The Secret Language of Cells: What Biological Conversations Tell Us about the Brain-Body Connection, the Future of Medicine, and Life Itself

by Jon Lieff

Your cells are talking about you.

Right now, both your inner and outer worlds are abuzz with chatter among living cells of every possible kind—from those in your body and brain to those in the environment around you. From electrical alerts to chemical codes, the greatest secret of modern biology, hiding in plain sight, is that all of life’s activity boils down to one conversation.

While cells are commonly considered the building block of living things, it is actually the communication between cells that brings us to life, controlling our bodies and brains, determining whether we are healthy or sick, and directly influencing how we think, feel, and behave.

In The Secret Language of Cells, doctor and neuroscientist Jon Lieff lets us listen in on these conversations, and reveals their significance for everything from mental health to cancer. He explains the surprising science of how very different cells—bacteria and brain cells, blood cells and viruses—all speak the same language. This overarching principle has been long overlooked because scientific journals use impenetrable jargon that makes it hard to be understood across disciplines, much less by the general public.

Lieff presents a fascinating and accessible look into cellular communication science—a groundbreaking and comprehensive exploration of this biological phenomenon. In these pages, discover the intriguing lives of cells as they ask questions, get answers, give feedback, gather information, call for each other, and make complex decisions. During infections, immune T-cells tell brain cells that we should “feel sick” and lie down. Cancer cells warn their community about immune and microbe attacks. Gut cells talk with microbes to determine which are friends and which are enemies, and microbes talk with each other and with much more complicated human cells in ways that determine which medicines work and which will fail.

With applications for immunity, chronic pain, weight loss, depression, cancer treatment, and virtually every aspect of health and biology, cellular communication is revolutionizing our understanding not just of disease, but of life itself. The Secret Language of Cells is required reading for anyone interested in following the conversation.

Genres: Science, Biology, Nonfiction, Medicine, Health, Neuroscience, Audiobook

368 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 22, 2021

Reviews

[India M. Clamp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neuroscientist Dr. John Lieff invites us into a microcosm overflowing with signals and communication. Reading, “The Secret Language of Cells: What Biological Conversations Tell Us About the Brain-Body Connection, the Future of Medicine, and Life Itself,” we discover such communications are vital to the cellular gatekeepers protecting our health. Cells communicate often and take part in an exchange via questions, answers, feedback, calling one another and participate mutually in decision making. For any well functioning system or relationship; this is sacrosanct.

"The lining cells of the skin, lung, blood vessels, and brain fluid are also engaged in conversation with cells from every other part of the body. In the brain, gatekeeper cells determine which specific cells may enter the brain and which are needed to heal brain trauma and infections.”
---John Lieff

We come to learn how viruses talk to each other and the ways cellular communications have a bearing on our immune systems, weight loss and depression. The author Dr. Lieff has a keen obsession of how brain cells talk and its similarity to the signaling found in nature. He applies these same communicating lessons and shows how cancer cells really care by warning their neighborhood about potential attacks. Gut cells also are avid communicators and they have an alliance with microbes to tell friend from foe. Read.
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Der neurowissenschaftler Dr. John Lieff lädt uns in einen mikrokosmos ein, der von signalen und kommunikation überfüllt ist. Beim Lesen von "Die geheime sprache der zellen: Was biologische gespräche uns über die gehirn-körper-Verbindung, die zukunft der medizin und das leben selbst sagen" entdecken wir, dass diese Kommunikationen für die zellulären Torwächter, die unsere Gesundheit schützen, von entscheidender bedeutung sind. Zellen kommunizieren oft und tauschen sich über fragen, antworten, feedback, gegenseitiges telefonieren aus und beteiligen sich gegenseitig an der entscheidungsfindung.

"Die Auskleidungszellen von Haut, Lunge, Blutgefäßen und Gehirnflüssigkeit stehen auch im Gespräch mit Zellen aus allen anderen Teilen des Körpers. Im Gehirn bestimmen Gatekeeper-Zellen, welche spezifischen Zellen in das Gehirn gelangen können und welche benötigt werden Heilung von Hirntraumata und Infektionen."
---John Lieff

Wir lernen, wie viren miteinander kommunizieren und wie sich die zelluläre Kommunikation auf unser Immunsystem, Gewichtsverlust und depressionen auswirkt. Der Autor Dr. Lieff ist besessen davon, wie gehirnzellen sprechen und wie dies den signalen in der natur ähnelt. Er wendet dieselben Kommunikations-lektionen an und zeigt, wie sehr krebszellen wirklich wichtig sind, indem er ihre nachbarschaft vor möglichen angriffen warnt. Darmzellen sind auch eifrige kommunikatoren und haben eine allianz mit mikroben, um freund von feind zu unterscheiden. Lesen.

