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Power, Sex, Suicide
- Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 15 hrs and 54 mins
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Power, Sex, Suicide
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Summary
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 reveal 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.
Critic reviews
"Full of startling insights into the nature and evolution of life as we know it." (The Economist)
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- noura
- 04-04-21
The vioce wasn't OK to follow
The vioce and the tone wasn't a good choice plus the book wasn't as I expected. I think if the vioce was OK, I would follow more maybe.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Mic Mises
- 20-05-19
Possibly the heaviest Nick Lane book I've read
If you're interested in how complex life got started, or how mitochondria are important, or what the word "life" really means in biology, perhaps you should start with Nick Lane's later book, "The Vital Question." It is possibly the most impressive book I've ever read in Biology, enough that I have listened to it three times so far and will probably do so again.
This is not that book. It is, however, a tour de force in making a deep and VERY technical exploration of how mitochondria work available to the interested and motivated lay reader -- that is, you must be motivated enough to WORK at this book. I will certainly listen to this again in order to gain more appreciation of the valuable knowledge expressed here; unlike "The Vital Question" I will not do so for entertainment.
This is far better than most science books, and rewards every minute of listening. I must give it a 5-star rating, even though "the Vital Question" is a better book.
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23 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- lpadgett
- 23-12-20
Did not work for me
Struggled to finish. A lot of conjecture on evolution and why things may have happened as they did.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 25-03-19
YES A Nick Lane Book!
Keep them coming please. I live in Canada and I can’t purchase Nick Lane’s other books like Life Ascending and Oxygen. I WANT THEM ALL!!
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- GCG
- 12-06-19
Nick Lane Continues to ask the Vital Questions
If your looking to increase your understanding of what present science can tells us about the origins and nature of being alive - this book is an excellent place to begin and journeys a long way down the road.
Nick Lane does a wonderful job of bringing the reader along, on his search to understand cellular biology and complex eukaryotic life. He accomplishes this by providing the reader the pertinent history relative to our twisting path of understanding using the mitochondria's pivotal influence as our guide.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kalle Järvenpää
- 19-01-23
A Magisterial Journey from the Origins of Life to the Evolution of Sex, Death and More
Nick Lane never disappoints and this breathtaking journey is both enjoyable and exquisitively detailed. Originally published 2005, it has lost none of its urgency.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Brad Ford
- 23-11-22
Wonderful book!
Love learning about mitochondria and the science being aging and dysfunction and the mechanisms that drive them :)
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Joseph Ryba
- 22-10-20
loved it!!
Fantastically Intriguing!!!! This is a must read for all biologists and especially medical professionals or anyone interested in becoming either.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anil K S Nair
- 30-10-19
best ever book in science that everyone shud read
loved it. one of the best books in molecular science, origin of life that explains so many secrets of life on this Earth.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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- Tanner Janesky
- 04-06-23
Great content, densely scientific
The content in this book is fantastic and contains many different theories and hypotheses of the origins of life to theories of aging. It's not a very readable attention grabber, though, and is geared more towards biologists or those with a lot of prior knowledge.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- John Paul
- 01-06-23
Absolutely phenomenal
Incredible summary of mitochondria providing a profound framework for understanding their role in life and disease
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