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Nature 435, 1162 (30 June 2005) | doi:10.1038/4351162a; Published online 29 June 2005

Making small talk

Fran Balkwill1

BOOK REVIEWEDThe Language of Life: How Cells Communicate in Health and Disease

by Debra Niehoff

Joseph Henry Press: 2005. 306 pp. $27.95

"The language of all cellular societies is similarly based not on sounds or gestures but on chemistry. Using molecules where we would use words, constructing sentences from chains of proteins, the cells that make up...multicellular organisms inform, wheedle, command, exhort, reassure, nurture, criticize and instruct each other.