by a sperm. How this cell divides into two, then four, then eight, and so on, and how the initially symmetric blob begins to break symmetry and take shape into an early scaffolding structure that would later become the embryo, i.e., its orientation is defined: head-tail, front-rear, and left-right. Which cells end up forming the embryo proper, which form the yolk sac, and which form the placenta. What happens when one or more cells in this initial stage is removed, or if it is genetically compromised. While describing the findings, Zernicka-Goetz takes the reader through the challenges in a scientist’s professional life: seeking funding, setting up labs, getting young graduate students interested in the work, doing painstaking research, and eventually publishing findings in peer-reviewed scientific journals. For those not familiar with the process, this should be enlightening. There’s also plenty of scientific rivalry (not so subtly) alluded to in this book that should make this a little juicer reading.
Zernicka-Goetz goes on to describe other related research, including IVF, tests to detect genetic defects in early pregnancy, synthetically developed embryos using one, two, and three kinds of stem cells, and several more. She also touches upon the legal and ethical status of experimenting with the human embryos, the 14-day development limit currently set by several countries, and the potential to extend this limit.
The “Dance of Life” is also a very much personal story of Zernicka-Goetz’s own life from her native Poland to the UK and Cambridge University, and finally to California and Caltech; her two marriages; and her two children; and her continuous struggle to balance her love for science and family life.
In my view there are two significant shortcomings in the way this book is formulated: First, there are zero illustrations in this book. Despite being a scientist myself, but not having a life sciences background, I found the first half of the book very frustrating to read. There is so much emphasis on symmetry breaking (where the early embryo starts to develop an orientation), and how cells are aligned with respect to this and that, that I fail to appreciate the reasons for the author’s decision to not include a few simple illustrations to help the readers. Moreover, on several occasions Zernicka-Goetz talks about the stunning beauty of the photographs of early embryo development that her lab and her peers’ labs have produced, yet not one made it in the book. Second, a few short appendices explaining some of the basic concepts and terms in early embryology and early cell development would have been invaluable. Life sciences subjects presented in non-fiction books meant to reach the mass readership often include both: illustrations and appendices to explain subject specific terminology and key basic concepts. Take, for example, Sapolsky’s Behave.
Zernicka-Goetz goes on to describe other related research, including IVF, tests to detect genetic defects in early pregnancy, synthetically developed embryos using one, two, and three kinds of stem cells, and several more. She also touches upon the legal and ethical status of experimenting with the human embryos, the 14-day development limit currently set by several countries, and the potential to extend this limit.
The “Dance of Life” is also a very much personal story of Zernicka-Goetz’s own life from her native Poland to the UK and Cambridge University, and finally to California and Caltech; her two marriages; and her two children; and her continuous struggle to balance her love for science and family life.
In my view there are two significant shortcomings in the way this book is formulated: First, there are zero illustrations in this book. Despite being a scientist myself, but not having a life sciences background, I found the first half of the book very frustrating to read. There is so much emphasis on symmetry breaking (where the early embryo starts to develop an orientation), and how cells are aligned with respect to this and that, that I fail to appreciate the reasons for the author’s decision to not include a few simple illustrations to help the readers. Moreover, on several occasions Zernicka-Goetz talks about the stunning beauty of the photographs of early embryo development that her lab and her peers’ labs have produced, yet not one made it in the book. Second, a few short appendices explaining some of the basic concepts and terms in early embryology and early cell development would have been invaluable. Life sciences subjects presented in non-fiction books meant to reach the mass readership often include both: illustrations and appendices to explain subject specific terminology and key basic concepts. Take, for example, Sapolsky’s Behave.
September 13, 2020
I picked this up on a whim because it talks about embryos and what we know about them, and what we don't know about them, and how all the things that we do know have been a slow and scientific slog. I didn't really know what to expect from the book, but it ended up being part memoir and part science writing. Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz speaks a lot of the challenges in her life, starting with her path to the science that defined her life, and progressing through the various inspirations that her research took.
To be honest, I found that the content here ranged from dry and overly technical to heart-touching and engaging. Some of the science was way too much for me. My biology background just wasn't really strong enough to deal with some of the technicalities of their experiments, and I ended up walking away with a rather vague understanding of what a number of them accomplished. I don't know that this was the fault of the writing, but I also didn't think it helped, especially in the beginning, when the book seemed the most torn between memoir and science.
