Water is so important yet so little researched … but here is some progress and it promises to revolutionise our understanding of biological processes.
The book, Cells, Gels and the Engines of Life builds on the central role of water for biology. It provides evidence that much of the water in the cell is very near to one or another hydrophilic surface and therefore ordered, and that cell behavior can be properly understood only if this feature is properly taken into account.
It goes on to show that seemingly complex behaviors of the cell can be understood in simple terms once a proper understanding of water and surfaces is achieved.
While the book is an award-winning best seller, it has aroused controversy because it questions some long-held basic features of cell function such as membrane channels and pumps. This steps on many scientific toes.
Many others have praised the insights obtained from building on a foundation of first principles (see book website above). One prominent reviewer from Harvard University opines that the book is “a 305 page preface to the future of cell biology.”
