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Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the meaning of life (Oxford Landmark Science) 2nd Edition, Kindle Edition

by Nick Lane (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 668 ratings
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Mitochondria are tiny structures located inside our cells that carry out the essential task of producing energy for the cell. They are found in all complex living things, and in that sense, they are fundamental for driving complex life on the planet. But there is much more to them than that.

Mitochondria have their own DNA, with their own small collection of genes, separate from those in the cell nucleus. It is thought that they were once bacteria living independent lives. Their enslavement within the larger cell was a turning point in the evolution of life, enabling the development of complex organisms and, closely related, the origin of two sexes. Unlike the DNA in the nucleus, mitochondrial DNA is passed down exclusively (or 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'. Mitochondria give us important information about our evolutionary history. And that's not all. Mitochondrial genes mutate much faster than those in the nucleus because of the free radicals produced
in their energy-generating role. This high mutation rate lies behind our ageing and certain congenital diseases. The latest research suggests that mitochondria play a key role in degenerative diseases such as cancer, through their involvement in precipitating cell suicide.

Mitochondria, then, are pivotal in power, sex, and suicide. In this fascinating and thought-provoking book, Nick Lane brings together the latest research findings in this exciting field to show how our growing understanding of mitochondria is shedding light on how complex life evolved, why sex arose (why don't we just bud?), and why we age and die. This understanding is of fundamental importance, both in understanding how we and all other complex life came to be, but also in order to be able to
control our own illnesses, and delay our degeneration and death.

Oxford Landmark Science books are 'must-read' classics of modern science writing which have crystallized big ideas, and shaped the way we think.
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  1. ISBN-13
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    OUP Oxford
  5. Publication date
    October 24, 2018
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    Oxford Landmark Science
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Full of startling insights into the nature and evolution of life as we know it.-- "The Economist"

About the Author

Nick Lane is a British biochemist and writer. He was awarded the first Provosts Venture Research Prize in the Department of Genetics, Evolution, and Environment at University College London, where he is now Professor of Evolutionary Biochemistry. Professor Lanes research deals with evolutionary biochemistry and bioenergetics, focusing on the origin of life and the evolution of complex cells. He was a founding member of the UCL Consortium for Mitochondrial Research, and is leading the UCL Research Frontiers Origins of Life program. He was awarded the 2011 BMC Research Award for Genetics, Genomics, Bioinformatics and Evolution, and the 2015 Biochemical Society Award for his sustained and diverse contribution to the molecular life sciences and the public understanding of science. His books include Oxygen: The Molecule that Made the World.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07JFDHRDQ
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ OUP Oxford; 2nd edition (October 24, 2018)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 24, 2018
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2357 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 552 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 668 ratings

About the author

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Nick Lane

Nick Lane

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Nick Lane is a biochemist and writer. He is Professor of Evolutionary Biochemistry in the Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment at University College London. "Like his forebears in that same department -- Steve Jones, JBS Haldane -- he's that rare species, a scientist who can illuminate the bewildering complexities of biology with clear, luminous words" (The Observer). His research focuses on the role of bioenergetics in the origin of life and the evolution of cells. Nick was awarded the first UCL Provost's Venture Research Prize in 2009 and the 2015 Biochemical Society Award. He has published four critically acclaimed books, which have been translated into 25 languages. Life Ascending won the 2010 Royal Society Prize for Science Books. His books have been shortlisted for two other literary prizes and named a book of the year by the Economist, Independent, Times, Sunday Times, Nature and New Scientist. The Independent described him as "one of the most exciting science writers of our time." In 2016 he was awarded the Royal Society Michael Faraday Prize for excellence in communicating science. For more information, visit www.nick-lane.net

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
668 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Timothy D. Lundeen
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb, and useful
Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2013
Verified Purchase
Fascinating book about the evolution of cells and the role of mitochondria in allowing large eukaryote cells and multi-cellular organisms. Extremely clear descriptions of how things work, and an excellent framework for understanding issues in evolution, how sex in single-celled eukaryotes led to apoptosis in multi-cellular organisms, issues in tracking evolution using maternal mitochondrial DNA, why Aubrey de Gray's suggestion that we move mitochondrial DNA into our cell's nucleus as part of an anti-aging protocol won't work (when we can do the in-vivo gene manipulation), and how cells use reactive oxygen species as signals.

