Power, Sex, Suicide
by Nick Lane · first published 2005
78% recommend22% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Accessible, witty popular-science account of why mitochondria drove the rise of complex eukaryotic life, teaching fundamentals as it weighs competing arguments; suits curious readers without a biology background.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"Today, mitochondria are central to research into human prehistory, genetic diseases, cell suicide, fertility, ageing, bioenergetics, sex, and the eukaryotic cell. Piecing together puzzles from the forefront of research, this book paints a sweeping canvas that will thrill all who are interested in biology, while also contributing to evolutionary thinking and debate. This is a book full of insights into the nature and evolution of life, and should be read by anyone who wants to know why we're here."--Jacket.
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So what is it that they have in place of mitochondiria? A fascinating book "Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life" (http://www.amazon.com/Power-Sex-Suicide-Mitochondria-Meaning...) suggested that the multicellullar organisms on Earth evolved only once, when the symbiotic relationship…
on “Scientists discover first multicellular life that doesn't need oxygen” ↗…somehow disrupt or eliminate the signal, you allow bad, or inefficient, or perhaps cancerous cells to live longer than they would otherwise. I'm paraphrasing directly from the excellent, excellent book _Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life_ by Nick Lane, which is highly skeptical of antioxidant supplementation and is a truly fascinating book.
on “Scientists think antioxidants may make cancer cells spread faster” ↗…might be if it could happen (oxidation and free radicals are probably essential cell signaling methods that cause ill mannered cells to commit apoptosis, or "suicide"), I recommend the excellent book _Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life_ by Nick Lane.
on “HyperFoods: Machine intelligent mapping of cancer-beating molecules in foods” ↗…really one of our cells' most under appreciated organelles and the consequences of them being "the powerhouse" are a lot more profound than you might think. I highly recommend Nick Lane's book on them, Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the meaning of life, which explores the consequences of the biochemistry, population genetics, of mitochondria for how animals live in general. It's far more interesting than biochemistry…
on “Mitochondria may hold keys to anxiety and mental health” ↗…extrapolating from a sole sample is a fool's errand - but the logic laid out in those two works is compelling. [0] https://nick-lane.net/books/the-vital-question-why-is-life-t... [1] https://nick-lane.net/books/power-sex-suicide-mitochondria-m...
on “Grabby Aliens: A Resolution to the Fermi Paradox” ↗…form of copying the resistances' dna into new cells. This costs the organism energy and time to copy. If it confers no benefit it will be dropped from the genome. I really recommend everyone here read Power, Sex, Suicide, mitochondria and the meaning of life. Amazon link (no affiliation/referral) http://www.amazon.com/Power-Sex-Suicide-Mitochondria-ebook/d... Bacteria both evolve resistance quickly, they also lose it…
on “Dr. Arjun Srinivasan: We’ve Reached “The End of Antibiotics, Period”” ↗…factor in speed of cell division and proliferation of said bacteria, so selection pressures lead to more favorable outcomes for the bacteria that maintain the smallest functional genome. The book is Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life if you or anyone else is interested. Fascinating read I would recommend it.
on “Pediatricians say farm use of antibiotics harms children” ↗This book did a great job, but it might be outdated: https://www.amazon.com/Power-Sex-Suicide-Mitochondria-Meanin...
on “First 'three person baby' born using new method” ↗…Power, Sex, and Suicide [2] His books are honestly life changing, i can recommend them or him enough. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Vital-Question-Evolution-Origins-Comp... [2] https://www.amazon.com/Power-Sex-Suicide-Mitochondria-Meanin...
on “Anti-Aging Startup Raises $116M With Bezos Backing” ↗…by constantly weeding out cells with poor energy efficiency. Sort of a intra-body natural selection with exercise as the environmental stressor. There is a very interesting book by Nick Lane titled _Power, Sex, Suicide_ that explores these ideas. Not to worry, I suppose, since anyone with even a fleeting interest in "life extension" or "anti aging" would have a comprehensive, extremely intense exercise regimen ...…
on “Scientists reverse aging-associated skin wrinkles and hair loss in a mouse model” ↗…have more efficient energy production. You can enforce natural selection of efficient mitochondria within your own body with vigorous, stressful exercise. I encourage you to read the excellent book _Power, Sex, Suicide_ by Nick Lane which covers the topics of energy production in the cells and natural selection of mitochondria, etc. A fascinating book. I would further encourage you to get as much vigorous exercise…
on “Mechanism of hardening of the arteries and potential treatment identified” ↗…mind. Two in particular I'd recommend: 1. The Vital Question - An explanation of the genesis of complex life through bioenergetics. Explains why complex life is likely very rare in the universe. 2. Power, Sex, Suicide - Why mitochondria are awesome, and also responsible for the emergence of sex, cancer, and mortality.
on “Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?” ↗No mention yet of Nick Lane and his (wonderful) books: - Oxygen - Power, Sex, Suicide If you want a fascinating, very readable, well laid out argument against the entire notion of antioxidant supplementation (as well as a fascinating, technical but not too technical, pop-sci read) these…
on “The Vitamin Myth: Why We Think We Need Supplements” ↗The public perception of evolution misses out on the depth of scientific work being done these days. Two more books that make modern evolutionary research accessible to the public: 1. Nick Lane's Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life - Covers the evolution of the eukaryotic cell, why it's such insanely chance event, why multicellular life depends on it, almost as an aside making a great argument…
on “Evolution’s Random Paths Lead to One Place” ↗I'd also like to recommend Power, Sex, Suicide by the same guy, Nick Lane. It's an absolutely amazing book that explains the origins of mitochondria, why they're necessary for complex life (and this means that complex life is exceedingly rare in…
on “This Biology Book Blew Me Away” ↗