Wetware: A computer in every living cell

If anyone would want to find a book for some revision and knowledgeenforcement, I would recommend this – Wetware: A Computer in Every Living Cell by Dennis Bray. My first impression to thebook was of the simple and clear cut message, but it was more than just that.Bray had successfully transformed the very core of cell biology into passagesof easily-read chapters. He had started his book with a question to eitherhimself and his readers about the conscience of amoeba, on how a simple celllike that could survive, and live mechanism which could be mirrored on severalaspect in higher level organisms, for an instance the human!

 

Not only that I admire the way Bray supported each and every point ofhis with examples, which was an amazing piece for a Science person like me. Oneof the few which caught my attention was Stentor roeselii for its amazing mechanism as a single cell organism andthe Walter’s tortoise, which for a person like me had never heard of. Not onlydid Bray inserted biological examples with computational samples, his bookextended the understanding towards the living system to the aspect from Physicsand Chemistry such as using the chaotic system and diffusion kinetics. Digitalage had been devouring us so fast that all our generations think of computerswere laptops, droids and phones. Indeed, computer was more than that and hadcame a long way down the history, from something which we might not haverecognized at all. If you think this book were some introductory books forreally basic sciences, then again, you might not be overall-y right. Bray didslot in chapters based on specific cell biology such as mechanisms of enzymeslike glutamine synthase or nature of protein with its counterparts.

 

Last but not least, Bray had sent us his message of the title of thebook, by showing us one by one, step by step, how would cell be in comparisonto computers. Though, he did not give out a certain and definite answer, hedefinitely gave us evidences to support his idea and delivered the message,comparing cells and computers in many aspects. Reading this book does not onlygive us an insight of his idea, but open up our mind to more viable perceptionswhich we might have forgotten, ignored or even unknown of. To me, it serves asa good basic revision of what I have known of cell biology, but this time,reading it in a different style of language – one that many would understand. Enfin, I shall conclude that I enjoyedreading this book – a pleasure, I would say.