The book explains a number of things I've wondered about:
(1) Why does a mother's environment affect the children of her daughters? It's because the unit of growth is the cell, not just DNA, and the daughter's eggs are formed in-utero. So if the mother is stressed nutritionally early in the pregnancy, it affects her daughter's children by reducing the robustness of her daughter's eggs.
(2) Why don't antioxidants increase longevity? It's because the cell uses ROS as a signal for proteins needed by the mitochondria and to grow more mitochondria, and needs a finely tuned level of internal anti-oxidant machinery in order to hear the signal, yet not be damaged by it. So taking extra Vitamin C or E reduce the internal signaling, and might cause premature apoptosis of the cell because it degrades the health of your mitochondria. This ties into studies showing that Vit C and/or E reduce the benefits of exercise, by shutting down the internal ROS signaling pathways.
(3) How can we improve our own longevity? It looks like the major factor is the rate of leakage of ROS from mitochondria. So things that reduce this leakage make a big difference: (a) where possible, have your cells run on fat instead of glucose, because that reduces free electron leak from complex I, and (b) make sure you have balanced levels of omega-6 and omega-3 PUFA, as that appears to also make a significant difference (at least in mice...)

There is much more, and I have a much better framework now for my research on how to optimize my health. Highly recommended!

Two other books in the same class are  The Fourth Phase of Water: Beyond Solid, Liquid, and Vapor , and  Cells, Gels and the Engines of Life .
37 people found this helpful
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Annie Termaat
5.0 out of 5 stars Power, Sex & Suicide
Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2008
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A review aimed at science teachers:

Nick Lane's Power, Sex, Suicide. Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life (Oxford 2005, £10) provided me with every reason to wish I was still the same age as when Monty Python were in their heyday. I nearly poked a fellow Virgin passenger, deep in a Women's Weekly, in the ribs to exclaim, `Guess what! Did you know our endoplasmic reticulum is bacterial in origin!' but I was too scared she would respond with `Guess what! Brittany Spears wore a lace dress to the Oscars,' so I behaved myself, for once.

This book is as remarkable as Oxygen, the Molecule that Made the World. Nearly every page brims with exciting teacher-friendly snippets: mitochondria contribute 10% of our total mass and up to 40% of certain cells. Every chapter encapsulates discussion on long debated issues and reaches out for cross disciplinary intercourse: evolutionary biology and chemistry (iron-sulfur minerals catalysed the pH differential in primordial bacteria, in a semblance to the bioenergetics of the hydrogen pump of the mitochondrial inner membrane), fractal mathematics (power laws in biology), and genetics (the gene transfer `ratchet' which drives mitochondrial (and chloroplast) genes to the nucleus but not the other way round, and why these two organelles always keep a few of their original genes). Best of all, this is a book summarises of 21st century research results and debates, and therefore is highly recommended for any teacher of senior biology, and probably chemistry, too. Here are just some of the highlights (for me) anyway:

