Published Review Excerpts
(Please scroll down for capsule comments)
In Cells, Gels
and the Engines of Life, Gerald Pollack has done us all a service: he
has provided us with a 305 page preface to the future of cell biology
which warns us all – students and establishment alike – that there will
always be a fine line between understanding and assumption.
While
our knowledge of the molecular widgets that comprise living cells has
exploded beyond our wildest dream, our understanding of cell
architecture and the relations between structure and function still
remain rudimentary. For example, one mainstream cell biology text-book
defines the cell as “a small membrane-bounded compartment filled with a
concentrated aqueous solution of chemicals,” like a balloon filled with
molasses. In fact, many biologists who work with molecules in isolation
still share this view, as do virtually all lay people, including the
congressmen and women who decide which science projects the government
will invest in. Pollack views this image as a dragon that must be slain
and I cannot agree more.
..the revolutionary concept he presents
is that the cytoplasm is a gel. At first glance, it would seem that we
have merely changed the model of the cell from a balloon filled with
molasses to one filled with jello. However, there is something deeper
and much more important in his message. While cell biology focuses on
the molecular components that comprise living cells, Pollack centers
his attention on the water molecules that swell the cytoskeletal gel
and which, up to now, have been virtually absent from the cell biology
radar screen.
Armed with this unifying concept, Pollack takes on
the remaining dragons of cell biology and slays them one by one…..He
reminds us how we tend to grasp tightly to conventional models, even
when confronted by examples of conflicting results. It is hard not to
appreciate his point. Many of our current beliefs in cell biology are
ephemeral and will undoubtedly be replaced, whether we like it or not,
by new and improved views, just like the epicycles which explained the
planets’ movements around the earth was replaced by Galileo’s
heliocentric model of the universe.
In the end, I would say the
Cells, Gels and the Engines of Life takes the reader on a voyage
through cell biology that is not unlike listening to the team of
prosecuting attorneys play out their hand in the O. J. Simpson trial.
The evidence laid out before you is shocking, unnerving, even
titillating, to the point where it is hard to pull yourself away; at
the end, you are so convinced of the defendant’s guilt that you
question whether you ever again can accept what you see in the world at
face value. The difference in this case, is that we never get to hear
the defense’s side of the argument (whether worthy or not). Herein lies
both the strength and weakness of this nicely sculpted and wonderfully
illustrated polemic against complacency in the cell biology
establishment.
Donald Ingber, Cell, 2002
Don’t
even think of touching this book if you believe that everything about
the cell will be understood when the function of every gene and every
protein has been worked out ad infinitum, and life itself could then be
simulated by the fastest supercomputer. For that’s what we are told by
the molecular geneticists who have sequenced the human and other
genomes, and are now desperate to find some meaning in it all. Don’t
touch this book, because it will destroy your life and puncture your
illusions; or at least throw you into a terrible state of self-doubt.
If,
however, you have been bored out of your mind with the proliferation of
lists upon lists of molecular nuts and bolts that simply don’t add up
to a whole, and secretly wondering how the cell might really work, then
beg, borrow, steal or buy a copy of this book right now. You are in for
a big treat. This book will sweep you off your feet.
With
disarming lightness and charm, Gerald Pollack sweeps aside the big
myths out of which the entire subject has been spun, thus disposing of
perhaps 99 percent of what one might have learned from cell biology
textbooks.
It is like having a thorough spring-cleaning done on
your mind. The layers of intellectual cobwebs accumulating ever since
you decided to read biology - and never really been encouraged to think
your way to any modicum of understanding – all cleared away, one by
one, until you see sunlight sparkling in your mind’s eye. You’ve
regained the innocence of first gazing into life’s wonders, and ready
for more.
Mae-wan Ho, Institute of Science in Society, 2003
Cells,
Gels and the engines of life reads like a novel, and is nicely
illustrated by David Olsen to make difficult concepts easier to
understand. The presented approach is refreshing and easy to follow by
scientists from any discipline and also by those without biological
background. We found that the book is also very valuable for graduate
students. They love the controversial and revolutionary aspects of the
book and it triggers their critical opinion of theories presented in
classical textbooks.
A new, almost simple, model of the cell
based on the idea that the cell is a gel and not an aqueous solution.
….the fact that cell function may eventually be understood from an
ordinary chemical or physical point of view is extremely attractive.
C. van Donkelaar and C. V. C. Bouten, J. Biomechanics 36: 147-150, 2002
Gerald
Pollack has written a rollicking romp through cell biology that should
rock the science. He has taken the principles of physical chemistry and
applied them to the fundamental process of the cell in a lucid
explanation of how these “engines of life” might work.
The prose
is elegant and eloquent and the analogies are colorful, illuminating,
and memorable. … Pollack’s ideas have made me think more deeply about
my own science and, I suspect, will affect the thinking of any life
scientist with an open mind and a sense of adventure. “Cells, Gels…” is
a good read in the sense that you can take it to the beach, or it can
keep you up all night.
