The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
kblincoln's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars, actually.
Mitochondria biology and chemistry explanation of respiration (the way in which our individual cells get energy) do not make for light reading. I am a literature brain, and I've been in love with the idea of Mitochondria since Madeline L'Engle's Wrinkle in Time series, and continued fascination with them in college as manner of tracing human ancestry across eons.
And now I'm interested in them mostly because they play a role in signaling cell death for broken cells, as well as the interaction of metabolic rate, free radicals, aging, and death.
But I get ahead of myself. This is a dense book, with dense, scientific language and vocabulary and it took me a long time to read and digest each chapter. Luckily, Lane usually starts each chapter with a slight summary of what we've learned so far-- sometimes a bit plodding to read but extremely helpful for non-scientists like me.
Lane begins with several different theories of how eukaryotes-- the modern nuclear cell-- possibly arose from the ancient times of bacteria. Lane has a tendency to take you step by step through the dense details of a theory, and then pull the rug out from under you. He starts this in the beginning by giving lots of time to the theory that one bacteria swallowed another (a "hopeful monster" created by a sudden genetic change rather than slow and steady evolution), and that's how mitochondria came to be. But then goes into an alternate explanation.
Cancer comes into play in terms of mitochondrial development in terms of apoptosis-- or the willing suicide of broken cells. Mitochondria play a big part in signalling cells to die, and of course cancer often is a problem with cells that refuse to do so. "Apoptosis exists even in cells that spend part of the times as independent free-living cells, and part of the time in colonies, begging the question: how and why did apoptosis evolve in single celled organisms? Why would a potentially independent cell "agree" to kill itself?"
He uses this question partially to introduce the hydrogen hypothesis of eukaryotic cell development. And his defense of that theory was probably, for me, the least interesting part of the book. Things get rolling again with he begins to describe how mitochondria respiration holds implications for human health. "The mitochondria, they said, have two main roles; to produce energy, and to produce heat. The balance between energy generation and heat production can vary, and the actual setting might be critical to our health." Lane uses examples of people from Africa and Inuits living in extremely cold areas and the way mitochondria respiration might produce lower body heat and more free-radical byproduct in the former. He postulates that "Africans can't burn off excess food as heat as efficiently as do Inuit, so if they eat too much they will generate more free radicals instead. This means that they ought to be more vulnerable to any diseases linked with free-radical damage, such as heart disease and diabetes, and indeed this is the case."
He ends up with a discussion of mitochondrial disease and aging, concluding with a focus on medical research concerned with anti-aging not on cleaning up pesky, destructive free-radicals, but on boosting the body's signal for mitochondrial division so more are produced overall.
Very interesting, but dense, look at the beginnings of life, disease, and aging through the lens of the cell's powerhouse: mitochondria.
Mitochondria biology and chemistry explanation of respiration (the way in which our individual cells get energy) do not make for light reading. I am a literature brain, and I've been in love with the idea of Mitochondria since Madeline L'Engle's Wrinkle in Time series, and continued fascination with them in college as manner of tracing human ancestry across eons.
And now I'm interested in them mostly because they play a role in signaling cell death for broken cells, as well as the interaction of metabolic rate, free radicals, aging, and death.
But I get ahead of myself. This is a dense book, with dense, scientific language and vocabulary and it took me a long time to read and digest each chapter. Luckily, Lane usually starts each chapter with a slight summary of what we've learned so far-- sometimes a bit plodding to read but extremely helpful for non-scientists like me.
Lane begins with several different theories of how eukaryotes-- the modern nuclear cell-- possibly arose from the ancient times of bacteria. Lane has a tendency to take you step by step through the dense details of a theory, and then pull the rug out from under you. He starts this in the beginning by giving lots of time to the theory that one bacteria swallowed another (a "hopeful monster" created by a sudden genetic change rather than slow and steady evolution), and that's how mitochondria came to be. But then goes into an alternate explanation.
Cancer comes into play in terms of mitochondrial development in terms of apoptosis-- or the willing suicide of broken cells. Mitochondria play a big part in signalling cells to die, and of course cancer often is a problem with cells that refuse to do so. "Apoptosis exists even in cells that spend part of the times as independent free-living cells, and part of the time in colonies, begging the question: how and why did apoptosis evolve in single celled organisms? Why would a potentially independent cell "agree" to kill itself?"
He uses this question partially to introduce the hydrogen hypothesis of eukaryotic cell development. And his defense of that theory was probably, for me, the least interesting part of the book. Things get rolling again with he begins to describe how mitochondria respiration holds implications for human health. "The mitochondria, they said, have two main roles; to produce energy, and to produce heat. The balance between energy generation and heat production can vary, and the actual setting might be critical to our health." Lane uses examples of people from Africa and Inuits living in extremely cold areas and the way mitochondria respiration might produce lower body heat and more free-radical byproduct in the former. He postulates that "Africans can't burn off excess food as heat as efficiently as do Inuit, so if they eat too much they will generate more free radicals instead. This means that they ought to be more vulnerable to any diseases linked with free-radical damage, such as heart disease and diabetes, and indeed this is the case."