* Mitochondria control apoptosis - the process of cell destruction that lies at the heart of embryology - and aging.
* Mitochondria do this by leaking free radicals - but there are checks and balances here, so that a small increase in free radicals simply signals the nuclear mitochondrial genes (a process known as a retrograde response) to be transcribed, enabling more respiratory complexes to be built. Too much free radical leakage for repair and the apoptosis cascade ensues.
* Mitochondria are the reason there are two sexes: it is well known that, in general, paternal mitochondria are excluded during fertilization. However, mitochondrial `fitness' is also tested severely during oocyte development in female fetuses (ie, before birth, when oocytes are culled from around 7 to 2 million.). Early in fetal development, when the fertilized egg divides, the mitochondria do not, so that the original population is reduced from about 100,000 in the zygote to around perhaps only 10 (according to one researcher) per cell. In each cell, these few mitochondria circle the nucleus, as if there is an exchange of information about compatibility of nuclear and mitochondrial genes coding for mitochondrial proteins. All this was news to me.
* Mitochondria have two functions: to produce energy (ATP) and to generate heat. There is general evidence for natural selection in human populations operating at mitochondrial level: people living at the poles have more uncoupling of respiratory pathways, thereby generating more heat and the price for them may be a decreased fertility. People whose genetic history developed in tropical regions (for example, African peoples) have greater aerobic capacity - but the price is greater intolerance of fatty Western diets - making them particularly vulnerable to diseases linked with free radical damage - diabetes and heart disease.
* How did Lane come to realize that mitochondria rule the world? While researching methods for predicting the success of organ transplants, he discovered that if the mitochondria die within minutes of being transplanted (for example, when they come in contact with oxygen again, via the recipient's blood), the organ is doomed, no matter how healthy it looks. This is the kind of story that will rope in the kids, for sure!
23 people found this helpful
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Roberto
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book on mitochondria...
Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2020
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The author explains a difficult topic in a straight forward way. Mitochondria generate the energy upon which the life of the eukaryotes depends. To put it another way: no mitochondria, no human beings. Fascinating organelles that reside within the majority of our cells, mitochondria posses their own DNA.

How did the mitochondria make a home in the eukaryotic cells? Is this a true symbiotic relationship? When did eukaryotic cells acquire mitochondria and what evolutionary advantage did it provide them with? Were mitochondria once free living organisms? How did scientists discover mitochondria? These, and other fascinating questions are addressed in this well written book. I highly recommend it to other readers.

Some general comments:

I have noticed that many ebooks are offered for sale without the preview option. A prospective buyer cannot see the table of contents nor the writing style of the author without buying the book first. You could go through the trouble of downloading a sample.

Yes, there is a description of the book written somewhere. However it is not the same thing as seeing for oneself what the contents are and whether the author writes in a manner that is engaging and understandable. To me, this is like being asked to buy a car without having the ability to go for a test drive or look under the hood. It is tantamount to buying a car based on someone’s description of the car and their satisfaction rating. I don’t like this trend, and I avoid buying a book that has no preview features.
8 people found this helpful
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N. Roberts
4.0 out of 5 stars Impressive
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2023
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I’m not sure he’s convinced me all this came about by random chemical processes. The fact remains higher ordered life is a statistical miracle.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Javier C Gonzalez
5.0 out of 5 stars Ex
Reviewed in Mexico on July 10, 2022
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Excelente libro. Todos los capítulos muy interesantes y muy bien escrito. Uno de los mejores libros que he leído.
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Adam Beeblebrock
5.0 out of 5 stars good book
Reviewed in Canada on October 5, 2020
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good
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María
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in Spain on June 15, 2021
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I'm spanish and I bought the original version since I believe that some things get lost in translation. As a Biology graduate, I guarantee this is a great book not only for people who studied sciences but for everyone who wants to dig deeper on how does exactly life "work".
One person found this helpful
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Harsh wardhan
5.0 out of 5 stars Worth reading
Reviewed in India on July 5, 2020
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It will provide you with very basic and enough knowledge of mitochondria.
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Neuromante
5.0 out of 5 stars Ottimo libro sulla microbiologia e sulla biologia in generale
Reviewed in Italy on June 10, 2017
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Splendido, dettagliatissimo e precisissimo libro sul rapporto tra batteri, archaea e eucarioti e come i mitocondri ci cascano perfettamente in mezzo.
Non ancora finito di leggere tutto ma arrivato fino al rapporto di simbiosi tra cellula eucariotica e alfa-proteobatteri (mitocondri), Ox-Tox e Hydrogen Hypothesis....curioso di leggere la perte relativa al suicidio e al sesso come da titolo.
Consiglio a tutti i curiosi di biologia e affini.
Inglese complicato perchè molto preciso e dettagliato.
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