Pollack has gone out on a limb to shake up the status quo of cell biology and for this alone we should be grateful.
Felicia Etzkorn, Trends in Microbiology 10(4) April, 2002
…a
new and refreshing approach built on fundamental principles of physics
and chemistry… provocative in many ways….… beautifully edited with many
pictures and photographs, as well as colorful drawings and
figures….captivating and recommendable to both graduate and
undergraduate students as well as all science professionals with
open-minded curiosity.
If
Cells, Gels and the Engines of Life is correct, a large number of
biologists should be fighting very scared. According to the author,
Gerald Pollack, one of the fundamental concepts of modern cell biology
is seriously wrong. Pollack believes that the importance of the plasma
membrane has been overwhelmingly overstated, and pumps, transporters,
channels, membranes bounding intracellular compartments and suchlike
have few or none of the roles that we all ascribe to them. If this is
all correct, a tidy proportion of all modern biologists have been
wasting their time for the past few years…
Pollack’s central
hypothesis is that the contents of cells are not aqueous solutions, as
biochemists have tended to assume. Rather, the cytoplasm is a complex
gel, and much of the behavior of cells can be explained by gel-specific
concepts such as phase transitions and exclusion of specific solutes
from the gel matrix….
This is the book of someone who knows the
implications of what he’s trying to say….The critiques of existing
models are strongly argued. There’s no room for the current view to be
basically sound, give or take a reinterpretation here and there, or
revision of a small subfield. The only answer is a complete paradigm
shift, with the old membrane-based framework going out of the window
and being completely replaced by a complex and interlocking system of
phase transitions in an architecture built from gels….Overall, suffice
it to say that I was intrigued, and that I found elements of the
argument completely convincing.
Robert Insall / Nature Genetics, 2001
For anyone with scientific curiosity who wants to understand better the complexity of the human cell.
J. M. Bennett Leukemia Research, 2002
This
book is, without doubt, an impressive example of informed scientific
dissent. Dr. Pollack has obviously thought long and hard about all
these questions; his obvious enthusiasm for his hypothesis is matched
by an impressive depth of research, and he is obviously intimately
familiar with the seminal works from the last 100 years on both sides
of the debate. …Throughout, the author avoids the embittered tone often
adopted by those whose cherished theories run against accepted dogma,
adopting instead an admirably patient explanatory tone and urging
readers to decide for themselves which fundamental hypothesis deserves
acceptance. The mechanisms proposed by Dr. Pollack are extremely
elegant and well-conceived, and if the abbreviated explanations
presented in this review pique your curiosity, be it in the form of
inspiration or incredulity, I strongly recommend that you take a closer
look at the text itself.
A. Oberst, Cell Death and Differentiation (2003) 10: 266-268.
Most
modern biology books are prescribed by our current excessive-peer
reviewed mentality; this book breaks free and challenges many of the
sacred cows of cell biology. The author treats the cell as a gel and
believes that our current thinking on living systems is overly
complex….Buy a copy…and see if, as suggested by one of the cover
reviewers, it becomes you “scientific bible.”
Milton Wainwright, Microbiology Today, 2001
One
of the nice features of this book is that it starts with basic
information so that readers without proper background can easily follow
the development of the story. For the subject as diverse as this one
ranging from biology (e.g., cell division, muscle contraction, and cell
secretion) to polymer chemistry (e.g., diffusion through polymer
network and phase transition), the book is incredibly easy to read.
This
is a science book that is as interesting as any non-fiction book listed
in the best-seller list in the New York Times. At last, we have a book
that clearly shows that the science book does not have to be boring.
The author did an outstanding job in introducing a new theory, new
insights, and a new way of thinking by combining biology with known
polymer principles, in a way that almost anyone can afford.
Kinam Park, Pharm. Research 18:1804-1805
This
is no ordinary book. And it is not really a reference book. Its title
gives very little away and may even be sufficiently meaningless as to
fail to excite the interest of the passing eye. However, the sub-title
shouts out its message quietly and confidently: “A new, unifying
approach to cell function.” This book is a crusade!
It is the
nature of scientific progress that historical findings are built upon
and extended by contemporary researchers. There is simply no time in
the publication-driven production line of academic research to revisit
and question the basis of work already done. The peer-review process,
despite its recently exposed shortcomings, continues to provide warmth
and comfort for groups of like-minded individuals working in broadly
the same field and feeding from the same trough that is their source of
research funding. It simply would not be right for any such individuals
to question the underlying science in their field because that would be
a guaranteed way of causing their flow of research funding to dry up.
But Gerald Pollack dares to go where few would care to lead and
questions long-established scientific tenets. What he has written will
make uncomfortable reading for some. And being of thoroughly cynical
disposition, I fear that those individuals who really should read this
book will find several reasons why they shouldn’t bother.
