The discovery of cells--and the reframing of the human body as a cellular ecosystem--announced the birth of a new kind of medicine based on the therapeutic manipulations of cells. A hip fracture, a cardiac arrest, Alzheimer's, dementia, AIDS, pneumonia, lung cancer, kidney failure, arthritis, COVID--all could be viewed as the results of cells, or systems of cells, functioning abnormally. And all could be perceived as loci of cellular therapies. In The Song of the Cell, Mukherjee tells the story of how scientists discovered cells, began to understand them, and are now using that knowledge to create new treatments and new humans.

Prelude :"The elementary particles of organisms" -- Introduction : "We shall always return to the cell" -- Part one : Discovery : The original cell: an invisible world -- The visible cell: "Fictitious stories about the little animals" -- The universal cell: "The smallest particle of this little world" -- The pathogenic cell: microbes, infections, and the antibiotic revolution -- Part two : The one and the many : The organized cell: the interior anatomy of the cell -- The dividing cell: cellular reproduction and the birth of IVF -- The tampered cell: Lulu, Nana, and the transgressions of trust -- The developing cell: a cell becomes and organism -- Part three : Blood : The restless cell: circles of blood -- The healing cell: platelets, clots, and a "modern epidemic" -- The guardian cell: neutrophils and their kampf against pathogens -- The defending cell: when a body meets a body -- The discerning cell: the subtle intelligence of the T cell -- The tolerant cell: the self, horror autotoxicus, and immunotherapy -- Part four : Knowledge : The pandemic -- Part five : Organs : The citizen cell: the benefits of belonging -- The contemplating cell: the many-minded neuron -- The orchestrating cell: homeostasis, fixity, and balance -- Part six : Rebirth : The renewing cell: stem cells and the birth of transplantation -- The repairing cell: injury, decay, and constancy -- The selfish cell: the ecological equation and cancer -- The songs of the cell -- Epilogue : "Better versions of me".