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title: "Vital Question: Energy, Evolution, and the Origins of Complex Life"
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# Vital Question: Energy, Evolution, and the Origins of Complex Life

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“One of the deepest, most illuminating books about the history of life to have been published in recent years.” ― The Economist The Earth teems with life: in its oceans, forests, skies and cities. Yet there’s a black hole at the heart of biology. We do not know why complex life is the way it is, or, for that matter, how life first began. In The Vital Question , award-winning author and biochemist Nick Lane radically reframes evolutionary history, putting forward a solution to conundrums that have puzzled generations of scientists. For two and a half billion years, from the very origins of life, single-celled organisms such as bacteria evolved without changing their basic form. Then, on just one occasion in four billion years, they made the jump to complexity. All complex life, from mushrooms to man, shares puzzling features, such as sex, which are unknown in bacteria. How and why did this radical transformation happen? The answer, Lane argues, lies in energy: all life on Earth lives off a voltage with the strength of a lightning bolt. Building on the pillars of evolutionary theory, Lane’s hypothesis draws on cutting-edge research into the link between energy and cell biology, in order to deliver a compelling account of evolution from the very origins of life to the emergence of multicellular organisms, while offering deep insights into our own lives and deaths. Both rigorous and enchanting, The Vital Question provides a solution to life’s vital question: why are we as we are, and indeed, why are we here at all? 37 illlustrations

