![]() ![]() ![]() Life is at root a chemical phenomenon: this is its deep logic. And it puts the subtle differences between individuals in the same grand story as the rise of the living world itself. It links the emergence of consciousness with the inevitability of death. It connects the first photosynthetic bacteria with our own peculiar cells. To grasp the Krebs cycle is to fathom the deep coherence of biology. Nick Lane is in the vanguard of scientists now tracing its ramifications across the tree of life. This conflicted merry-go-round of energy and matter has long taunted true understanding. ![]() Lane is among the vanguard of researchers asking why the Krebs cycle, the 'perfect circle' at the heart of metabolism, remains so elusive more than eighty years after its. At its core is a cycle of reactions that transforms inorganic molecules into the building blocks of life, and the reverse - the iconic Krebs cycle that sits at the heart of metabolism. In Transformer, biochemist Nick Lane reveals a scientific renaissance that is hiding in plain sight-how the same simple chemistry gives rise to life and causes our demise. In Transformer, Nick Lane captures a scientific renaissance that is hiding in plain sight. You can gage the value I place on a book by how much I've highlighted with my trusty yellow highlighter. But then I saw the author was Nick Lane and I didn't need to read the reviews, since I've read all of his books. The answer could turn our picture of life on Earth upside down. Something about the Krebs cycle and hydrothermal vents. What really animates cells and sets them apart from non-living matter? This question goes back to the flawed geniuses and heroic origins of modern biology. Yet in terms of information there is no difference between a living cell and one that died a moment ago. For decades, biology has been dominated by information - the power of genes. ![]()
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