The Life of Cells
We should appreciate the vital role living cells play in our lives.
Posted July 27, 2025 | Reviewed by Jessica Schrader
Understanding the human cell is vital to progress in the life sciences and to human health. Cells are the smallest, most basic unit of life responsible for all of life’s processes. A typical human cell has a cell membrane that is filled with a jelly-like fluid called the cytoplasm. Cytoplasm contains structures called organelles that perform functions similar to major organs in adult bodies. For example, the mitochondria are the lungs of the cell. The nucleus is another organelle. It contains the genetic material as DNA. In addition to 37 organelles, each human cell contains about 12,000 proteins that amount to 42 million protein molecules.
About 10,000 average-sized human cells can fit on the head of a pin. Despite their minuscule size, these tiny biological machines are surprisingly efficient, intelligent and possess remarkable memory .
We do not generally think of the cells in our bodies as intelligent or storing data other than those relevant to their function. However, our cells process information and engage in purposeful behaviour. They are comparable but a lot smarter and caring (yes) to computer chips referred to as artificial intelligence . Like AI, cells change and learn from experience, while unlike computer chips they arrive naturally preprogrammed.
A significant portion of their activity is devoted to self-maintenance and supporting the well-being of neighboring cells. Cell communication plays a vital role in maintaining tissue balance, coordinating specific cellular activities, and responding to environmental signals.
Cells can talk and help one another by way of the recently discovered tiny tube networks (TNTs). When a stressed or ailing cell releases a chemical distress signal, nearby cells extend hollow tubes through which they pass needed resources such as RNA, proteins or even whole organelles to the sick cell. In addition to TNTs, cells have other options for exchanging molecules, most notably the structures called gap junctions and exosomes.
New research from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has revealed that adult tissues retain a memory, inscribed on their DNA, of the embryonic cells from which they arose. This discovery led to an even more fascinating finding that memory is entirely recoverable. The researchers were surprised to find that memory doesn’t remain permanently locked away but can be accessed under certain conditions. The implications of this discovery for how we think about cells’ capabilities, and for the future treatment of degenerative and other diseases, are potentially profound. This discovery may help us understand how healthy cells “catch” cancer. Researchers at the Institut Pasteur have identified a novel process that helps achieve tissue renewal: dying cells temporarily shield nearby cells from undergoing cell death, thereby preserving tissue stability. The results highlight the remarkable self-regulation abilities of biological tissues.
We humans place extra stress on our cells that they are not really programmed to deal with. Smoking , drinking, and sun tanning, if continued for long periods can cause permanent damage. The same goes for noise, pollution, radiation and the new threat to our health—microplastics. The cells that constitute your skin and the linings of your mouth, lungs, and gut are particularly vulnerable. They deserve to be treated with respect.
Cells need not understand, nor have minds, but by possessing information to perform tasks, beginning with the fundamental task of self-preservation, they provide themselves with the energy needed to adjust to their local environments in ways that advance their prospects. As cells form ever larger and more complex networks their aggregate intelligence and wisdom grows.
One more thing: What I find especially intriguing about cells is the recent revelation by wildlife scientists that all living organisms shed small amounts of genetic material known as environmental DNA, or eDNA. This eDNA is present everywhere, drifting through the air, lingering in water, snow, milk, over grass, on the steps of your house or the chair in your living room. Thanks to recent advances in technology, researchers can now extract increasingly detailed information from ever tinier eDNA samples. In fact, scientists at the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience and Sea Turtle Hospital at the University of Florida in St. Augustine, have managed to retrieve both medical and ancestral data from trace human DNA fragments found in the environment .
A friend of mine—a very sane person, I assure you—told me of an experience last year while going house-hunting in a small Northern Ontario town. After checking out several houses he and his wife were led to a lovely old building. His wife and real estate agent marched right in. But he froze in terror at the sound of crying and screaming children. He turned around and fled to the other side of the street. When his wife and real estate sales agent emerged from the house, they asked him why he did not follow them in. He explained what happened. The real estate agent told them that a hundred years ago, this house was an orphanage. Neither my friend nor his wife had any prior knowledge of the history of this house.
So, I am wondering whether this incident and many similar ones as well as seances, occult writings and hundreds of ghost stories are in some way connected to certain people having a special ability to tune in to persons who had experienced strong negative emotions like fear or suffering by “reading” their eDNA? Could it be that all of these fragments of DNA that have been piling up for millennia on this planet are responsible for what Carl Jung called “the collective unconscious ”?
This post is an abridged version of a post originally published on July 25, 2025, in The Globe and Mail.
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Navare, Charudatta (2025). The cell is not a factory. AEON Magazine
Callier, Viviane (2018). Cells Talk and Help One Another via Tiny Tube Networks. Quanta Magazine.
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Jadhav, U., Cavazza, A., Saenz-Vash, V., ... & Shivdasani, R. A. (2019). Extensive recovery of embryonic enhancer and gene memory stored in hypomethylated enhancer DNA. Molecular cell, 74(3), 542-554.
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Thomas R. Verny, M.D. , the author of eight books, including The Embodied Mind , has taught at Harvard University, University of Toronto, York University, and St. Mary’s University of Minnesota.
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This article is part of the Bringwise Psychology Journal — daily insights on human behavior, mental health, and personal growth.