I think that at the end of the day, this book had two purposes. One was explain the advances that Zernicka-Goetz and her team have made in understanding both human and mouse embryos, and what factors dictate that development. The other purpose was to really elucidate just how tedious and time-consuming the scientific process really is, and what it demands from the people who devote their lives to it. I think that the second purpose was more of a success for me than the first. I always vaguely knew that scientists fund a lot of their work through grants and that there are strict quality standards for publication, but I had no idea how much went into both of those things. I was somewhat horrified to hear of her early struggles with finding lab space, even after achieving funding, and how very much of a struggle it was for her progress in her early days. Then to have her work embroiled in academic infighting, not to mention the number of times she was forced to take additional years to really ensure her procedure was watertight... It's a crazy world out there in academia, I see.
I think what most hindered this book was the impersonal tone taken throughout it. Although there are many personal and devastating events detailed throughout the book, they're relayed almost clinically for the most part. For me, a more emotional telling probably would have done a lot to keep me going when the going got rough. Actually, my favorite chapter was the final one, in which she talks about the sacrifices that she made in order to achieve what she has, and speaks strongly toward the advances that still need to be made in the world of science, particularly in terms of equity between genders, races, etc. I think if she'd been able to bring that passion to the entire book, it would have been greatly improved for it.
As it was, this was very informational, and I did learn a lot, despite the limitations of my own foundational knowledge. I just wish it could have been a little more than what it was.
To be honest, I found that the content here ranged from dry and overly technical to heart-touching and engaging. Some of the science was way too much for me. My biology background just wasn't really strong enough to deal with some of the technicalities of their experiments, and I ended up walking away with a rather vague understanding of what a number of them accomplished. I don't know that this was the fault of the writing, but I also didn't think it helped, especially in the beginning, when the book seemed the most torn between memoir and science.
I think that at the end of the day, this book had two purposes. One was explain the advances that Zernicka-Goetz and her team have made in understanding both human and mouse embryos, and what factors dictate that development. The other purpose was to really elucidate just how tedious and time-consuming the scientific process really is, and what it demands from the people who devote their lives to it. I think that the second purpose was more of a success for me than the first. I always vaguely knew that scientists fund a lot of their work through grants and that there are strict quality standards for publication, but I had no idea how much went into both of those things. I was somewhat horrified to hear of her early struggles with finding lab space, even after achieving funding, and how very much of a struggle it was for her progress in her early days. Then to have her work embroiled in academic infighting, not to mention the number of times she was forced to take additional years to really ensure her procedure was watertight... It's a crazy world out there in academia, I see.
I think what most hindered this book was the impersonal tone taken throughout it. Although there are many personal and devastating events detailed throughout the book, they're relayed almost clinically for the most part. For me, a more emotional telling probably would have done a lot to keep me going when the going got rough. Actually, my favorite chapter was the final one, in which she talks about the sacrifices that she made in order to achieve what she has, and speaks strongly toward the advances that still need to be made in the world of science, particularly in terms of equity between genders, races, etc. I think if she'd been able to bring that passion to the entire book, it would have been greatly improved for it.
As it was, this was very informational, and I did learn a lot, despite the limitations of my own foundational knowledge. I just wish it could have been a little more than what it was.
December 28, 2020
3.5 stars
I couldn’t help but be impressed by the scientific advances discussed in this book and I took away from it an awe at the complexity of early embryonic life and the dogged persistence of scientists dedicated to understanding it better. This overall positive impression is why I rated the book as highly as I did despite the following not insignificant problems I had with it.
As a lay person I struggled to make my way through this work. In general I enjoy science non-fiction works, but this was occasionally impenetrable for me. Highly technical jargon was regularly used without at times clear explanations. Perhaps that is an unavoidable aspect of this branch of science, but it seemed that despite the journalist/scientist team of writers, accessibility was sacrificed to detailed specificity.
It also struggled in both genre and narrative. It was part memoir and part highly detailed discussion of the scientific process. The first half of the book had a clear narrative arc of the process of one idea being tested and eventually published after much skepticism and opposition. However, the second half felt like a compilation of loosely related achievements; a sort of “these are the other things I’ve done since then.” Occasional chapters provided ethical discussions, history of a particular branch of research, and future hopes for the applications of the research described in the book.
The result of this loose organization coupled with the sometimes dense scientific prose for me was a muddled sense of why the book was written and who its intended audience was. Audience and purpose are the two pillars of rhetoric and if those aren’t made clear, then a work will often fall short of its potential, which happened, in my opinion, in this case.
