Publishers Weekly
10/21/2019
Developmental biologist and Caltech professor Zernicka-Goetz brings significant credentials in embryology to her debut, an uneven but illuminating popular science work. Zernicka-Goetz, writing in the first person with Highfield (Super Cooperators, coauthor), does a good job of describing the scientific process and the excitement of discovery, and of recounting the process behind her breakthroughs, such as identifying when and how the first cells in an embryo break symmetry, which allows differentiation and development to occur. Not neglecting her field’s harsher side, she acknowledges the criticism this discovery initially received from skeptical fellow scientists, and credits the support of “family, friends, and colleagues” with allowing her to persevere until a refined lab test finally confirmed her finding. Zernicka-Goetz also describes how she, with her team, created a lab protocol that doubled the time in which human embryos could be studied in vitro, and how they greatly advanced the understanding of developing embryos’ self-repair mechanisms. All of this science is understandably explained and graspable for nonspecialists. Unfortunately, the final chapter, on the struggles women face in science, is too abbreviated to do justice to such an important topic. Nonetheless, Zernicka-Goetz and Highfield’s informative professional memoir has much to engage readers. (Feb.)
From the Publisher
Named one of the World's Top 10 Thinkers of 2020 by Prospect
"What amazing force puts 40 trillion cells (more cells than there are stars in the galaxy) into the right order to make a human? In The Dance of Life Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz and Roger Highfield reveal answers, some with profound implications for the future of pregnancy."—New Scientist
"Illuminating...Zernicka-Goetz and Highfield's informative professional memoir has much to engage readers."—Publishers Weekly
"An in-depth journey through the world of the research embryologist.... The story has a memoir like atmosphere, especially when Zernicka-Goetz turns to episodes of her life. But she is never far from the science, as when she writes about her pregnancy and her son, who had chromosome irregularities, which became a topic of her research.... Meaty and entertaining."—Kirkus
"A touching, detailed portrait of a life in science. Beautifully written, it's a reminder that scientists are human and their humanity affects every part of their work."—Angela Saini, author of Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong — and the New Research That's Rewriting the Story
"How an entire human can emerge from a single cell is one of the great mysteries of life. This book is a wonderful exposition of that amazingly complicated process, and combines Zernicka-Goetz's research and expert perspective with the clear and engaging narrative that is a hallmark of Highfield's science writing."—Venki Ramakrishnan, president of the Royal Society and recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
"Part memoir, part mission to touch creation itself, The Dance of Life is a candid & gripping odyssey into one of the greatest microscopic scientific mysteries of all — the cellular divisions that spawn human life."—Samira Ahmed, author of Internment
"Few books succeed as well as this in taking a complex area of rapidly advancing science, and turning it into a compelling human story. Rarely will you read such an intimate and personal account of scientific discovery."—Evan Davis
"Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz has written a memoir from the heart. It is a lovely evocation of the triumphs and crushing disappointments on the rollercoaster ride in the pursuit of scientific truth. It is an engaging personal story full of the challenges of negotiating the interface between personal and scientific aspirations from a gifted and successful woman scientist who has managed it well."—Virginia E. Papaioannou, professor emerita of genetics and development, Columbia University
"The question of how a gorgeous baby develops from an inanimate, post-coital speck has fascinated humans from the year dot. Highfield and Zernicka-Goetz illuminate this apparent miracle in an entertaining narrative full of scientific insights, human interest and thoughtful reflection."—Graham Farmelo, author of The Universe Speaks in Numbers
"Of all the biological sciences, developmental biology may be the most complicated, but Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz makes it easier in The Dance of Life. An accomplished researcher whose discoveries in this field truly rewrote textbooks, she offers a rich, detailed look at how humans arise from the union of two cells. In tracing her path as a woman in the male-dominated areas of embryology and developmental biology, Zernicka-Goetz takes the reader with ease through the incredibly complex dance of life that cells undertake in building a human embryo."—Emily Willingham, coauthor of The Informed Parent
"How does a single fertilized egg know how to develop into the trillions of different cells that making up a human? This book provides you with much more than the answer — it is story-telling at its very best. Together with Highfield, Zernicka-Goetz leads us through her life scientific, intertwining the exciting field of 21st biology with a joyous personal journey of discovery at the cutting edge of research."—Jim Al-Khalili, coauthor of Life On the Edge
"Quite simply the best book about science and life that I have ever read."—Alice Roberts, professor of public engagement in science, University of Birmingham
Library Journal
01/01/2020
Biologist Zernicka-Goetz (Univ. of Cambridge) and Highfield (director, external affairs, Science Museum Group) present the latest research on the unanswered questions surrounding the development of a human embryo. How does a tiny cluster of cells coordinate the precise timing of events that unfold as it develops? How do the cells both develop individually and cooperate with each other? The moment when cells begin to make choices, such as whether to become embryo or placenta, head or heart, is called symmetry breaking. The authors describe the early days of research on this phenomenon, including a vital contribution from computer scientist Alan Turing. Zernicka-Goetz discovered that symmetry breaking starts very early in development; in the mouse, at the two-celled stage. It took another ten years to determine the mechanism, based on the level of activity of a particular protein-coding gene in each cell. The authors also discuss issues surrounding using human embryos in research; genetic editing of embryos; and the implications of the research for infertility, prevention of birth defects, and regenerative medicine. VERDICT Of interest to anyone seeking a deeper understanding of human fertility and development.—Rachel Owens, Daytona State Coll. Lib., FL
Kirkus Reviews
2019-11-20
A foray into the developmental biology of individual cells in an embryo.
While Zernicka-Goetz (Biology and Bioengineering/Caltech) and co-author Highfield (The Science of Harry Potter: How Magic Really Works, 2002, etc.) discuss how the cells of early embryos arise, how they organize with such precision and direct their own development, and how they sense when something goes wrong, this is not a primer on embryology but rather an in-depth journey through the world of the research embryologist. Following the biology takes patience and focus for those not well versed in the science—"the mitochondrially targeted zinc-finger nuclease, or mitochondria-targeted transcription activator-like effector nucleases, enzymes that can be engineered to snip specific sequences of DNA, are used to recognize and then eliminate mutant mitochondrial DNA"—but the effort is repaid in spades. Readers engage with the whole process of fertilization as well as cellular specialization, cell cleavage, two-cell biases, and the developmental process. In her research, Zernicka-Goetz makes movies of fluorescently labeled cells "because they talk to each other with proteins and other molecular factors and respond to their surroundings." We learn that cooperation allows specialization and promotes diversity, spurring the embryo to self-organize. We follow the "dance" as the embryo becomes a multilayered organism. There are also intriguing discussions of how a blastocyst's three types of cells arise and how they interact to make something as complex as the human body. The story has a memoirlike atmosphere, especially when Zernicka-Goetz turns to episodes of her life. But she is never far from the science, as when she writes about her pregnancy and her son, who had chromosome irregularities, which became a topic of her research. Particularly beguiling is a chapter devoted to advances in creative biology—regenerative medicine, preimplantation testing, designer babies, embryo editing, genome editing—and all the attendant ethical concerns that surround them.
Meaty and entertaining, with the effort extended well worth the energy.
