Cells at Work! 6
4 journalers for this copy...
I got this softcover at Barnes and Noble. It's the final volume of the delightful "Cells at Work" series about anthropomorphized blood-cells, which began with Volume One.
Each of the many different blood-components is represented by unique characters - with helpful info-boxes as each is introduced, a good thing as there are sooo very many characters! (There's a delightful anime series based on the manga - well worth checking out. And I've also enjoyed the YouTube series Dr. Hope's Sick Notes, in which he comments on the medical aspects of the story.)
The stories are usually episodic so you don't need to have read the previous volumes, but some characters and plot points do carry over, so it can be fun to follow along.
Later: Another enjoyable and educational entry - with some surprises; a couple of the latest stories were sponsored by medical groups, one dealing with possible gene-therapy methods of treating retinal degeneration!
The stories here range from the simple - a bump on the head, in which the platelets (adorable as always!) take center stage - to "left shift," in which a very dangerous condition leads to potential disaster. But not to worry - not only do we get some charming flashback scenes about the main characters as cute youngsters in training, but there's a new character, an enigmatic and poetry-spouting basophil, one of the rarest types of white blood cell.
The chapter on macular degeneration introduces an aging rod cell who's sad because he's seen all his comrades fade away, and knows that the body's vision will go when he does. This one's really frightening, though some of the body's cells have been working to keep things going after the impending vision loss. The sudden appearance of an energetic, youthful rod cell seems completely out of place - until we learn that it's part of a gene-therapy experiment, providing compatible new cells to replace the lost ones. In the story this is immediately successful, which is perhaps a bit of a stretch, but it got me to read up on the real-world gene-therapy experiments with great interest. And - OK, I'll admit it - when the aging rod cell realizes that the body's vision won't be lost, and bids farewell to the Brain Cell and to the new cohort of young rod cells, I got a little bit teary...
Another of the sponsored chapters deals with psoriasis, and it was entertaining to view the runaway immune reaction from the cellular point of view.
And the final chapter - that's one with major significance: it's about the novel coronavirus, something you... may have heard of {rueful grin}. The story shows the ways in which the virus is similar to other types - including in the handling of it by the body's immune system - and how it differs, with the problems it can cause to a variety of systems. In this case our heroes manage to battle it to a satisfactory conclusion, but it's clear that it was a really tough fight.
[There's a TV Tropes page on the series, with some entertaining tidbits.]
Each of the many different blood-components is represented by unique characters - with helpful info-boxes as each is introduced, a good thing as there are sooo very many characters! (There's a delightful anime series based on the manga - well worth checking out. And I've also enjoyed the YouTube series Dr. Hope's Sick Notes, in which he comments on the medical aspects of the story.)
The stories are usually episodic so you don't need to have read the previous volumes, but some characters and plot points do carry over, so it can be fun to follow along.
Later: Another enjoyable and educational entry - with some surprises; a couple of the latest stories were sponsored by medical groups, one dealing with possible gene-therapy methods of treating retinal degeneration!
The stories here range from the simple - a bump on the head, in which the platelets (adorable as always!) take center stage - to "left shift," in which a very dangerous condition leads to potential disaster. But not to worry - not only do we get some charming flashback scenes about the main characters as cute youngsters in training, but there's a new character, an enigmatic and poetry-spouting basophil, one of the rarest types of white blood cell.
The chapter on macular degeneration introduces an aging rod cell who's sad because he's seen all his comrades fade away, and knows that the body's vision will go when he does. This one's really frightening, though some of the body's cells have been working to keep things going after the impending vision loss. The sudden appearance of an energetic, youthful rod cell seems completely out of place - until we learn that it's part of a gene-therapy experiment, providing compatible new cells to replace the lost ones. In the story this is immediately successful, which is perhaps a bit of a stretch, but it got me to read up on the real-world gene-therapy experiments with great interest. And - OK, I'll admit it - when the aging rod cell realizes that the body's vision won't be lost, and bids farewell to the Brain Cell and to the new cohort of young rod cells, I got a little bit teary...
Another of the sponsored chapters deals with psoriasis, and it was entertaining to view the runaway immune reaction from the cellular point of view.
And the final chapter - that's one with major significance: it's about the novel coronavirus, something you... may have heard of {rueful grin}. The story shows the ways in which the virus is similar to other types - including in the handling of it by the body's immune system - and how it differs, with the problems it can cause to a variety of systems. In this case our heroes manage to battle it to a satisfactory conclusion, but it's clear that it was a really tough fight.
[There's a TV Tropes page on the series, with some entertaining tidbits.]
I'm adding this book to the Manga/Graphic novel bookbox, to be on its way to its next stop soon. Hope someone enjoys the selection!
** Released for the TV Series challenge. **
** Released for the TV Series challenge. **
Back in the Manga/Graphic novel/comic bookbox
took from spatial's manga bookbox (https://www.bookcrossing.com/forum/20/576908)
