Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life
If it weren't for mitochondria, scientists argue, we'd all still be single-celled bacteria. Indeed, these tiny structures inside our cells are important beyond imagining. Without mitochondria, we would have no cell suicide, no sculpting of embryonic shape, no sexes, no menopause, no aging.\ In this fascinating and thought-provoking book, Nick Lane brings together the latest research in this exciting field to show how our growing insight into mitochondria has shed light on how complex life...
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If it weren't for mitochondria, scientists argue, we'd all still be single-celled bacteria. Indeed, these tiny structures inside our cells are important beyond imagining. Without mitochondria, we would have no cell suicide, no sculpting of embryonic shape, no sexes, no menopause, no aging. In this fascinating and thought-provoking book, Nick Lane brings together the latest research in this exciting field to show how our growing insight into mitochondria has shed light on how complex life evolved, why sex arose (why don't we just bud?), and why we age and die. These findings are of fundamental importance, both in understanding life on Earth, but also in controlling our own illnesses, and delaying our degeneration and death. Readers learn that two billion years ago, mitochondria were probably bacteria living independent lives and that their capture within larger cells was a turning point in the evolution of life, enabling the development of complex organisms. Lane describes how mitochondria have their own DNA and that its genes mutate much faster than those in the nucleus. This high mutation rate lies behind our aging and certain congenital diseases. The latest research suggests that mitochondria play a key role in degenerative diseases such as cancer. We also discover that mitochondrial DNA is passed down almost exclusively via the female line. That's why it has been used by some researchers to trace human ancestry daughter-to-mother, to "Mitochondrial Eve," giving us vital information about our evolutionary history. Written by Nick Lane, a rising star in popular science, Power, Sex, Suicide is the first book for general readers on the nature and function of these tiny, yet fascinating structures.
Introduction : mitochondria : clandestine rulers of the world1Pt. 1Hopeful monster : the origin of the eukaryotic cell191The deepest evolutionary chasm272Quest for a progenitor383The hydrogen hypothesis51Pt. 2The vital force : proton power and the origin of life654The meaning of respiration715Proton power856The origin of life94Pt. 3Insider deal : the foundations of complexity1057Why bacteria are simple1148Why mitochondria make complexity possible130Pt. 4Power laws : size and the ramp of ascending complexity1499The power laws of biology15610The warm-blooded revolution178Pt. 5Murder or suicide : the troubled birth of the individual18911Conflict in the body20012Foundations of the individual215Pt. 6Battle of the sexes : human pre-history and the nature of gender22713The asymmetry of sex23214What human pre-history says about the sexes24215Why there are two sexes258Pt. 7Clock of life : why mitochondria kill us in the end26716The mitochondrial theory of ageing27417Demise of the self-correcting machine28918A cure for old age?303
\ From the Publisher"Full of startling insights into the nature and evolution of life as we know it."--The Economist\ \ \