I couldn’t help but be impressed by the scientific advances discussed in this book and I took away from it an awe at the complexity of early embryonic life and the dogged persistence of scientists dedicated to understanding it better. This overall positive impression is why I rated the book as highly as I did despite the following not insignificant problems I had with it.
As a lay person I struggled to make my way through this work. In general I enjoy science non-fiction works, but this was occasionally impenetrable for me. Highly technical jargon was regularly used without at times clear explanations. Perhaps that is an unavoidable aspect of this branch of science, but it seemed that despite the journalist/scientist team of writers, accessibility was sacrificed to detailed specificity.
It also struggled in both genre and narrative. It was part memoir and part highly detailed discussion of the scientific process. The first half of the book had a clear narrative arc of the process of one idea being tested and eventually published after much skepticism and opposition. However, the second half felt like a compilation of loosely related achievements; a sort of “these are the other things I’ve done since then.” Occasional chapters provided ethical discussions, history of a particular branch of research, and future hopes for the applications of the research described in the book.
The result of this loose organization coupled with the sometimes dense scientific prose for me was a muddled sense of why the book was written and who its intended audience was. Audience and purpose are the two pillars of rhetoric and if those aren’t made clear, then a work will often fall short of its potential, which happened, in my opinion, in this case.
June 21, 2020
This is a rare account of what it is like to do science - it is the story of the life of a scientist, who is a warm caring human being whose life is full of emotions that we all share and who is far from the cold, emotionless, white-coated stereotype.
Above all, it is a story about life - the fascinating life of the developing embryo, inextricably linked to the life of a leading scholar at the forefront of her field. The book takes us on a journey that reveals how our life begins; how we now have the ability to culture embryos for longer periods to understand how they are built; and how we can reproduce many of these events in the culture dish using stem cells. It also takes us to the new ethical challenges that scientists in these fields have to encounter with the engagement and help of the public; and to the huge advantages that can accrue to medicine and to would-be-mothers in the IVF clinic by pursuing these studies.
More than that, we see the challenges faced by a scientist growing up in then communist Poland, in establishing herself in male dominated academia, and how personal events in her pregnancy influenced scientific paths she was to follow. The real joy of this book is that the reader can get into the head of the scientist and see how life's pathways provide triggers for the scientific imagination.
An inspiring read.
Above all, it is a story about life - the fascinating life of the developing embryo, inextricably linked to the life of a leading scholar at the forefront of her field. The book takes us on a journey that reveals how our life begins; how we now have the ability to culture embryos for longer periods to understand how they are built; and how we can reproduce many of these events in the culture dish using stem cells. It also takes us to the new ethical challenges that scientists in these fields have to encounter with the engagement and help of the public; and to the huge advantages that can accrue to medicine and to would-be-mothers in the IVF clinic by pursuing these studies.
More than that, we see the challenges faced by a scientist growing up in then communist Poland, in establishing herself in male dominated academia, and how personal events in her pregnancy influenced scientific paths she was to follow. The real joy of this book is that the reader can get into the head of the scientist and see how life's pathways provide triggers for the scientific imagination.
An inspiring read.
August 12, 2020
Mainly due to pandemic-induced glitches, I became aware rather late about the publication of The Dance of Life by Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz and Roger Highfield. Delivery delays meant that the book arrived on my doorstep only a couple days ago. The Dance of Life conjured up for me Edvard Munch's painting [1899] of the same name and I anticipated that the book would be an outstanding and enjoyable read. I was right! The Dance of Life is a beautifully-written book that covers important developments in stem cell biology and embryology as Dr. Zernicka-Goetz progresses through her career up to now and she and her research team make ground-breaking observations. This is an engaging read and vivid telling of the story of a single cell after fertilization going through the dance of life. Dr. Zernicka-Goetz ‘s personal story told alongside the scientific advances is both touching and relatable, and hence I expect will make this book an enjoyable read not only for the large number of people that come to be part of the action but also for the non-specialist reader as she tells her exciting story. I recommend this enjoyable and enlightening book to both stem cell biologists and the non-specialist interested in understanding the “dance” of scientific advance and the individuals who make the music.
Kursad Turksen, Ph.D.
Kursad Turksen, Ph.D.
