I’ve long been fascinated by how life unfolds from a single fertilized egg cell containing just one set of DNA, whether it’s a human, mouse, frog, worm, or anything else. While studying for my PhD in the Gurdon Institute in Cambridge, which combines brings together researchers working on development and cancer, and spending twelve years in science communication at Cancer Research UK, the world’s largest cancer research charity, I came to see cancer and development as two sides of the same coin: one process unfolding healthy life as egg becomes embryo, and the other ultimately bringing disease and death as a single cell grows into a deadly tumor.
I wrote...
Rebel Cell: Cancer, Evolution, and the New Science of Life's Oldest Betrayal
Many of us think of cancer as a contemporary killer, a disease of our own making caused by our modern lifestyles. But that perception just isn’t true. Although it might be rare in many species, cancer is the enemy lurking within almost every living creature. Why? Because cancer is a bug in the system of life. And just like life, it keeps on evolving and evading our best attempts to beat it.
Rebel Cell: Cancer, Evolution and the Science of Life takes us from the dawn of life on planet earth right up to the present day to get to the heart of what cancer really is and how we can find better strategies for living with it or even one day driving it to extinction.
I worked alongside Henry at Cancer Research UK for many years and was devastated by the news that his partner Zarah had developed bladder cancer. Part memoir, part scientific odyssey, Cross Everything captures the story behind her treatment and why it ultimately failed to save her life, and what lessons can be learned to help others in the future.
An extraordinary memoir that explores the further reaches of today's cancer science - alongside a deeply tender story of loss, grief and love.
'A moving, compelling and vital book, that sheds much needed light on the very latest understanding of cancer.' Siddhartha Mukherjee, author of The Emperor of All Maladies
'A gripping, heartbreaking, accessible personal journey through love and cancer' Charles Graeber, New York Times bestselling author of The Breakthrough
'Sensitive and informed. Essential reading for anyone supporting a loved one through cancer. Heartbreaking, emotional - and totally and utterly uplifting and hopeful.' Deborah James (@bowelbabe), writer and broadcaster
When I interviewed Athena as part of the research for my own book Rebel Cell, I was immediately struck by the way in which she saw deeper, broader connections across the worlds of cancer research, behavioral science, and philosophy. From the strange, knobbly cactuses that she cultivates outside her office to the misbehaving cells in a deadly tumor, Cheating Cell is a fascinating journey through the origins and evolution of cancer from the perspective of a researcher at the cutting edge of the field.
A fundamental and groundbreaking reassessment of how we view and manage cancer
When we think of the forces driving cancer, we don't necessarily think of evolution. But evolution and cancer are closely linked because the historical processes that created life also created cancer. The Cheating Cell delves into this extraordinary relationship, and shows that by understanding cancer's evolutionary origins, researchers can come up with more effective, revolutionary treatments.
Athena Aktipis goes back billions of years to explore when unicellular forms became multicellular organisms. Within these bodies of cooperating cells, cheating ones arose, overusing resources and replicating out of control, giving…
Cancer and ageing are inextricably linked, with the risk of cancer increasing significantly over the age of 60, so Andrew’s book about the biology of ageing is very much a companion piece to my own. He digs into the latest scientific research on why and how our cells, tissues, and bodies age, and neatly sifts fact from fiction when it comes to anti-ageing supplements and treatments. His most surprisingly simple piece of advice to help slow the ravages of time? Make sure you clean your teeth!
'A stunner ... If you haven't got this book in your house, I don't know why' Chris Evans
'A startling wake-up call . . . Writing with the vim of a Bill Bryson and the technical knowledge of a scientist, Steele gives us a chance to grasp what's at stake' Independent
'An exhilarating journey . . . Steele is a superb guide' Telegraph
'A fascinating read with almost every page bursting with extraordinary facts . . . Read it now' Mail on Sunday
Ageless is a guide to the biggest issue we all face. Ageing - not cancer, not heart…
Written for a more academic audience than the other books on this list, although still highly readable, I’d recommend Adaptive Oncogenesis for anyone wanting to go deeper into the underlying evolutionary principles that explain why we get cancer when we do. James explores how the disease is fundamentally hardwired into our human biology, how the processes of evolution shape how cancer starts, grows, and spreads through the body, and new ideas for more effective approaches to treatment.
Popular understanding holds that genetic changes create cancer. James DeGregori uses evolutionary principles to propose a new way of thinking about cancer's occurrence. Cancer is as much a disease of evolution as it is of mutation, one in which mutated cells outcompete healthy cells in the ecosystem of the body's tissues. His theory ties cancer's progression, or lack thereof, to evolved strategies to maximize reproductive success.
Through natural selection, humans evolved genetic programs to maintain bodily health for as long as necessary to increase the odds of passing on our genes-but not much longer. These mechanisms engender a tissue environment…
On the surface, this fascinating story about the evolutionary journeys of diverse animal species ranging from lizards to porcupines to field mice may seem a strange choice to include in a list of books about cancer, but in fact, it holds many important lessons about how evolution works and how likely we are to get the same outcomes if we ran the tape of time again. In turn, this is vital information underpinning our new understanding of cancer as an evolutionary process within the body, which can potentially be steered through the application of clever treatment strategies to bring about long-term control or even cures.
A major new book overturning our assumptions about how evolution works
Earth’s natural history is full of fascinating instances of convergence: phenomena like eyes and wings and tree-climbing lizards that have evolved independently, multiple times. But evolutionary biologists also point out many examples of contingency, cases where the tiniest change—a random mutation or an ancient butterfly sneeze—caused evolution to take a completely different course. What role does each force really play in the constantly changing natural world? Are the plants and animals that exist today, and we humans ourselves, inevitabilities or evolutionary flukes? And what does that say about life…
Virologist Dr. Rachel Bisette sees visions of a Kachina and remembers the plane crash that killed her parents and the Dine medicine woman who saved her life. Rachel is investigating a new and lethal hantavirus spreading through the Four Corners, and believes the Kachina is calling her to join the work against the spreading pandemic.
She finds Eva Yellow Horn, a medicine woman with the key to fighting the pandemic. When Eva demonstrates ancient healing powers beyond science, Rachel recognizes her as the medicine woman who saved her life years before. Eva reveals that Rachel’s father was investigating the 1979 nuclear disaster in Church Rock, when his plane crashed, killing her parents. Now, Rachel undertakes a new investigation, but she is not alone.
“Visions of kachinas guide doctor to spiritual healing in pandemic.”
2014 Finalist in the Willa Literary Award
This is a book that once closed and last line read, my mind wandered to explore certain character motivations and potential follow-up responses. I don’t think an author has to answer every possibility, art comes into play best when the reader’s own imagination can wander within the story.
Dr. Rachel Bisette is drawn to the Four Corners to lead the search for a vaccine against a lethal pandemic. One elusive indigenous woman, Eva Yellow Horn, carries the gift of immunity. In her search…
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