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Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution, by Nick Lane
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A renowned biochemist draws on cutting-edge scientific findings to construct the mosaic of life’s astounding history.
How did life invent itself? Where did DNA come from? How did consciousness develop? Powerful new research methods are providing vivid insights into the makeup of life. Comparing gene sequences, examining atomic structures of proteins, and looking into the geochemistry of rocks have helped explain evolution in more detail than ever before. Nick Lane expertly reconstructs the history of life by describing the ten greatest inventions of evolution (including DNA, photosynthesis, sex, and sight), based on their historical impact, role in organisms today, and relevance to current controversies. Who would have guessed that eyes started off as light-sensitive spots used to calibrate photosynthesis in algae? Or that DNA’s building blocks form spontaneously in hydrothermal vents? Lane gives a gripping, lucid account of nature’s ingenuity, and the result is a work of essential reading for anyone who has ever pondered or questioned the science underlying evolution’s greatest gifts to man.20 figures
- Sales Rank: #7458715 in Books
- Brand: imusti
- Published on: 2010
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.21" h x .80" w x 6.14" l, .55 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
Features
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. In this wonderful book, Lane (Power, Sex, Suicide), a biochemist at University College London, asks an intriguing and simple question: what were the great biological inventions that led to Earth as we know it. (He is quick to point out that by œinvention, he refers to nature's own creativity, not to intelligent design.) Lane argues that there are 10 such inventions and explores the evolution of each. Not surprisingly, each of the 10—the origin of life, the creation of DNA, photosynthesis, the evolution of complex cells, sex, movement, sight, warm bloodedness, consciousness and death—is intricate, its origins swirling in significant controversy. Drawing on cutting-edge science, Lane does a masterful job of explaining the science of each, distinguishing what is fairly conclusively known and what is currently reasonable conjecture. At times he presents some shocking but compelling information. For example, one of the light-sensitive pigments in human eyes probably arose first in algae, where it can still be found today helping to maximize photosynthesis. While each of Lane's 10 subjects deserves a book of its own, they come together to form an elegant, fully satisfying whole. 20 illus. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
“Original and awe-inspiring... an exhilarating tour of some of the most profound and important ideas in biology.”
- Michael Le Page, New Scientist
About the Author
Nick Lane is a biochemist in the Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment at University College London, and leads the UCL Origins of Life Program. He was awarded the 2015 Biochemical Society Award for his outstanding contribution to the molecular life sciences. He is the author of Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution, which won the 2010 Royal Society Prize for Science Books, as well as Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life and Oxygen: The Molecule that Made the World.
Most helpful customer reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful.
The Greatest Inventions of Evolution
By Randolph Eck
This is the first book I read by Nick Lane and it surely won't be the last. In ten chapters, he discusses what he feels are the ten great inventions of evolution.
Lane begins by positing a theory for the origin of life. He presents a strong case for life's origins occurring near what are called "alkaline vents" to distinguish them from the volcanic smoker type. He goes into great detail about how this could conceivably happen. It involves a reactive form of vinegar known as acetyl thioester, carbon dioxide, free radicals found in the vents, ATP, etc. ultimately culminating in more complex organic molecules. The discussion is very interesting and seems quite plausible. In the next topic - DNA - he presents another detailed explanation for the development of DNA from RNA and other precursors found in the vents. Here he again presents a compelling explanation for the origin of this basic constituent of life.
I learned quite a bit from the chapter on photosynthesis. Lane describes how plants use the light from the sun to produce sugars utilizing water and carbon dioxide - all quite interesting. He then moves on to the topic of sex, discussing various ideas that have been promulgated throughout the years. He sums it up by saying "Mechanistically speaking, sex could have evolved quite easily." He goes on to describe three aspects that could have made this possible: cell fusion, segregation of chromosomes, and recombination. Another whole chapter is devoted to the topic of motion. Here he delves into the function and origins of the myosin and actin and ATP that constitute muscle tissue. We are shown how crystallography had demonstrated that the myosins and kinesins (a second family of motor proteins) did indeed share a common ancestor, and this despite the fact that they do not share a common gene sequence.
On the topic of sight, Lane provides for us plausible evidence to support its evolution. We learn that "the same committee of genes controls eye formation in both vertebrates and invertebrates." Tracing back to a common ancestor, we find that the visual pigment rhodopsin evolved in this ancestor under the control of this committee of genes. This cell later became duplicated, and the daughter cells became specialized to function in an eye or as a circadian clock. Very surprisingly, it may very well be that the earliest progenitor of the eye may have evolved in algae. Lane notes, "there's a good chance that the mother of all animal eyes was, of all things, a photosynthetic alga."
Lane next delves into the roots of the human mind - consciousness. He grapples with the how and why something called extended consciousness builds on core consciousness, and why core consciousness can turn on a feeling. And what is a feeling anyway? He speaks of "mind maps" and how these can be altered by "objects" in the world outside our minds. Regarding feelings, he concludes that they are "a neural construct, and not a fundamental property of matter." Actually whole books have been written on just this matter, so this is just an introduction.
