Oxygen: The Molecule that Made the World (Popular Science) in Science and Inquiry

Jan 16, 2015 Steve Van Slyke rated it really liked it

Shelves: science, kindle

I selected this book for two reasons. First, I was looking for something else to read by Nick Lane after reading Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life, and second, I'm fascinated by the story of how free oxygen arose in Earth's atmosphere.

One of the key points Lane makes about the world of science today is that it has become so fragmented and specialized that, for example, biologists often know little about geology, and vice versa for geologists. He hopes that science writers I selected this book for two reasons. First, I was looking for something else to read by Nick Lane after reading Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life, and second, I'm fascinated by the story of how free oxygen arose in Earth's atmosphere.

One of the key points Lane makes about the world of science today is that it has become so fragmented and specialized that, for example, biologists often know little about geology, and vice versa for geologists. He hopes that science writers can help to fill the gaps by attempting to synthesize the disparate banks of knowledge that all relate to a common topic.

In a way, the book really two books. The first is about how early life supercharged the atmosphere with oxygen, and possibly saved the planet from a fate similar to Mars or Venus by creating the ozone layer. And then how oxygen caused the “explosion” of life forms much more complex than the bacteria which created the excess oxygen in the first place. Amid this is a fascinating discussion of LUCA, the Last Universal Common Ancestor, and how today, even though we don't know what exactly it was, we can describe many attributes that it must have had.

And in the second “book” the topic is how this abundance of oxygen now affects life today, particularly its affects on humans, primarily through the action of free radicals, oxygen-based molecules with unpaired electrons. Anti-oxidant supplements, it turns out, may not confer their hyped benefits, and in some instances of mega dosing, may be harmful.

The discussion of oxygen's relation to ageing and age related diseases such as Alzheimer's and diabetes is both fascinating and scary. In conclusion Lane states: “...oxygen is not just the engine of evolution and life, but also the single most important cause of ageing and age-related disease.”

At times I was a little overwhelmed by the complexity of the biochemistry discussions, but those didn't last long. I hope to read this one again soon with the idea that more of it will sink in the second time around. Definitely a worthwhile read.

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May 25, 2009 Brian Maicke rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: science, nonfiction

I really enjoyed this book. The author says it is written for a general audience, but at times he does get pretty heavy into some different areas of science, most notably chemistry. Don't let that put you off though, as the book distills a lot of recent research from a number of fields and gives insight into evolution, biochemistry, and aging and does so in an accessible manner. ...more

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