Natural Causes: An Epidemic of Wellness, the Certainty of Dying, and Killing Ourselves to Live Longer

by Barbara Ehrenreich

Autoimmune diseases involve an apparently spontaneous attack by immune cells on other body cells; cancer is a mad pursuit of lebensraum originating in a single cell or a small group of cells. Fortunately, from the point of view of the organism as a whole, there are plenty of mechanisms to keep adventurous cells in place. Tissue cells are bound to each other by “intercellular glue” as well as by “junctions,” some of them so tight as to be almost unbreakable. As an additional precaution, organs are often enclosed in membranes that may be difficult or impossible for a cell to breach. Then there is the steady hail of chemical signals that one cell receives from others, some of them sent from considerable distances. We can translate very few of these signals, and they appear to say things like “Danger!” or “Come here right away!” And—who knows?—some of the messages may be propagandistic, urging cells to carry on stalwartly with their appointed tasks. Then there is the final sanction for a recalcitrant cell: death. Signals come in saying “Die!” and, in a process called apoptosis, the cell obligingly shuts down its metabolism, folds neatly into its membrane, and awaits disposal.