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מדען המוח ד"ר ג'ון ליף מזמין אותנו לתוך מיקרוקוסמוס שופע אותות ותקשורת. בקריאה "השפה הסודית של התאים: מה שיחות ביולוגיות מספרות לנו על הקשר בין המוח לגוף, על עתיד הרפואה והחיים עצמם", אנו מגלים שהתקשורת הזו חיונית לשומרי הסף הסלולריים המגינים על בריאותנו. תאים מתקשרים לעתים קרובות ולוקחים חלק בחילופי דברים באמצעות שאלות, תשובות, משוב, התקשרות אחד לשני ומשתתפים הדדי בקבלת החלטות. לכל מערכת או מערכת יחסים מתפקדת היטב; זה קדוש.

"תאי הציפוי של העור, הריאות, כלי הדם ונוזל המוח מעורבים גם הם בשיחה עם תאים מכל חלק אחר בגוף. במוח, תאי שומרי הסף קובעים אילו תאים ספציפיים עשויים להיכנס למוח ואילו דרושים כדי לרפא טראומה מוחית וזיהומים".
--- ג'ון ליף

אנחנו באים ללמוד כיצד וירוסים מדברים זה עם זה ואת הדרכים שבהן יש לתקשורת סלולרית השפעה על מערכת החיסון שלנו, ירידה במשקל ודיכאון. לסופר ד"ר ליף יש אובססיה חריפה לגבי האופן שבו תאי מוח מדברים והדמיון שלו לאיתות המצוי בטבע. הוא מיישם את אותם לקחים תקשורתיים ומראה כיצד לתאים סרטניים באמת אכפת על ידי אזהרה בשכונה שלהם מפני התקפות פוטנציאליות. תאי המעי גם הם אנשי תקשורת נלהבים ויש להם ברית עם חיידקים כדי להבדיל בין חבר לאויב. לקרוא.

[David Wineberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you think medicine is full of indecipherable jargon, imagine how Dr Jon Lieff feels. His book, The Secret Language of Cells, compiles 12 years of research into how the body knows what to do. He had to find needles in haystacks – mentions of signals emanating from cells – and piece together their significance himself. The result is the first book that assembles it all – and not just human bodies, but also plants. The conversations are mind boggling. The insights are groundbreaking. You will witness the birth of a new science.

What Lieff describes is an entire cosmopolitan society inside the body, with cops and bad guys, plotters, conspirators, terrorists, hostage takers, street gangs, fraudsters and Trojans. But also caretakers, gardeners, neighborhood watchers, guards, builders, shippers, receivers, inspectors, rescuers, bouncers, cleaners and monitors. There is national, regional and local government. And everyone is broadcasting in their own language, all the time. The whole society is on high alert, all the time. Everyone is a town crier. Overnight garbage crews clean up the mess from the day, and it all begins again in the morning. This is life in the human body.

Lieff systematically plows through the body, describing the various cells, molecules, proteins and viruses that have roles in the drama. Then he steps out way farther, because everything in the book is about how these components converse. And they do converse, ceaselessly. They warn of intruders, give directions on their location, ask for more or less help, order more or less production, and provide each other with goods and services. This is a completely different view of the body at work. It is striking, shocking, fascinating and eye-opening. It absolutely forces new ways of thinking.

Just one example is the creation of neurons in the brain. For decades it was standard, unassailable knowledge that the brain stopped producing neurons at an early age, say 20, and then just deteriorated. Lieff shows that with communications, monitoring cells order the building of new neurons to replace old ones that are worn and inefficient. The result is a clutch of fresh neurons that have been trained to assume the memories of the old ones, and even upgraded to accept more detail because they have been used and useful for so long. It’s respect and reward for seniority. This, Lieff says, is part of why the elderly can recite every little aspect of an event 70 years ago, but cannot remember what they had for lunch today. If that doesn’t change the way medicine looks at gerontology and neuropsychiatry, nothing will. The book is full of such revelations.