Review: Vivid, original, provocative, and enlightening - The book covers three inter-related topics: the origin of life, the origin of complex organisms (eukaryotes), and the consequences of having a dual system of inheritance (nuclear and mitochondrial genes) in complex organisms. Lane proposes that the system by which most organisms convert energy to usable biochemicals (especially ATP) provides an important clue about how life originated. Organisms pump hydrogen ions outside of a membrane in a fashion analogous to a pump that pushes water into a water tower. Much as the flow of water out of a tower can be used to power an electric generator, organisms use this hydrogen ion gradient to produce ATP which serves as universal source of energy for cells. Lane argues that deep-sea alkaline hydrothermal vents provided all the conditions necessary for the origin of life. These vents continuously provide hydrogen and carbon dioxide which can be combined to yield energy and organic compounds. These vents also contain metallic compounds, especially iron and sulfur containing compounds, that could serve as catalysts for the chemical reactions needed by the precursors of living organisms. Furthermore, the structures created in these vents contain pores that could serve as nurseries for the precursors of living organisms. Most importantly, boundaries in these pores permit the creation of an electrochemical gradient similar to hydrogen ion gradient that exists in living things. Complex organisms, called eukaryotes, are much larger than bacteria and have multiple structures inside the cell, especially mitochondria and nucleus. This branch of the tree of life includes all multi-cellular organisms such as fungi, plants, and animals. The other two branches of the tree of life, bacteria and archaea, have never produced multi-cellular organisms despite their great versatility with regard to the substances they can consume and environments they can grow in. Lane describes the evidence that eukaryotes arose from a merger (symbiosis) between bacterial and archaeal organisms. He also proposes that this happened just once in Earth's history. This isn't a new theory but Lane extends it by developing hypotheses about the detailed events in this process, such as the origin of the cell nucleus. Complex organisms have DNA in two different places, the cell nucleus and the mitochondria. The final section of Lane's book explains the consequences of this, arguing that certain attributes shared by all eukaryotes, such as senescence, and sex are logical consequences of this arrangement. This is because the actions of ordinary, nuclear, genes must be tightly matched to those of mitochondrial genes for the electrochemical gradients in the mitochondria work optimally. This has substantial consequences for human health. Lane argues, for example, that the high frequency of spontaneous miscarriages in people could be the result of occasional mismatches between nuclear and mitochondrial DNA. Another, equally provocative, example is the role of free radicals in health. He proposes that free radicals produced when mitochondria are not functioning optimally may impair health but that anti-oxidant substances such as vitamin C only make things worse by interfering with normal feedback controls. It is difficult to say who the intended audience is because it isn't either a typical popular science book or an academic treatise. Its style is informal, all terms are carefully explained, and it has many helpful the illustrations. But a sizable fraction of the material is much more challenging than typical popular science books. Many times, I had to slow down and reread sections to make sure I understood the topic at hand. But it isn't an academic work or even a textbook; the kinds of details academic readers want, such as detailed citations, simply aren't there. It would help if you have a general familiarity with college level biology and some chemistry. Having some knowledge of biochemistry might help but it isn't necessary since Lane mostly avoids describing biochemical details. If you can manage to give this book the careful reading it deserves, you will be amply rewarded with a fresh and intriguing view of the topics at hand. Some of this material is covered in an entirely different way in Franklin Harold's "In Search of Cell History." If you like one of these books you will enjoy the other as well. Furthermore, comparing their different viewpoints will allow you to see the issues more clearly.
Review: Must read - sometimes difficult but profound and worth it - Lane's unfortunately titled "Power, Sex, and Suicide" was the first book I ever read that (I could understand at all) that tackled head on the most profound mysteries of all of Life on Earth. I felt like that book was mandatory reading by all inquisitive and intelligent people. But I also felt the title, though absolutely true to the text, was likely off-putting to some (not me!) and unfortunate for that reason. The book was about, in essence, mitochondria, for goodness sakes! I was so relieved and encouraged to see the new title (with totally palatable title) come out. It covers much of the same ground as the earlier book(s) but goes forward with new research and new elaborations of his and others' previous theory and data. There are fewer graphics and less detail than the "SPS" book and it leaves out some very interesting observations and speculations of the earlier book but it covers much of the same ground and brings the studies up to date after 10 years. This is fantastically exciting stuff, people! Nick Lane and his ilk are delving into the most profound mysteries of life. For the first time in the history of life, I think, consciousness in the form of the human brain is starting to understand life's and complex life's origins - - beginnings that would seem to have been inscrutable and beyond reach just a few short years ago. You read this book and come to realize "Life is a miracle but a comprehensible miracle. Yeah! It could indeed have happened this way!" Read this book and his others. You will for the first time in your life feel like Humankind is onto something utterly profound and awesome. Of course, why the Universe is the way it is at all will perhaps forever be a mystery unless one just accepts the Multiverse idea of a virtual or literal infinitude of Universe and "ours" simply is the ONE or one of many that happens to "work" to produce life and us. Given such a Universe with the basic components Lane sees as essential for Life Chemistry to start, we now get an idea of how chemical reactions could happen and proceed on a path that ends in membrane-enclosed sacs of chemistry with replication-inducing molecules (RNA/DNA) leading to bacteria and such and then to what may be a unique symbiosis to produce complex life and all that means. Among other things, Lane is trying to create a predictive and testable Origins Story and concludes that simple Life (e.g., bacteria) may be common but that complex Life (eukaryotes onward to us and colleagues) may have happened extremely rarely or, as John Gribbin supposes ("Alone in the Universe"), maybe only once anywhere in our Universe.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #87,972 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #18 in Biochemistry (Books) #89 in Evolution (Books) #143 in Biology (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 1,784 Reviews |

## Images

![Vital Question: Energy, Evolution, and the Origins of Complex Life - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51rH5Kp4qoL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Vivid, original, provocative, and enlightening
*by I***Z on August 10, 2015*

