false <![CDATA[Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169228162m/39001.jpg 39001 2 Mitochondria are tiny structures located inside our cells that carry out the essential task of producing energy for the cell. They are found in all complex living things, and in that sense, they are fundamental for driving complex life on the planet. But there is much more to them than that. Mitochondria have their own DNA, with their own small collection of genes, separate from those in the cell nucleus. It is thought that they were once bacteria living independent lives. Their enslavement within the larger cell was a turning point in the evolution of life, enabling the development of complex organisms and, closely related, the origin of two sexes. Unlike the DNA in the nucleus, mitochondrial DNA is passed down exclusively (or almost exclusively) via the female line. That's why it has been used by some researchers to trace human ancestry daughter-to-mother, to 'Mitochondrial Eve'. Mitochondria give us important information about our evolutionary history. And that's not all. Mitochondrial genes mutate much faster than those in the nucleus because of the free radicals produced in their energy-generating role. This high mutation rate lies behind our ageing and certain congenital diseases. The latest research suggests that mitochondria play a key role in degenerative diseases such as cancer, through their involvement in precipitating cell suicide. Mitochondria, then, are pivotal in power, sex, and suicide. In this fascinating and thought-provoking book, Nick Lane brings together the latest research findings in this exciting field to show how our growing understanding of mitochondria is shedding light on how complex life evolved, why sex arose (why don't we just bud?), and why we age and die. This understanding is of fundamental importance, both in understanding how we and all other complex life came to be, but also in order to be able to control our own illnesses, and delay our degeneration and death. 'An extraordinary account of groundbreaking modern science... The book abounds with interesting and important ideas.' Mark Ridley, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford 1466614 2005 Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life total:40|5:19|4:13|3:7|2:1|1:0| 40 170 101 10 5 0 false false Tue Aug 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 07 18:37:52 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 12 10:25:59 -0700 2009 A Wind In The Door.

Power Sex Suicide is an incredibly dense but fascinating book that makes the fantasies of that fiction book seem tame. Nick Lane contends that mitochondria are responsible for all life more advanced that bacteria, for s...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jun 19 02:39:25 -0700 2007 Wed Nov 28 15:18:21 -0800 2007
Mitochondria: T...more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Apr 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 02 13:02:40 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 07 08:01:29 -0700 2009 0 0 false true Tue May 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 11 21:51:34 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 04 15:03:52 -0700 2009

Quotes:

"recent research suggests that the acquisition of mitochondria was far more important than simply plugging an efficient power-supply into an already complicated cell, wit...more...]]> 5 0 true false Fri Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Sun Jul 22 15:16:11 -0700 2007 Sun Jul 22 15:36:08 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sun Feb 10 23:04:49 -0800 2008 Sat Mar 01 15:15:12 -0800 2008
He tries too hard to link every single thing to mitochondria though; ...more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Jun 04 00:41:21 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 04 00:44:05 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Tue Mar 25 08:21:41 -0700 2008 Tue Mar 25 08:22:56 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Thu Aug 28 14:38:25 -0700 2008 Mon Dec 01 09:56:07 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Thu Jun 04 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 14 13:07:02 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 04 08:36:27 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Nov 04 21:54:14 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 04 21:54:31 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Sun Oct 25 00:58:10 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 25 00:58:10 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Thu Oct 15 14:16:14 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 15 14:16:14 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Mon Oct 12 11:45:13 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 12 11:45:13 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Tue Sep 29 21:26:37 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 29 21:26:37 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat Sep 26 08:45:37 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 26 08:45:37 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat Sep 05 03:40:43 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 05 03:40:43 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Sep 02 14:42:46 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 02 14:42:46 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Fri Aug 28 11:44:18 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 28 11:44:18 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Tue Aug 25 16:26:16 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 25 16:26:16 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=39001