Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution

by Nick Lane

Overview

“Original and awe-inspiring . . . an exhilarating tour of some of the most profound and important ideas in biology.”—New Scientist

Where does DNA come from? What is consciousness? How did the eye evolve? Drawing on a treasure trove of new scientific knowledge, Nick Lane expertly reconstructs evolution’s history by describing its ten greatest inventions—from sex and warmth to death—resulting in a stunning account of nature’s ingenuity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393338669
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	06/14/2010
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Nick Lane is professor of evolutionary biochemistry at University College London and an award-winning author of five books. He codirects UCL’s Centre for Life’s Origins and Evolution (CLOE) and lives in London. Bill Gates calls him “one of my favorite science writers.”

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

1 The Origin of Life 8

2 DNA 34

3 Photosynthesis 60

4 The Complex Cell 88

5 Sex 118

6 Movement 144

7 Sight 172

8 Hot Blood 205

9 Consciousness 232

10 Death 260

Epilogue 286

Notes 288

List of Illustrations 307

Acknowledgements 310

Bibliography 313

Index 327

Editorial Reviews

"Excellent and imaginative and, similar to life itself, the book is full of surprises."

Nature

"The emergence of life itself remains obscure. But as Lane shows with clarity and vigor, fascinating studies on the subject abound."

The New York Times

"If Charles Darwin sprang from his grave, I would give him this fine book to bring him up to speed."

Matt Ridley

"Excellent and imaginative and, similar to life itself, the book is full of surprises."

Nature Lib

For about 150 years, we have known how species evolve. The emergence of life itself remains more obscure. But as Lane shows with clarity and vigor in Life Ascending, fascinating studies on the subject abound. A trained biochemist, Lane smoothly pulls in evidence from genetics, proteomics (the study of proteins), paleontology and geophysics to show how the critical components and mechanisms of complex life—from DNA and photosynthesis to sex and vision—could have developed.
—The New York Times

Peter Dizikes

An accessible look at the greatest wonders of evolutionary science. For such a short work, Lane (Biochemistry/University College London; Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life, 2005) is admirably ambitious in scope, tackling such complex subjects as DNA, photosynthesis and consciousness in living things. Natural selection is a powerful creative force, notes the author, and has produced some ingenious and elegant scientific processes. Starting with the electrochemical reactions that may have produced the first life on Earth, Lane clearly explains how these landmark processes work and why they are so important. In an engaging chapter on photosynthesis-as well as others dealing with the complex cell, the sense of sight and the emergence of sex and movement among organisms-Lane lays out processes of dizzying complexity in smooth, nimble prose. He also provides a smattering of scientific history, showing how these processes were worked out by thinkers and researchers. (Footnotes provide more detail for the scientifically astute reader.) In the final and most insightful chapter, Lane looks at death as a beneficial process that allows organisms to avoid genetic diseases associated with living exceedingly long life spans. "[D]eath and disease are not random," he writes. "Death evolved. Ageing evolved. They evolved for pragmatic reasons. In the broadest of terms, ageing is flexible, an evolutionary variable that is set against various other factors, like sexual maturation, in the ledger book of life. There are penalties for tampering with these parameters, but the penalties vary and in a few cases at least can be trivial." The author cites a Japanese study that found that onetiny variant of DNA made people twice as likely to live to be 100. A lucid introduction to complex concepts of evolution.

Kirkus Reviews

"Original and awe-inspiring... an exhilarating tour of some of the most profound and important ideas in biology."

New Scientist - Michael Le Page