Transformer
by Nick Lane · first published 2022
10mentions
6recommended by
8HN commenters
2022–2024first – last mentioned
75% recommend25% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Deep, accessible look at the chemistry of life, centering bioenergetics, proton pumping across membranes, and the Krebs cycle and mitochondria; suits readers curious about the origin of life and metabolism.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…the process of using genomics to diagnose and treat rare diseases in patients https://www.amazon.com/dp/1250234980 The author of this article, nick lane also has some popular bio books, in particular: Transformers, The deep chemistry of life. https://www.amazon.com/Transformer-Deep-Chemistry-Life-Death...
on “Beyond the Gene (2018) [pdf]” ↗You might like the book Transformer: The Deep Chemistry of Life and Death by Nick Lane. (anyone enjoying this comment section would) but specifically he presents some really cool interesting ideas related to this and metabolism
on “Human sperm cooperate on the competitive pathway to fertilization: study” ↗If you haven't already read it, then I can highly recommend Nick Lane's 'Transformer - The Deep Chemistry of Life and Death', which goes into deep detail on this hypothesis. He's touched on this in a couple of his earlier books, I think The Vital Question and one other, but in general…
on “Life Has Been Found Beneath Hydrothermal Vents for the First Time” ↗Nick Lane's 'Transformer - The Deep Chemistry of Life and Death' (2022). I read it just after reading his 2016 novel 'The Vital Question - Energy, Evolution, and the Origins of Complex Life'. Can recommend both, and I believe…
on “Ask HN: What are some of the best books you have read in 2022?” ↗If you want to learn more about possible ways for life to have started, I recommend the books by Nick Lane, especially "The Vital Question" and "Transformer." We have several hypothesis about the origin of life, and none of them require a divine creator. It turns out non-equilibrium systems dissipating energy will create complexity, as complexity is more…
on “No morphological differences between living and non-living systems are yet known” ↗…flux, with large energetic and chemical gradients. Again, less likely to be found underground. If you're interested in this kind of thing I'd heartily recommend Nick Lane's book 'The Vital Question' or 'Transformer'. He tends to frame the issue not so much as just having the chemicals available (we find these on asteroids/meteorites!) but in having the energetic flux to get life started. Sort of akin I guess to…
on “Deep beneath earth's surface, clues to life's origins” ↗…replenish its own constituents. Planarian are damn adaptable, but this is hardly news. Nick Lane emphasizes that DNA is subsidiary to bioenergetics and “proton pumping” across membranes. His recent book “Transformer” focuses on the Kreb’s cycle and mitochondria as the crux of life (and autopoiesis, although he does not use this term). Lane is extremely readable. Maturana is almost inscrutable. I enjoined the target…
on “A Revolution in Biology?” ↗…work on autopoiesis with almost any of Nick Lane’s deep discussions of bioenergetics e.g., the wonderful book “ Power, Sex and Suicide: Mitochonria and the Meaning of Life” or his equally strong book “Transformer: The Deep Chemistry of Life and Death” that is focused on the Kreb’s cycle. He brings biochemistry and bioenergetics alive in a way that will impact your thinking. Maturana and Valera gave a brilliant…
on “Mitochondria Are Alive” ↗Nick Lane's Power Sex & Suicide, and The Vital Question are excellent and relatively easy for anyone. Transformer is much more difficult and dense. There are also some excellent talks in yt.
on “Life Has Been Found Beneath Hydrothermal Vents for the First Time” ↗…understand your frustration, sorry for the poor wording. "Electron spin changes during general anesthesia in Drosophila" https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25114249/ I learned about this from Nick Lane's book "Transformer: The Deep Chemistry of Life and Death"
on “Too much serendipity” ↗