He ends up with a discussion of mitochondrial disease and aging, concluding with a focus on medical research concerned with anti-aging not on cleaning up pesky, destructive free-radicals, but on boosting the body's signal for mitochondrial division so more are produced overall.
Very interesting, but dense, look at the beginnings of life, disease, and aging through the lens of the cell's powerhouse: mitochondria.
kochella's review against another edition
5.0
This book was dense and difficult, but I feel like I learned a semester’s worth of material in 300 pages. Absolutely fascinating and illuminating. Very highly recommended!
niecierpek's review against another edition
4.5
Even though over ten years old, which is ancient in popular science writing, this is still an extremely well written and valid book.  My only problem is that it doesn’t have any footnotes regarding by now established and well documented updates to human ancient history, and new discoveries. Â
passifloraincarnata's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
5.0
Everything you ever wanted to know about cell metabolism, but were afraid to ask.Â
stalemilk94's review against another edition
5.0
Great book! The book is wonderfully detailed and complicated (in a good way). Given the intricate subject matter, I found it wonderfully clear, like a good detective story. After all, any science is at it's heart, a detective story!
The epilogue is a great summary of the entire book and I might be returning to it to refresh myself in a year's time.
Notes for myself:
The energy pump
The mitochondria (and chloroplast) generate energy in a similar way to a hydroelectric dam by pumping electrons to generate a proton gradient across their cell membrane. This gradient is used for lots of things, perhaps most importantly, to generate ATP in the ATPase situated along the cell wall.
What role does the cell wall play?
In prokaryotes, it is essential to maintain a proton gradient by keeping the outside of the cell acidic in order to generate energy (and ATP), among other functions. In eukaryotes, this is done by the mitochondria so there is no need for a cell wall.
Why do bacteria have so many genes and are so small compared to eukaryotes?
Energy produced is proportional to surface area so want small size. In the case of eukaryotes, they can just increase the number of mitochondria!
Also, bacteria replicate very quickly under high selective pressure so need to minimize genes (the negatives of which are counteracted by lateral gene transfer). In the case of eukaryotes, they can out compete by predation opportunities afforded by the greater size and versatility.
Sex and aging
Sex and aging are similar and are both mechanisms to repair faulty genes and cells respectively. When cell fusion happens, the genes in the nucleus recombine but what about the mitochondrial genes? They have to be matched to the genes in the nucleus so it's easier to just keep one copy which is why only females pass down the mitochondria. This is also why it's easiest to only have two sexes.
Free radical theory of aging
Free radical leak happens in the process of the electron pump. These free radicals are used to control the production of energy and maintain the health of mitochondria from the nucleus but free radicals also cause mitochondrial dna to mutate over time which damages them.
The cell reacts to this by killing the mitochondria that are damaged past a limit and boosting the production of the others. However, over time all the mitochondria might be damaged beyond saving and in this case the body has no choice but to terminate the cell. This leads to tissue damage and causes degenerative diseases.
To fix this, the best thing would be to slow down the leak of free radicals. This can be done for instance by creating higher demand for energy so that the pump works smoothly which explains why athletes are fitter and age slower.
The epilogue is a great summary of the entire book and I might be returning to it to refresh myself in a year's time.
Notes for myself:
The energy pump
The mitochondria (and chloroplast) generate energy in a similar way to a hydroelectric dam by pumping electrons to generate a proton gradient across their cell membrane. This gradient is used for lots of things, perhaps most importantly, to generate ATP in the ATPase situated along the cell wall.
What role does the cell wall play?
In prokaryotes, it is essential to maintain a proton gradient by keeping the outside of the cell acidic in order to generate energy (and ATP), among other functions. In eukaryotes, this is done by the mitochondria so there is no need for a cell wall.
Why do bacteria have so many genes and are so small compared to eukaryotes?
Energy produced is proportional to surface area so want small size. In the case of eukaryotes, they can just increase the number of mitochondria!
Also, bacteria replicate very quickly under high selective pressure so need to minimize genes (the negatives of which are counteracted by lateral gene transfer). In the case of eukaryotes, they can out compete by predation opportunities afforded by the greater size and versatility.
Sex and aging
Sex and aging are similar and are both mechanisms to repair faulty genes and cells respectively. When cell fusion happens, the genes in the nucleus recombine but what about the mitochondrial genes? They have to be matched to the genes in the nucleus so it's easier to just keep one copy which is why only females pass down the mitochondria. This is also why it's easiest to only have two sexes.
Free radical theory of aging
Free radical leak happens in the process of the electron pump. These free radicals are used to control the production of energy and maintain the health of mitochondria from the nucleus but free radicals also cause mitochondrial dna to mutate over time which damages them.
The cell reacts to this by killing the mitochondria that are damaged past a limit and boosting the production of the others. However, over time all the mitochondria might be damaged beyond saving and in this case the body has no choice but to terminate the cell. This leads to tissue damage and causes degenerative diseases.
To fix this, the best thing would be to slow down the leak of free radicals. This can be done for instance by creating higher demand for energy so that the pump works smoothly which explains why athletes are fitter and age slower.