The book covers three inter-related topics: the origin of life, the origin of complex organisms (eukaryotes), and the consequences of having a dual system of inheritance (nuclear and mitochondrial genes) in complex organisms. Lane proposes that the system by which most organisms convert energy to usable biochemicals (especially ATP) provides an important clue about how life originated. Organisms pump hydrogen ions outside of a membrane in a fashion analogous to a pump that pushes water into a water tower. Much as the flow of water out of a tower can be used to power an electric generator, organisms use this hydrogen ion gradient to produce ATP which serves as universal source of energy for cells. Lane argues that deep-sea alkaline hydrothermal vents provided all the conditions necessary for the origin of life. These vents continuously provide hydrogen and carbon dioxide which can be combined to yield energy and organic compounds. These vents also contain metallic compounds, especially iron and sulfur containing compounds, that could serve as catalysts for the chemical reactions needed by the precursors of living organisms. Furthermore, the structures created in these vents contain pores that could serve as nurseries for the precursors of living organisms. Most importantly, boundaries in these pores permit the creation of an electrochemical gradient similar to hydrogen ion gradient that exists in living things. Complex organisms, called eukaryotes, are much larger than bacteria and have multiple structures inside the cell, especially mitochondria and nucleus. This branch of the tree of life includes all multi-cellular organisms such as fungi, plants, and animals. The other two branches of the tree of life, bacteria and archaea, have never produced multi-cellular organisms despite their great versatility with regard to the substances they can consume and environments they can grow in. Lane describes the evidence that eukaryotes arose from a merger (symbiosis) between bacterial and archaeal organisms. He also proposes that this happened just once in Earth's history. This isn't a new theory but Lane extends it by developing hypotheses about the detailed events in this process, such as the origin of the cell nucleus. Complex organisms have DNA in two different places, the cell nucleus and the mitochondria. The final section of Lane's book explains the consequences of this, arguing that certain attributes shared by all eukaryotes, such as senescence, and sex are logical consequences of this arrangement. This is because the actions of ordinary, nuclear, genes must be tightly matched to those of mitochondrial genes for the electrochemical gradients in the mitochondria work optimally. This has substantial consequences for human health. Lane argues, for example, that the high frequency of spontaneous miscarriages in people could be the result of occasional mismatches between nuclear and mitochondrial DNA. Another, equally provocative, example is the role of free radicals in health. He proposes that free radicals produced when mitochondria are not functioning optimally may impair health but that anti-oxidant substances such as vitamin C only make things worse by interfering with normal feedback controls. It is difficult to say who the intended audience is because it isn't either a typical popular science book or an academic treatise. Its style is informal, all terms are carefully explained, and it has many helpful the illustrations. But a sizable fraction of the material is much more challenging than typical popular science books. Many times, I had to slow down and reread sections to make sure I understood the topic at hand. But it isn't an academic work or even a textbook; the kinds of details academic readers want, such as detailed citations, simply aren't there. It would help if you have a general familiarity with college level biology and some chemistry. Having some knowledge of biochemistry might help but it isn't necessary since Lane mostly avoids describing biochemical details. If you can manage to give this book the careful reading it deserves, you will be amply rewarded with a fresh and intriguing view of the topics at hand. Some of this material is covered in an entirely different way in Franklin Harold's "In Search of Cell History." If you like one of these books you will enjoy the other as well. Furthermore, comparing their different viewpoints will allow you to see the issues more clearly.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Must read - sometimes difficult but profound and worth it
*by J***D on September 12, 2015*