Cancers get a thorough look, and so do viruses, including the COVID-19 virus. Cancers, like viruses, use subterfuge to get past the guards and establish themselves. Cancers co-opt cells meant to kill them, turning them into zombies doing their bidding. They force the good cells to help them build and spread cancer. One of the ways they do it is by communicating as if they were the good guys, fooling the T cells. Once established they can fool other cells into providing transport or bloodlfow to build themselves up.

Viruses are possibly even more remarkable, because there is basically nothing to them. A seven gene virus like Ebola earns Lieff’s respect. Just one of its handful of proteins can do five different jobs damaging other cells, redirecting others, using the internal transport system to travel throughout the body undetected, preventing cells from attaching tags to it, and basically taking over completely. How one protein can accomplish five so very different tasks is as amazing to Lieff as it is to us.

Leprosy is unique in that it can turn cells back into stem cells that it can reprogram to do its damage. This is a holy grail of medicine, and after 3000 years of leprosy, we still don’t know how the virus does it. Viruses have been around so long that 8% of human DNA comes from viruses implanted there, Lieff says.

The body is filled with communication channels. Nanotubes allow cells to bypass local traffic and get where they’re supposed to be. Fluids like the cerebrospinal fluid connect the critical functions of the nerves in the spine with critical neurons across the brain with a superhighway of conductive fluid. Neurons in the brain can have has many as 100,000 connections – synapses - giving the brain a good ten thousand trillion possible connections, all of which are constantly reporting status and making decisions. There are more than a thousand kinds of neurons and astrocytes, showing specialization that medicine knows next to nothing about. Microglia, the only brain cells not physically connected, patrol and regulate. They determine things like the emotional response to pain. They signal differently according to diseases they encounter or experience or hear about. inflammation can turn them into aggressive immune cells, as everything that can, pitches in to the fight. There three types of glial cells (“glue” that sticks to other cells): astrocytes, the most common, microglia and myelin, which coats pathways and tubes. The quality and patterns laid down by myelin determine the connection and the speed of the pathway. It provides entries and exits to passing cells. It’s not just insulation as we have assumed for 200 years.

What has not been discovered is the central authority that prioritizes action. Every region seems to be responsible for itself. It reports, but doesn’t seem to take much in the way of orders from the brain. The brain’s main functions appear to lie in external ops like movement, the senses and the mind. The nuts and bolts of existence is apparently a local and regional affair.

Organs are built out by the cells themselves communicating. New cells move into place knowing where the edge must end up being, for example. They find out from the very cells they climb over to get to where they need to be. Cells needed for an emergency repair or to fend off an invasion can even travel upstream, clinging to the wall of an artery and swinging their way forward through the oncoming blood. The myelin lining allows them to exit where they need to. Astrocytes in the brain walk along arteries and squeeze them with their feet pads when fresh blood is needed, and also hold them back to prevent the wrong kind of residents from crossing the blood-brain barrier. Cells slap tags on other cells so they can be identified later. Killer T cells can clear out an invader and then order up a new memory/monitor cell at the location to instantly report any recurrence going forward. T cells can edit their own DNA, disguising themselves from invaders they recognize.

Cells create nets to float over invaders and trap them. Mitochondria dock at another organelle in the cell, endoplasmic reticulum, to converse and determine where they have to deliver energy, pickup supplies, or even shut down. Cells present pieces of microbes to T cells so the T cells can recognize them later and elsewhere. Everything has a supervisor and everything holds nothing back. Knowledge is power and power comes from constant communication.

Microbes are a constant threat. They can hide in cells, hijack cells, and jump into information sacs that certain cells use to report their status, and get a free ride to some other region, safely hidden from inspectors. But with microbes there is another issue. Some are allies. They produce vitamins and minerals out of food, carry out some critical process, or aid in healing. There are cancer meds that will not work unless the body has certain microbes producing certain compounds. Probiotics will play a larger and larger role going forward, Lieff says. Somehow, the body is able to discern the good ones from the bad ones, but we don’t seem to know how. Are good microbes acting with permission? Or do they sneak by the body’s defenses like other foreign bodies try to. How does the body know not to attack these microbes like it does to other foreign bodies?

