Vital Harmonies: Molecular Biology and Our Shared Humanity / Edition 1

by Erwin Fleissner

Overview

The year 2003 marked the fiftieth anniversary of James Watson's and Francis Crick's discovery of the structure of DNA, which began a revolution in the biological sciences and radically altered the way humans view life and themselves. In this poetic account Erwin Fleissner, an eminent cancer researcher and teacher, offers a personal and professional reflection on the most significant developments in molecular genetics and cell biology over the past fifty years. Vital Harmonies is a sweeping look at these crucial scientific advances and an insider's perspective on what scientists have actually learned from them.

Contrasting the humanistic side of scientific research with more deterministic or "mechanical" explanations of life processes, Fleissner discusses everything from natural selection to the tradition of rational inquiry stemming from the Enlightenment. He goes on to describe the structures of macromolecules and their "organizing" principles as well as cancer genes, stem cells, and the Human Genome Project. He also explores neuronal cells and the emergence of consciousness and how biological evolution is the foundation of our personal reality as well as our global responsibility. Fleissner asserts that scientific investigations cannot negate our essential "humanness" nor should the public fear them. Taking an optimistic perspective, he argues that a deeper knowledge of ourselves as biological entities will provide us, ultimately, with greater health, serenity, and self-knowledge. Vital Harmonies gives readers, whatever their background, an engaging analysis of some of the most important questions facing humanity today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780231131124
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	08/11/2004
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 5.60(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Erwin Fleissner is professor emeritus of biology and former dean of sciences and mathematics (1987-1998) at Hunter College, City University of New York. Before Hunter, he was a member of the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research where he discovered the protein composition of retroviruses and researched the roles of cell-derived genes in cancers caused by such viruses in animals.

Table of Contents

Prefatory Note
Acknowledgments
Prologue: Molecular Biology from the Viewpoint of a Practitioner
The Genetic Point of View
The Logic of the Cell
From Cell to Organism
Abnormal Cell Growth in Cancer
Human Genomes and Human Beings
On Consciousness
Molecular Biology and the Limits of Molecular Explanation
Notes
Glossary
Select Bibliography and Further Reading
Index

What People are Saying About This

Max Gottesman

Fleissner plunges a stake through the chest of vitalism, showing that living systems are subject to natural law. His profound humanism and his justification of ethical tenets through an evolutionary analysis is wonderful and insightful.

— Max Gottesman, director, Institute of Cancer Research, Columbia University Medical Center

Editorial Reviews

Erwin Fleissner asks: what can molecular biology tell us about our place in the world? That he is able to accomplish this in a lucid manner while at the same time evoking a sense of wonder at the complexity and beauty of nature is both impressive and moving.

Nature Cell Biology - Robert N. Eisenman

Those who are already grounded in the basics of molecular biology will profit...from this worthwhile, if challenging, volume...Recommended.

Choice

[A] one-of-a-kind insider's reminiscence of how human enquiry about the basic blocks all humans are made of changed the world.

Midwest Book Review

Erwin Fleissner asks: what can molecular biology tell us about our place in the world? That he is able to accomplish this in a lucid manner while at the same time evoking a sense of wonder at the complexity and beauty of nature is both impressive and moving.

— Robert N. Eisenman

Nature Cell Biology