In the contemporary world of skyscrapers, smartphones and cobblestone streets, it is easy to forget that man , despite all its adaptations and progress, is part of nature. The human race has come to view itself as a distinct force, something fundamentally different from the rest of life on earth, but in the short essay "The Life of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas, it is explained that this n that's not true. In "The Life of a Cell", Thomas explains that humans are derived from and made of the same essential building blocks as all other life forms, teaching the reader that despite their diversity, Earth's inhabitants have more than their common planet of origin. According to Thomas There is a good chance that all life on Earth was "derived, originally, from a single cell, fertilized by a lightning bolt as the earth cooled" (p. 38, lines 83-85). It explains that all members of the myriad of living beings on our planet; the lark, the sparrow, the mountain lion, the mule deer, the next-door neighbors, the stray dogs, and the bunches of bananas on the kitchen table can trace their ancestry to this microscopic organism. From his writings it becomes palpable that, however distantly, all of Earth's creatures are related to one another, that "the resemblance of grass enzymes to those of whales is a family resemblance" (p. 38, lines 87-89). By demonstrating this relationship, Thomas is able to better prove his dominant theme: the earth is like a cell and man is only a component, with no more value to the whole than any other species. . Thomas shows that all life forms on the globe share a common ancestor in cells and are linked by their DNA, just as they are by their existence on earth; that despite their diversity, all species...... middle of article...... essay "The Life of a Cell", it is clear to see how interconnected all life is. In his thesis, Thomas explains that the cells inside living creatures are, in fact, ecosystems inhabited by microscopic creatures that, although they are organisms with their own separate DNA, are an integral part of the cellular system . He compares planet Earth to a cell to show the reader that humanity is just another part of the world's complex ecosystem, just as small creatures, like mitochondria, are part of the cell. Reading “The Life of a Cell” makes it clear that the human race evolved as a part of nature from the same cellular origin as the rest of Earth's inhabitants. Instead of being born as something outside the system, the human race is part of a vast and exquisitely beautiful planet, full of functional elements and species that must coincide in harmony..