But then, microbes can switch sides too. What starts out as useful can suddenly damage DNA or, inhibit repairs. It can aid cancer by preventing cell death or allow cells to grow without oxygen. Lieff says a good recipe for cancer is inflammation, obesity, and microbes which can be altered by fat to aid cancer.

At the end of the day (literally), neurons physically retreat – shrink back – allowing the body’s equivalent of street sweepers to clean up the mess – the dead and damaged, the misfolded proteins, the shreds and shards and the half eaten from the cerebrospinal fluid pathways. This critical role of sleep is part of the link between Alzheimer’s and lack of sleep, where amyloid plaques clutter up the brain.

The human body is not alone in harboring a cacophony of communication. Lieff says plants are just as chatty. They communicate with each other using aerial chemical releases and along fungal filaments. Internally, the signals come from water pressure and chemical and electrical signals. Plants invite beneficial microbes to help fix nitrogen, while attacking microbes that are parasitic. They can even grow tumors to physically push insect eggs off its leaves.

Trees signal carbon-eating bacteria through their roots. Root hairs curl up as an inviting entryway into the tree. It also prepares a space inside, protected by a membrane where it wants the bacteria to set up shop. And lights up the path to the new space for the bacteria to follow. The bacteria settle in for decades, a win-win co-operation.

The same process applies to fungi, which also connect different plants together with filaments that can spread for miles. These filaments allow plants to communicate both internally and externally throughout a forest.

Lieff has performed a remarkable service with this book. He puts in plain everyday language the horrific jargon, ten dollar words and abstruse mathematical formulas that modern medicine has become. He is totally focused on the communications. And his chapters are totally focused and tight. Readers will never get tired of one subject going on too long. The result is not just easy to read, but draws a compelling picture of an entire society within the human body as well as in plants.

Numerous times he stops to say things like but we don’t know why, or it is difficult to understand or we’ve barely begun to do the research on this relationship or ability. Because this book is the first of its kind. Lieff has basically started a whole new discipline he calls sociovirology. It raises a lot of questions, but it also opens huge new horizons and perspectives that medicine has not even considered in its hellbent reductionist plunge for a quick fix. Nothing works that way, and The Secret Language of Cells proves it.

David Wineberg

for the images that go with this review, see https://medium.com/the-straight-dope/...

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fascinating and entertaining read! It honestly wasn't what I was expecting at all, but that wasn't a bad thing. I am obsessed with biology and figured this book would be right up my alley and it was! This takes you on a trip inside the human body on a cellular level to discover the functions throughout. While I already find science to be intriguing, I think this book would also be fun for anyone taking a biology class as it really brings the subject to life and would with reinforcing various concepts and ideas. Very fun must-read for science buffs!

[Filipe · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you have absolutely no clue about any of the topics covered in this book, then it’s likely that reading it will not be very helpful besides painting a very blurry picture that science is hard and we don’t know all that much, but a lot of things are happening.
On the other hand, if you do know a little about the topics broached in this book, the best you can take out of it is an en passant mention of some interaction you weren’t previously aware and will have to learn mora about elsewhere as details are sorely amiss.
In any case this book offers very little knowledge and often ignores some opportunities for the author to review his basic cell biology before speaking. As an example, we do know fairly well how cell membranes manage to not have holes despite continuous budding vesicles. Sure we don’t have a full description of the biochemical pathways of the proteins that help vesicles bud off and merge with the membranes, but we do know why it doesn’t leave holes and that’s because it’s thermodynamically unfavourable to do so.
Anyhow, I didn’t finish the book, I just couldn’t force myself to read a rambling that never really offered substantial knowledge.

[Adnan Khaleel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. It’s a fascinating subject that almost all of us have thought about especially when we aren’t well.
Unfortunately, to make the content more accessible, the author doesn’t really go into any detail of the language and prefers to just use the word “signal” to gloss over the specifics. I really wanted to know what that signal is, what mechanisms do the signals use to inhibit or promote or signify other activity, the biochemistry etc. Even when the author does delve into the specifics, it’s at a very high level. I think this book could have been so much better but it seems like the author is more interested in wowing the reader that all of this communication happens at a cellular level, and ironically does little to further the readers comprehension of the complex mechanisms.