Lane's unfortunately titled "Power, Sex, and Suicide" was the first book I ever read that (I could understand at all) that tackled head on the most profound mysteries of all of Life on Earth. I felt like that book was mandatory reading by all inquisitive and intelligent people. But I also felt the title, though absolutely true to the text, was likely off-putting to some (not me!) and unfortunate for that reason. The book was about, in essence, mitochondria, for goodness sakes! I was so relieved and encouraged to see the new title (with totally palatable title) come out. It covers much of the same ground as the earlier book(s) but goes forward with new research and new elaborations of his and others' previous theory and data. There are fewer graphics and less detail than the "SPS" book and it leaves out some very interesting observations and speculations of the earlier book but it covers much of the same ground and brings the studies up to date after 10 years. This is fantastically exciting stuff, people! Nick Lane and his ilk are delving into the most profound mysteries of life. For the first time in the history of life, I think, consciousness in the form of the human brain is starting to understand life's and complex life's origins - - beginnings that would seem to have been inscrutable and beyond reach just a few short years ago. You read this book and come to realize "Life is a miracle but a comprehensible miracle. Yeah! It could indeed have happened this way!" Read this book and his others. You will for the first time in your life feel like Humankind is onto something utterly profound and awesome. Of course, why the Universe is the way it is at all will perhaps forever be a mystery unless one just accepts the Multiverse idea of a virtual or literal infinitude of Universe and "ours" simply is the ONE or one of many that happens to "work" to produce life and us. Given such a Universe with the basic components Lane sees as essential for Life Chemistry to start, we now get an idea of how chemical reactions could happen and proceed on a path that ends in membrane-enclosed sacs of chemistry with replication-inducing molecules (RNA/DNA) leading to bacteria and such and then to what may be a unique symbiosis to produce complex life and all that means. Among other things, Lane is trying to create a predictive and testable Origins Story and concludes that simple Life (e.g., bacteria) may be common but that complex Life (eukaryotes onward to us and colleagues) may have happened extremely rarely or, as John Gribbin supposes ("Alone in the Universe"), maybe only once anywhere in our Universe.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Cells have a threshold for apoptosis which responds to the effects of poor mitochondrial DNA
*by P***Y on October 19, 2016*

This book describes a partial theory of how life initially evolved, followed by a more detailed theory of how eukaryotes evolved. Lane claims the hardest step in evolving complex life was the development of complex eukaryotic cells. Many traits such as eyes and wings evolved multiple times. Yet eukaryotes have many traits which evolved exactly once (including mitochondria, sex, and nuclear membranes). Eukaryotes apparently originated in a single act of an archaeon engulfing a bacterium. The result wasn't very stable, and needed to quickly evolve (i.e. probably within a few million years) a sophisticated nucleus, plus sexual reproduction. Only organisms that go through these steps will be able to evolve a more complex genome than bacteria do. This suggests that complex life is rare outside of earth, although simple life may be common. The book talks a lot about mitochondrial DNA, and make some related claims about aging. Cells have a threshold for apoptosis which responds to the effects of poor mitochondrial DNA, killing weak embryos before they can take up much parental resources. Lane sees evolution making important tradeoffs, with species that have intense energy demands (such as most birds) setting their thresholds high, and more ordinary species (e.g. rats) setting the threshold lower. This tradeoff causes less age-related damage in birds, at the cost of lower fertility. Lane claims that the DNA needs to be close to the mitochondria in order to make quick decisions. I found this confusing until I checked Wikipedia and figured out it probably refers to the CoRR hypothesis. I'm still confused, but at least now I can attribute the confusion to the topic being hard. Aubrey de Grey's criticism of CoRR suggests there's a consensus that CoRR has problems, and the main confusion revolves around the credibility of competing hypotheses. Lane is quite pessimistic about attempts to cure aging. Only a small part of that disagreement with Aubrey can be explained by the modest differences in their scientific hypotheses. Much of the difference seems to come from Lane's focus on doing science, versus Aubrey's focus on engineering. Lane keeps pointing out (correctly) that cells are really complex and finely tuned. Yet Lane is well aware that evolution makes many changes that affect aging in spite of the complexity. I suspect he's too focused on the inadequacy of typical bioengineering to imagine really good engineering. Some less relevant tidbits include: why vibrant plumage in male birds may be due to females being heterogametic why male mammals age faster than females Many of Lane's ideas are controversial, and only weakly supported by the evidence. But given the difficulty of getting good evidence on these topics, that still represents progress. The book is pretty dense, and requires some knowledge of biochemistry. It has many ideas and evidence that were developed since I last looked into this subject. I expect to forget many of those ideas fairly quickly. The book is worth reading if you have enough free time, but understanding these topics does not feel vital.

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