Transformer - The Deep Chemistry of Life and Death (Paperback, Main)

'One of my favourite science writers' Bill Gates 'Hugely important' Jim Al-Khalili For decades, biology has been dominated by information - the power of genes. Yet there is no difference in information content between a living cell and one that died a moment ago. A better question goes back to the formative years of biology: what processes animate cells and set them apart from lifeless matter? In Transformer, Nick Lane turns the standard view upside down, capturing an extraordinary scientific renaissance that is hiding in plain sight. At its core is an amazing cycle of reactions that uses energy to transform inorganic molecules into the building blocks of life - and the reverse. To understand this cycle is to fathom the deep coherence of the living world. It connects the origin of life with the devastation of cancer, the first photosynthetic bacteria with our own mitochondria, sulphurous sludges with the emergence of consciousness, and the trivial differences between ourselves with the large-scale history of our planet.

General

Imprint:	Profile Books Ltd
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	May 2023
Authors:	Nick Lane
Dimensions:	198 x 128 x 28mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback
Pages:	400
Edition:	Main
ISBN-13:	978-1-78816-055-1
Categories:	Books
LSN:	1-78816-055-X
Barcode:	9781788160551

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Review This Product

Mon, 26 Feb 2024 | Review by: Tanya K.

I didn't find this book as enjoyable to read as Power, Sex, Suicide, or The Vital Question. Nor was it as clearly (or beautifully) written. The text tended to ramble and would have benefited from being reigned in and more structured. All the history relating how every step of the Krebs Cycle and anything vaguely relating was elucidated, and all the people involved, was incredibly dull. It does however show quite well all the fiddley bits in doing science (especially biochemistry). The text got more "exciting" for me once Lane decided to discuss the Krebs cycle, especially in terms of cell origins, metabolism and biosynthesis, and the implications in cancer and aging Interesting, but could have been written more clearly.

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