November 19, 2020
Especially for a scientific memoir (which can often be quite dry), this book was a page turner. I was captivated by Magdalena's personal story as well as the groundbreaking science about symmetry breaking in mouse and human embryos. The story of how a woman in science had to battle against her field's established dogma (and even the findings of one of her own mentors) is nothing short of inspirational. The field of developmental biology was forever changed by her work, and this book walks through the revolution step by step in a way that can entice biologists and laymen alike.
I highly recommend giving this a read if you have even the slightest curiosity as to how you grew from a single cell to the complex being you are today. Not only will many of your questions be answered, but Magdalena's infectious passion for the exploration of symmetry breaking will surely leave you with a whole new set of curiosities as well.
I highly recommend giving this a read if you have even the slightest curiosity as to how you grew from a single cell to the complex being you are today. Not only will many of your questions be answered, but Magdalena's infectious passion for the exploration of symmetry breaking will surely leave you with a whole new set of curiosities as well.
August 31, 2020
Dance of Life: Symmetry, Cells, and How we Become Human, written by a scientist Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz and a journalist and broadcaster Roger Highfield, provides an incredible journey to the life of today’s leading scientist. This book genuinely and beautifully describes how Magdalena’s personal and scientist lives have entwined together, and how all happenings and chance in one’s personal life can affect the direction of one’s science. The book tells an intriguing story about Magdalena’s early life and roots, and it continues to tell about ups and downs and all that excitement and success in science. Magdalena also truthfully writes about challenges faced by a raising scientist. The book is beautifully written and, in fact, it almost feels as if one was having a discussion with Magdalena. Truly an encouraging and inspiring read!
September 9, 2023
Personally as a student researcher of cells and developmental biology this book was right up my street.
As I don’t work in Biology field I fancied brushing up my knowledge- little did I know this book would mention loads of the names I’d studied in my degree and also the key experiments. I really enjoyed it- felt like a good level- perhaps could have done with some diagrams for readers new to the subject. The personal aspect was surprising, I didn’t expect it to be written by the first hand researcher, it made it feel much more authentic than some other popular scientific reads.
As someone interested in this field I loved this book, I loved seeing the decision process behind each step forwards in the research process and actually hearing how the fascinating experiments are supported by funding, time and people. Fab holiday read for me
As I don’t work in Biology field I fancied brushing up my knowledge- little did I know this book would mention loads of the names I’d studied in my degree and also the key experiments. I really enjoyed it- felt like a good level- perhaps could have done with some diagrams for readers new to the subject. The personal aspect was surprising, I didn’t expect it to be written by the first hand researcher, it made it feel much more authentic than some other popular scientific reads.
As someone interested in this field I loved this book, I loved seeing the decision process behind each step forwards in the research process and actually hearing how the fascinating experiments are supported by funding, time and people. Fab holiday read for me
January 27, 2021
This is more of a memoir that goes into detail about her scientific work. This intrigued me because I don't know much about embryology, so I was curious to learn. I definitely enjoyed reading her story, and learning a bit about embryology. Though she did focus a bit too much on the details of her process and less on the implications than I would have liked. That might be just because I couldn't follow much of it, as she did get technical and I have absolutely no formal training in biology, much less embryology. I still enjoyed it though, and if you're looking to learn about embryology from the perspective of a research scientist in the field, and told in the format of a memoir, then you should read this.
September 22, 2024
I would like this better if I were not cramping. My mother had told me she wished she could study the possibilities of IVF when I was 14 but she would not due to the tinctures of the Roman Catholic Church. This book describes how early life research has been held back by various difficulties but progress marches on anyway. To be honest, I never strictly liked playing any of those marches because the oboe music was always a transcription of flute music, but this book is not about that - the book is something completely different.
Have a look, shan't you, now. There are no piccolo players in the next seat over to blow out your ear here. I mean, I understand the composer wrote it and it's not the flautist's fault, but the memory of an injury is hard to let heal.
Have a look, shan't you, now. There are no piccolo players in the next seat over to blow out your ear here. I mean, I understand the composer wrote it and it's not the flautist's fault, but the memory of an injury is hard to let heal.
February 27, 2022
I didn't expect to find a recounting of modern breakthroughs in embryology so fascinating. Some of the material was challenging. My core biology courses were a long time ago, and much has transpired since then. I liked this book so much I plan to go back through it to try to summarize the essentials of embryology.