On the final topic of death, Lane discusses Peter Medawar's theory on the role of genes in age-related diseases, but he is more concerned about the underlying cause of aging. He theorizes that "Age-related diseases depend on biological age, not chronological time. Cure aging, and we cure the diseases of old age - all of them." We learn of the role of sexual maturity, free radicals (not so bad maybe), and yes, the possibility of a single panacea to eradicate old age.
He concludes with ever so clever reasoning. "To doubt that life evolved, even if some of the details described in this book may yet prove wrong is to doubt the convergence of evidence [...] doubt the evidence of biology [...] doubt the veracity of experiment and observation [...] in the end, to doubt reality."
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
Incredible coverage of a lot of material in a small space.
By Atheen
Though I once had a better ranking among Amazon reviewers, I’d given up doing reviews for some time for personal reasons; but this book really deserves a good review, and it’s getting one.
This is probably the best book I’ve read on these subjects (The origin of life, DNA, Photosynthesis, The Complex cell, Sex, Movement, Sight, Hot Blood, Consciousness, and Death) in literally ages. I was amazed at the amount of new insight that has been achieved over the past few years in many of the sciences and technologies involved in illuminating these areas. I was so impressed and found the read so satisfying that I returned my library copy of the book and bought one for my Kindle, so I could reread it; something I almost never do, on the premise that there are far too many books and way too little time to read them all. I can definitely say that this one is worth a thorough re-read.
Not always the easiest, even for someone who has followed these subjects, the book is yet approachable. (Those with a newer education, especially high school, than mine—I graduated with my last college degree in 1993 and refuse to admit how long ago I graduated from high school!!—will undoubtedly find it much easier going than I did.) It took me two days to read it, a long time for me. (Though I admit that I have an inordinate amount of time to read at my disposal on any given day.)
Through similes and metaphors, sometimes poetry and often humor, the author does a tremendous job of making the subject matter accessible to the nonprofessional/nonscientist among us. He definitely has an entertaining style—in short, I was not bored. He uses an historical approach in dealing with each subject, so that the reader gains some insight into how scientists have teased apart the various threads of information over time to achieve an ever closer approximation of how these aspects of living organisms arose. This may be a little confusing for some—it was for me—since the reader may feel he/she has come to “understand” the topic or feel they “already know” the material, only to discover down the line that new data have changed the story, sometimes drastically. I can only say that this reveals how science is actually done and more importantly how it is experienced by the people doing that research. It definitely gives one an appreciation for the very clever minds at work on these subjects. More importantly it also makes clear how the various disciplines and technologies involved intersect and potentiate one another, creating an almost exponential amount of information by doing so. This fact alone makes science one of the most potent tools ever created by the human mind.
I enjoy this type of reading material because, as I’ve said before in other reviews, I see it as “weight-lifting for the mind.” Since it changes so much over time, it challenges one to keep up with what’s new. Of all the topics the author chose to discuss, I was most impressed with the advances in origin of life studies. After plowing through a work by Christian De Duve on the subject years ago, I had sort of given up on the subject as virtually unknowable, at least to me, at the time. I see that there is new hope for a fascinating subject and for my own ability to understand it at least superficially. Like origin of life, each of the other areas also shows remarkable advancement. There was not a single chapter where I did not find that what I thought I “knew” had had a major overhaul or had been totally overturned by new evidence. Talk about a mental work out.
I especially appreciated the graciousness of the author in his willing acknowledgement of the key researchers who contributed to the advancements under each category—in fact, sometimes under several categories. He never spoke disparagingly of any one’s work; something that in my experience is not always the case in treatises of this kind—where the reader at least learns that scientists, too, are people and given to human weaknesses. He also paid due attention to research that led to false starts or outright failure. While disappointing to the research team, failures are important too, since they reveal what doesn’t work or isn’t true or simply needs a different approach—a point which the author himself made. While it doesn’t lead to Nobel Prizes, all of this is information. (I once had a professor who said he thought there ought to be a journal especially devoted to failed research for just this reason.) I also found interesting and encouraging the number of women whose work in various fields was cited. As a woman myself, it was nice to see that not only do women contribute but that their contributions are recognized and appreciated.
An incredible book.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
Evolution at the molecular level
By AndyGhelps
If you seek to expand your awareness of the science-based origins of life, this book provides an excellent appreciation of some of the most important evolutionary aspects of life at the molecular level. For example, he describes the formation of photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic mechanisms where the sun's energy is captured and stored either as high energy molecules like ATP or carbohydrates in clear terms. Lane also discusses RNA, DNA and how ancient microorganisms united with other cells to form the modern understanding of eukaryotic cells with their mitochondria and plasmids in the case of plant cells. To understand the scientific basis of how life came into being, these processes are among the most important and the sine qua non of life's origins.
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