[bup · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prepare yourself for a deep dive. 29 deep dives, in fact. The cells in your body talk to each other, to bacteria, to viruses, and within a cell, organelles talk to each other, via every avenue you can imagine.

Lieff made his book with the very latest information, with most sections marking off just where science is, and what are the next mysteries in each section. The newest edition even covers Covid-19.

If you want a really good grounding in all cellular communication, this provides a great start. The appendix even points to the next resources for each chapter, organized by what publications make for the best survey material and which are more niche, but right on the frontiers of what's being studied today.

[Klaus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating overview of all the different ways cells communicate. There is overwhelming complexity but the author does an excellent job of putting this in context and offering insights.

[Amelia Durham]

I can’t rate this book as it was far beyond me. I will say it’s not difficult to understand but the sheer amount of information for a regular gal like me was a challenge. I will probably be returning to digest small bits at a time.

It would be great to have an easier version for more casual readers because it’s incredibly interesting.

[Denise Nayve · Rating 5 out of 5]

I decided to try this book out since Biology was by far my favorite back in High School.
For a non-med student or practitioner, this book was fairly easy to understand if you have at least remembered your Biology classes. I was surprised to like it and I really didn't get lost in all the explanation. It's a welcome change for me to have read this.

[Andy Adkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is a wonderful & systematic exploration of recent & culminative discoveries about the components of cellular life & their communication methods & responsiveness. Readers encounter fulsome discussions of most cell types including brain, gut, immune, bacteria, & viruses.

[Roy Van Den Brande · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was in way over my head. I expected a little bit more popular science. But the chapters I understood I enjoyed, and it certainly warants a reread when I know what he's writing about.

[Mark Koester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended biology book on the importance of cellular conversations throughout our bodies and biology. Good synthesis on Theory of Cell Signaling.

[Dave Mills · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sorry, but a disappointing book on several levels.
"Secret Language..." indeed. Start on page 5 (the 2020 paperback edition): "...just now being discovered." Page 11, "The mechanisms by which they do so are just now beginning to be discovered." Page 12, "...but these are not yet well understood." Page 13, "...are not well understood."
Had enough? Catch more on pages 16 (three times), 17, and 18 (three times). I wearied of logging more, but you'll find the same stuff for 29 chapters.
Then, Lieff's editor let him down (or he may have overruled her). You'll find "more on this topic in chapter..." over and over again. The book took an inordinate amount of time to read, as I constantly went forward or back to follow threads. Eventually, the threads wrapped around me so tightly that I couldn't turn the pages. I found the book incredibly disjointed.
My suggestion: skip chapters 1 through 29 and read "Concluding Our Tour of Cellular Conversations" that follows chapter 29. And then pick up Ed Wong's "I Contain Multitudes." A similar analysis of what occurs in our bodies at the cellular level, but infinitely easier and more fun to read. And a book that received a number of "Best Book of 2016" awards. Not the case with "The Secret Language," and for good reason.

[Michael Cannizzo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m disappointed. I was expecting a much more detailed overview of cell signaling but I suppose I, being someone who researches genes and signaling to an extent, may be the wrong audience for this book which is intended for general audiences interested in biology.

The book moves at breakneck speed through a plethora of topics and is light on the details. In a given chapter, the author simply says “this cell signals to this cell” but doesn’t spend much time describing how, and the “how” is supposed to be the theme of the book (the secret language—what oh what is it???). Additionally the book is supposed to go over how medical treatments could be impacted by our knowledge of cell signaling but it just seems to me that the author threw in a couple sentences at the end of each chapter to say that cell signaling research could change how we treat a disease. Okay, great, but how? I will say that the section on organelle signaling was the height of the book but the conclusion just didn’t seem to bring everything together in a meaningful way. At most I got a couple of cool factoids out of this.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but too much is introduced

I was somewhat disappointed by this book. Although the writing is conversational and in plain English, I felt that too much is introduced and not enough detail is given to really get a good sense of how communication between cells takes place. On the other hand, the photomicrographs are outstanding. To be upfront, I do have a biology background, but I have read many popular science biology books that have held my attention throughout. A good recent example is Deadliest Enemy by Osterholm and Olshaker.
Disclosure: I received an advance reader copy via Netgalley for review purposes.