Dr Zernicka-Goetz recounts the many ways academic bureaucracy and culture both stifled and (less often) facilitated discovery. She also gives many examples of the scientific method well practiced. Reading was like being a fly on the wall during both the drudgery and breakthroughs.
Dr Zernicka-Goetz recounts the many ways academic bureaucracy and culture both stifled and (less often) facilitated discovery. She also gives many examples of the scientific method well practiced. Reading was like being a fly on the wall during both the drudgery and breakthroughs.
July 11, 2020
This book should be read by anyone remotely interested in the biological aspect of how a baby is first formed as a cell and then it multiplies.
This multiplication is not random is the hypothesis of this book. There is determinism and not randomness in the evolution of the cells.
Rich with scientific details and dovetailed seamlessly with the personal story of the author, the book is an enlightening experience for the perceptive reader.
Excellent read.
This multiplication is not random is the hypothesis of this book. There is determinism and not randomness in the evolution of the cells.
Rich with scientific details and dovetailed seamlessly with the personal story of the author, the book is an enlightening experience for the perceptive reader.
Excellent read.
September 22, 2020
A good read as a prospective biologist. This book provides insight (to the student) into the lesser-known struggles of academia; paper publishing, grants/funding, the implications of publishing and more. It also provides a look at the obstacles faced by women in science and what it takes to get to the top of one's field. There was good detail on embryology and it felt easy to read with an A-level background. I recommend.
February 5, 2021
I loved this book. I loved her personal story, I've learned so many new things, I didn't know what a chimera was when I first started reading.
Above all else, I love her take as a woman scientist blazing through a sea of preconceptions and biases.
She outlined how hard it is to succeed in the field and how much work there is before your study is published.
This is a book for those of you passionate (or maybe just curious) about cell biology, microbiology, genes and what makes us human.
Above all else, I love her take as a woman scientist blazing through a sea of preconceptions and biases.
She outlined how hard it is to succeed in the field and how much work there is before your study is published.
This is a book for those of you passionate (or maybe just curious) about cell biology, microbiology, genes and what makes us human.
February 12, 2021
Very interesting dive into the modern scientific process, the modern scientist life and the interactions between the two.
To read, in order to:
- Understand how the breaking of symmetry leads to cell differentiation ans specialization in the early fertilized egg.
- Understand the daily life of a top of her field scientist
- Be aware of the gender inequalities still present in the science world
To read, in order to:
- Understand how the breaking of symmetry leads to cell differentiation ans specialization in the early fertilized egg.
- Understand the daily life of a top of her field scientist
- Be aware of the gender inequalities still present in the science world
May 24, 2021
Dit was zo'n interessant boek (en ik heb 'm zo snel uit, yes!)! Ik denk dat ik het zonder mijn biomedische achtergrond niet had begrepen (in dat geval hadden plaatjes kunnen helpen), maar het was echt een ideale mix tussen wetenschap en het verhaal van de wetenschapper. Ik heb er echt van genoten. Wat hebben we de laatste 50 jaar toch enorme sprongen voorwaarts gemaakt in de wetenschap, en het samenspel tussen maatschappij en wetenschap intrigeert me enorm.
August 22, 2021
This is a very enlightening book on the developments in studying embryonic development. The science jargon was a bit much for me but I was intrigued by the way the experiments are conducted and the amount of work that goes into this scientific research. I also found the story important in how Magdalena describes the prejudices against women scientists that still exist. How unfortunate as they have had huge contributions and are often not recognized or have their publications turned down.
April 28, 2020
Traces our increasing understanding of the earliest stages of development in the voice of a researcher whose team contributed much to this story - and so the reader learns about the process of science along with the developmental process. Last two chapters are a little more disjointed rather than integrated into the story.
October 4, 2025
Me gustó porque aprendí mucho sobre cómo los científicos de biología se desenvuelven en la vida académica. También aprendí mucho sobre los misterios de la vida y cómo el ADN contiene todo lo necesario para que una sola célula se convierta en un ser humano completo. Es una locura, una locura, pero recomiendo el libro para aprender un poco más sobre embriología.
June 23, 2020
An inspirational book about how our lives start and Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz's journey through science to discover our beginnings. The book discusses her scientific discoveries as well as her captivating personal life. Definitely recommend!
July 3, 2020
Definitely worth reading! Really love it. It is a great mixture of personal legendary experiences and science stories. The book is really encouraging and inspiring, giving me lots of power when I am so down. I will definitely read it for another time.
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