Power, Sex, Suicide

just finished it. its a wonderful beginning the those interested in mitochondria and also explains about cellular mechanism to an extent. death, aging, need for 2 genders are all related to mitochondria which is explained in this book lucidly. the writting style is very easy to understand even for layman

It will provide you with very basic and enough knowledge of mitochondria.

This is a phenomenal book that says about the genetics, the conduct of mitochondria, and how they eventually become life threatening. Earlier mitochondria were considered power house, but they play more other role other than power production. Therefore Mr.Lane has defined exceptionally how well cells produce, reproduce and engage in power production. One can have an insight on how cells works and their evolution. Overall, this is well written pieces of facts that align well with genetics, and evolution of cells, tissues, organs and much more. Mitochondria is indeed considered power house, that turns bizerk and turns into cancer.

Questo libro è nel suo genere un capolavoro di divulgazione, imperdibile per chi vuole essere aggiornato sullo stato della biologia. Chi non è più giovane non può fare a meno di notare quanto questa disciplina sia cambiata dagli anni 60 e 70. Il titolo 'Power, Sex, Suicide' è fuorviante. Sembra essere una scelta fatta dal editore per ragioni di marketing. Il sottotitolo 'Mithocondria and the meaning of Life' dovrebbe essere il suo titolo dato che i mitocondri sono l'argomento trattato dall'inizio alla fine. L'unica difficoltà che ho trovato è la qualità dell'inglese che richiede l'uso di in vocabolario per via della ricchezza del lessico. È quindi una lettura ostica per chi non ha l'inglese come lingua nativa. È molto più facile, è soprattutto molto meno faticoso, seguire le spiegazioni di Lane in uno dei suoi video su YouTube che leggere i suoi libri.

What a book, absolutely fascinating and highly recommended, although I must say that this is not an easy book, in fact is kind of complex if you are not acquainted with the subject. This is not a critic, thing is I would not change a bit of it, but in my opinion, people should have a little knowledge of cellular metabolism and biochemistry before attempting this book. After reading Dawkins book about the selfish gene, it was inevitable for me to wonder about life origins, why unicellular organisms have that tendency to complexity and to group itself, and how all this machinery works. This book provide a thorough and absorbing biography of Mitochondria and its symbiosis with eukaryotes, what is the function of each one, why there are two sexes and why we aged and finally become history. As you will see, our understanding of these matters is rather modest, the author insinuate possible solutions to some of the big questions, but in any case the subject is so interesting that you read this book excited all the way to the end. How beautiful is life and how complex ... you can see that just watching a little fly and wonder how on earth this insect manage to fly, as if eukaryotes have a previous knowledge of Physics, as if they have all the basic solutions of nature in a template. I just know one thing: I want to know and read more about it.

I'm spanish and I bought the original version since I believe that some things get lost in translation. As a Biology graduate, I guarantee this is a great book not only for people who studied sciences but for everyone who wants to dig deeper on how does exactly life "work".

A review aimed at science teachers: Nick Lane's Power, Sex, Suicide. Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life (Oxford 2005, £10) provided me with every reason to wish I was still the same age as when Monty Python were in their heyday. I nearly poked a fellow Virgin passenger, deep in a Women's Weekly, in the ribs to exclaim, `Guess what! Did you know our endoplasmic reticulum is bacterial in origin!' but I was too scared she would respond with `Guess what! Brittany Spears wore a lace dress to the Oscars,' so I behaved myself, for once. This book is as remarkable as Oxygen, the Molecule that Made the World. Nearly every page brims with exciting teacher-friendly snippets: mitochondria contribute 10% of our total mass and up to 40% of certain cells. Every chapter encapsulates discussion on long debated issues and reaches out for cross disciplinary intercourse: evolutionary biology and chemistry (iron-sulfur minerals catalysed the pH differential in primordial bacteria, in a semblance to the bioenergetics of the hydrogen pump of the mitochondrial inner membrane), fractal mathematics (power laws in biology), and genetics (the gene transfer `ratchet' which drives mitochondrial (and chloroplast) genes to the nucleus but not the other way round, and why these two organelles always keep a few of their original genes). Best of all, this is a book summarises of 21st century research results and debates, and therefore is highly recommended for any teacher of senior biology, and probably chemistry, too. Here are just some of the highlights (for me) anyway: * Mitochondria control apoptosis - the process of cell destruction that lies at the heart of embryology - and aging. * Mitochondria do this by leaking free radicals - but there are checks and balances here, so that a small increase in free radicals simply signals the nuclear mitochondrial genes (a process known as a retrograde response) to be transcribed, enabling more respiratory complexes to be built. Too much free radical leakage for repair and the apoptosis cascade ensues. * Mitochondria are the reason there are two sexes: it is well known that, in general, paternal mitochondria are excluded during fertilization. However, mitochondrial `fitness' is also tested severely during oocyte development in female fetuses (ie, before birth, when oocytes are culled from around 7 to 2 million.). Early in fetal development, when the fertilized egg divides, the mitochondria do not, so that the original population is reduced from about 100,000 in the zygote to around perhaps only 10 (according to one researcher) per cell. In each cell, these few mitochondria circle the nucleus, as if there is an exchange of information about compatibility of nuclear and mitochondrial genes coding for mitochondrial proteins. All this was news to me. * Mitochondria have two functions: to produce energy (ATP) and to generate heat. There is general evidence for natural selection in human populations operating at mitochondrial level: people living at the poles have more uncoupling of respiratory pathways, thereby generating more heat and the price for them may be a decreased fertility. People whose genetic history developed in tropical regions (for example, African peoples) have greater aerobic capacity - but the price is greater intolerance of fatty Western diets - making them particularly vulnerable to diseases linked with free radical damage - diabetes and heart disease. * How did Lane come to realize that mitochondria rule the world? While researching methods for predicting the success of organ transplants, he discovered that if the mitochondria die within minutes of being transplanted (for example, when they come in contact with oxygen again, via the recipient's blood), the organ is doomed, no matter how healthy it looks. This is the kind of story that will rope in the kids, for sure!

good