The Master Builder

A leading developmental biologist argues that cells, not DNA, hold the key to understanding history, present, and future of life.

A timely, important and compelling case for why an understanding of living organisms must start with the cell. He offers a vision of life that shows it to be much more interesting and ingenious than any simplistic notion of genetic blueprints can provide

This book makes a new and stunning argument, not so much that we should put DNA in its place, but that we can see the grandeur of life as it truly is

What came first, the chicken or the egg? In The Master Builder , Alfonso Martinez Arias poses a different question: what drives biology, genes or cells? His surprising answer shines new light on the fascinating riddle of development and offers a majestic cells-eye view of life itself

In this masterful account, geneticist and developmental biologist Alfonso Martinez Arias shows that, on its own, DNA is powerless, inert . . . This cell's-eye view of life is powerful and striking, helping to reveal why DNA is not the ultimate determinant of ourselves . . . This clearly explained, beautiful book will change how you think about DNA, about how you came to be, and about life itself

An ingenious argument . . . A rich, detailed exploration of the vitality of cells

Alfonso Martinez Arias's novel thesis invigorates, and the lucid scientific discussions will hold readers' attention even through involved examinations of how cells respond to specific proteins. This is the perfect complement to Siddhartha Mukherjee's The Song of the Cell

[A] revolutionary book on cell biology

Provocative . . . timely and needed. Highlights of the book include the many fascinating historical and evolutionary perspectives presented and Martinez Arias's discussion of key experiments

Fascinating and provocative

Martinez Arias, a developmental biologist, has lived and breathed the cell's struggle to be heard over a career spanning 40-odd years. His story is one of DNA elites against hardworking, blue-collar cells. Cells, not DNA, Martinez Arias points out, determine the ripples of our fingerprints and the texture of our irises

Alfonso Martinez Arias is ICREA Research Professor in the department of systems bioengineering of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. The recipient of numerous awards, he is co-author of the biology textbook Principles of Development , which was awarded the Royal Society of Biology book prize. He lives in Barcelona, Spain.