[Lisa Cobb Sabatini · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won a copy of The Secret Language of Cells by Jon Lieff, MD, from Goodreads.

The Secret Language of Cells by Jon Lieff, MD, may be written on a level for medical students, but, though dense, it is written in such a way that the average reader can read it with clear understanding and also come away thoroughly informed. This book is a hybrid medical textbook and step-by-step guide for non-medical readers that offers insight on how human cells function, communicate, and ultimately die. A fascinating and erudite study, The Language of Cells enlightens, educates, and prepares readers for a microbe-filled world.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too broad and lacking depth, this is good but not compelling. Admittedly, I had approached this expecting individual human personalities, choices, redirections (at times), and studies over time that reflect external factors and human responses. The Brain-Body is here, I'm not sure about the "Future," but I wonder about Life without the dynamic choices and experiences which play into "Life Itself" as hinted at in the title. Still, this provides overall explanations about everything from our skin to our brain cells to just about everything else that makes up our remarkable bodies.

[John Borsi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great concept, lacking execution. Some parts of this book really shined; for example, the chapter about T-cells and the thymus was technical and approachable and honestly exciting.

But most of the book doesn't manage to be as engaging or as technically in-depth. There's a lot of content in this book, perhaps some of the later chapters are outside of the author's main area of expertise?

Overall, I would struggle to identify a target audience for this book. Too technical for most laypeople, not enough actionable detail for practitioners, probably not detailed enough for researchers.

[Scott Milam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great topic for a book, but the writing is poor. The points are obscured by a lack of focus and there isn't enough chemistry nor physics to make up for the lack of organization. It was really hard to take information out of the book as it was made up of lots of claims without evidence and the editing misses a ton of overcrowded sentences. I hope someone makes a better version because the topic is fascinating and I'll try and read another one.

[jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Book

Interesting information about how our cells communicate with one another. This is not a topic most people take about so I’m glad I found this book. The author explains various aspects of the biological structures in our bodies. Overall, an excellent book to read to learn more about how our brains and bodies function amongst a vast network of neurons and other structures.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is quite interesting. No scientific knowledge required. Don't read this if you're seeking solutions to a cell-related health issue. But do read this if you're interested in learning more about the human body. It's very well written and includes some great photos.

I really appreciate the ARC for review!!

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazing book to listen to (audible). I could see a whole bunch of videos rolling through my mind as I listened. Extraordinary and fascinating is the human body. This book made me think we had millions or more little versions of inside out going on inside of us! Educational and riveting!

[Amade · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to this book 3 times. It’s more like an encyclopedia of cellular communication. The author simply states facts, without a good story behind the date. The narrator also reads through the text quite dispassionately. Maybe it’s fine as a reference book, but I’d definitely not recommended it in the audio format.

[Francesco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una lettura veramente interessante, tantissimi (forse troppi) concetti.
Un po' troppo denso, ma come saggio riassuntivo per gli addetti ai lavori è una lettura a mio parere imprescindibile perché apre infiniti nuovi filoni di indagine per nuove metodologie di terapia.

[Nazia Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm currently doing my PhD in the field of Genomics. Hence why I decided to read this book. Found it rather interesting and enjoyed the way the author was able to describe science in layman's terms,
Would recommend this book to others in my department,

[James Randall · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of information.. kinda jumps around a lot or keeps saying "I'll discuss more in depth in chapter 13..." it got too much like get to it when you get to it. Stop announcing it over and over. Besides that great book.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learned so much from this book, and it did a great job giving a summary of current research. Unfortunately, the wording was hard to parse, and the author may have been infected by the passive voice in the articles he was reporting on. A++ on content, maybe a C on comprehensibility.

[Rebecca Earhart · Rating 2 out of 5]

Author pats himself on the back for creating the “only” book with all this information displayed in an “accessible” way multiple times and then proceeds to write the most convoluted explanation of everything that at best reveals we actually don’t know anything about anything. Wild.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I moved this to the top of my lengthy to-read list after I saw it has AN ENTIRE CHAPTER ON ASTROCYTES! (I just had an astrocytoma the size of a small avocado removed from my brain.) Sadly, few interesting insights in this book.

[Michael Love · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book. If you ever want to really appreciate the wonder of our human bodies, read this book. The consciousness within the body is literally mind-blowing.