Gerald
Pollack has drawn attention to experimental observations made many,
many years ago that simply do not fit with current understanding of
some rather important concepts as promulgated by basic undergraduate
text books, university lecturers who use these books because they can
often get free copies for evaluation, and of course those who go on to
undertake research in these areas. Take for example, the sodium pump.
To be fair, Gerald Pollack is only the messenger as far as what he has
written about the sodium pump is concerned. He actually tells a story
that was originally written by Gilbert Ling. I had to obtain a copy of
one of Gilbert Ling’s recent publications (Physiol. Chem. Phys. &
Med. NMR 29: 123-198, 1997) to gain a glimpse of the turmoil that has
existed in the sodium pump field for about 50 years! Gilbert Ling
carried out some simple experiments (simple in terms of what he was
trying to observe: complex in terms of experimental design) as part of
his Ph.D work. His observations did not fit with the then current
understanding of the sodium pump. He writes that he was quietly advised
that the sodium pump was a ‘Holy Cow’ and that he should stay away from
it. He didn’t. His research funding dried up. His research students
fled for fear of becoming unemployable. A smear campaign was instigated
to blacken his name. But his results are clear: if you poison frog
sartorius muscle with sodium iodoacetate, and/or provide a nitrogen
atmosphere and/or cool the muscle preparations down to 0°C, ATP
production should cease and the sodium pump should stop working. This
should result in intracellular sodium levels rising as the sodium pump
fails. But that is not what happens. If you want to see how Gerald
Pollack tells the story, get his book. Suffice it to say that the
sodium pump may well use ATP to do something that results in the
movement of sodium and potassium ions in opposite directions across
membranes, but that something has little if anything to do with
maintaining potassium at high level and sodium at low level
intracellularly. You don’t need a sodium pump to achieve this end
because it happens spontaneously! If you are troubled by this
observation, you should get Gerald Pollack’s book.
But there is
much more to Gerald Pollack’s book than a wish to revisit the sodium
pump and to focus, for a change, on the water in living systems rather
than on the proteins, carbohydrates, phospholipids, salts, etc. He
develops a story that eloquently moves the reader towards a single
unifying hypothesis built around phase transitions that occur in the
structured water environment of living cells. The same phase transition
phenomena can, it seems, provide mechanistic explanations for a
multitude of intracellular events that are currently understood only in
terms of the words that describe the observable phenomena. Consider,
for example, what it is that you actually understand by the phrase
‘secretion of a neurotransmitter’. You could probably describe what is
actually observed during this process, but could you explain
mechanistically how secretion happens? Or how cell division happens? Or
how muscle cells contract? Or how action potentials propagate (yes, I
too have read the undergraduate textbooks, but the story about action
potentials as it is commonly told, like the sodium pump story, contains
rather significant omissions)? Or how transport of substances occurs
through the gelatinous mass that is the intracellular environment (this
is, I would submit, of fundamental significance to our understanding of
intracellular therapeutic targeting of bioactive molecules)? Or how ATP
works (yes, yes, I too have read the undergraduate textbooks and
lectured on the subject)? Gerald Pollack attempts to do all of this and
more. And I have to say that I find the case he makes compelling.
Our
understanding of the world is essentially just a story that is
consistent with the currently available set of experimentally-derived
data. New experimental data may either add colour or detail to the
picture or they may expand the boundaries of the picture…but sometimes,
and only very rarely, new data may require that the picture is erased
and redrawn in a different way. If you have bothered to read this
review to the end, you will probably also want to read Gerald Pollack’s
book. I would commend it to you. We will then need to look for
volunteers to rewrite the standard undergraduate biochemistry/cell
biology textbooks.
Gerald Pollack’s book is a monumental piece of work.
Richard J. Schmidt, J. Pharmacy and Pharmacology 55: 857-858, 2003
The
goals of this extremely readable and cleverly illustrated book are not
modest. Gerald Pollack, professor of bioengineering at the University
of Washington, begins by demeaning textbook renditions of cell biology
as analogous to Ptolemaic epicycles. These renditions, he claims, are
pedantic minutiae to be overthrown by a Copernican revolution that will
leave us with a "new, unifying approach to cell function," one
unencumbered by the mass of molecular details usually trolled by
biologists in search of mechanisms.
Cells, Gels and the Engines
of Life is an eloquent and accessible statement of a heresy that has
smoldered at the fringe of orthodox biology for about 30 years. Having
often watched eyes glaze over as I try to preach that cytoskeletal
polymer phase transitions are important for cell motility, I was ready
to embrace a work that unabashedly and eloquently celebrates cells as
polymer gels, without resorting to a single mathematical equation. Too
little imagination, I have thought, has been applied to thinking
through possible ways that biological gels (such as fibrin, collagen,
elastin, and actin) influence human physiology and disease.
Though Pollack's interpretations challenge conventional wisdom, such challenges should always be welcome.
Thomas Stossel, Science 293 (5530), 611, 2001
This
is a fascinating and extraordinary book. It challenges many of the
concepts that have been accepted in contemporary cell biology. Yet it
is written in an easy to read style that compels the reader to continue
on.
Pollack does not discount the earlier texts but acknowledges
that his ideas add an extra dimension to some of the classical
descriptions of cellular activities. A difference between this volume
and the more classical texts is that Pollack offers explanations for
how cell processes could work, whereas the classical texts describe the
components involved but do not offer real explanations as to how things
happen.
As I read this book, I found myself rethinking some of
our own work and wondering if structured water could be affecting the
molecular interactions that we study in my lab. If a book prompts the
reader to re-examine their thinking then it must be regarded as a
success. I believe this book should be included in senior
undergraduate, or postgraduate cell biology classes alongside the
classical texts. This book may not be correct in all its details but as
a focus for discussion and for the exploration of fresh ideas, it is a
powerhouse.
Dierdre Coombe, Immunology and Cell Biology 80, 506, 2002.
Professor
Gerald Pollack….challenges the fundamental concepts of modern cell
biology. His latest publication “Cells, Gels and the Engines of Life: A
New, Unifying Approach to Cell function” sends its readers a strong
message that modern cell biology has been built on no stable bases, and
that most of our knowledge about the cell may be completely wrong…
This
book is the collection of truths he has reached by starting biology
himself with a clean slate; in a sense, it is his alterego. I read the
draft of it for the first time a few years ago. Once I started reading
it, it captured and has never released my mind. Since then, my attitude
toward science has drastically changed. Although we have to honor the
great accomplishments by the pioneers in the history of biology, this
book taught me that it is necessary to reconsider them over and over
again myself, too, from a non-biased standpoint.
“Cells, Gels,
and the Engines of Life: A New, Unifying Approach to Cell Function” is
a must-have item. Its readers seeking the truth will soon find that it
illuminates the darkness all around and opens the path leading to the
highest peak of genuine biology.
Capsule comments from distinguished professionals worldwide….
“I’m
over the moon about this book. Once started, I knew I had to finish the
unfolding story of new cellular players and cellular actions. Every
cell biology curriculum should include this fresh and invigorating
outlook.” --John Watterson, Lecturer Emeritus, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia
“I have never read such impressive work since I entered the university 11 years ago. It will become my scientific bible.” --Hirohisa Tamagawa, Research Associate, Gifu University, Japan
“In
pleasant, readable style, Pollack opens a door towards third millennium
biology. He asks penetrating questions that are not born out of his
imagination but from careful analysis of puzzling results obtained by
many investigators that do not fit current paradigms.” --Pascale Mentré, Maître de Conf., Pierre and Marie Curie University, Paris
“I’ve
carried this book around for some time and finally pulled it out on a
recent flight, and literally couldn’t put it down. It is very good.” --Joseph Andrade, Professor and former Dean of Engineering, University of Utah
“If
the thesis advanced here is proven to be sound, there will be a
revolution in cell biology. This book offers a dramatic alternative to
the “conventional wisdom” of contemporary cell biology. Some of the
material is deeply embedded in controversy, and although I did not
always agree with the details, the overall message comes across clearly
in this stimulating and enjoyable book. Pollack writes in a pleasant,
often humorous style. If you wish to explore the spirit of qualified
scientific dissent, this book is for you.” --James Clegg, Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Davis
“Cells,
Gels and the Engines of Life shows the power of treating the cell as it
really is—a gel. With this approach, Pollack creates a fresh and
compelling new foundation for cell biology. Anyone interested in
discovering nature’s secrets will be forced by his/her curiosity to
read this book. Once I started, I could not stop reading.” --Yoshi Osada, Professor and Director, Soft- and Wet-ware Laboratory, Hokkaido University, Japan
“This
is a great read. A very engaging discussion that constantly hits on
things I (and probably most people in the field) have wondered about,
and challenges the reader to rethink matters that are often taken for
granted.” --Paul Janmey, Professor of Physiology, University of Pennsylvania
“A most important book. Impressive and convincing for anyone who is open minded.” --Frank Mayer, Head, Structural Biology Department, Georg-August-University-Göttingen, Germany
“Cells and Gels reads like a detective story. I could not stop reading until the plot resolved.” --Hiromasa Ishiwatari, Dean, Graduate School Health Sciences, Suzuka University, Japan
“I
read the book in one shot. It exposes the beauty of a critical tension
between two poles of perception, and the intellectual pleasure of
pursuing creative resolution. -Reuven Tirosh, Chief Scientist, Schottenstein Center, Bar Ilan University, Israel.
