Transformer: The Deep Chemistry of Life and Death
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- Create Date：2022-06-17 08:51:37
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Nick Lane
- ISBN：0393651487
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Summary
What brings the Earth to life， and our own lives to an end？
For decades， biology has been dominated by the study of genetic information。 Information is important， but it is only part of what makes us alive。 Our inheritance also includes our living metabolic network， a flame passed from generation to generation， right back to the origin of life。 In Transformer， biochemist Nick Lane reveals a scientific renaissance that is hiding in plain sight —how the same simple chemistry gives rise to life and causes our demise。
Lane is among the vanguard of researchers asking why the Krebs cycle， the “perfect circle” at the heart of metabolism， remains so elusive more than eighty years after its discovery。 Transformer is Lane’s voyage， as a biochemist， to find the inner meaning of the Krebs cycle—and its reverse—why it is still spinning at the heart of life and death today。
Lane reveals the beautiful， violent world within our cells， where hydrogen atoms are stripped from the carbon skeletons of food and fed to the ravenous beast of oxygen。 Yet this same cycle， spinning in reverse， also created the chemical building blocks that enabled the emergence of life on our planet。 Now it does both。 How can the same pathway create and destroy？ What might our study of the Krebs cycle teach us about the mysteries of aging and the hardest problem of all， consciousness？
Transformer unites the story of our planet with the story of our cells—what makes us the way we are， and how it connects us to the origin of life。 Enlivened by Lane’s talent for distilling and humanizing complex research， Transformer offers an essential read for anyone fascinated by biology’s great mysteries。 Life is at root a chemical phenomenon: this is its deep logic。
For decades， biology has been dominated by the study of genetic information。 Information is important， but it is only part of what makes us alive。 Our inheritance also includes our living metabolic network， a flame passed from generation to generation， right back to the origin of life。 In Transformer， biochemist Nick Lane reveals a scientific renaissance that is hiding in plain sight —how the same simple chemistry gives rise to life and causes our demise。
Lane is among the vanguard of researchers asking why the Krebs cycle， the “perfect circle” at the heart of metabolism， remains so elusive more than eighty years after its discovery。 Transformer is Lane’s voyage， as a biochemist， to find the inner meaning of the Krebs cycle—and its reverse—why it is still spinning at the heart of life and death today。
Lane reveals the beautiful， violent world within our cells， where hydrogen atoms are stripped from the carbon skeletons of food and fed to the ravenous beast of oxygen。 Yet this same cycle， spinning in reverse， also created the chemical building blocks that enabled the emergence of life on our planet。 Now it does both。 How can the same pathway create and destroy？ What might our study of the Krebs cycle teach us about the mysteries of aging and the hardest problem of all， consciousness？
Transformer unites the story of our planet with the story of our cells—what makes us the way we are， and how it connects us to the origin of life。 Enlivened by Lane’s talent for distilling and humanizing complex research， Transformer offers an essential read for anyone fascinated by biology’s great mysteries。 Life is at root a chemical phenomenon: this is its deep logic。
Reviews
Rod Milligan
，
Great book that explains how life builds itself around metabolism。 There is a particular focus on carbon flux through the cell and how this relates to the origin of life， disease， ageing， and even consciousness。 Overall， it’s a highly recommended read。
Allyson Dyar
，
When I saw this book being offered up on NetGalley， I was particularly interested in the subject， having majored in Biology/Human Anatomy and Physiology in college。 Besides， the Kreb’s Cycle （and my favorite organelle， the mighty mitochondria） is one of the most important processes in the human body， one that provides the energy that allows it to hum along。Evolutionary biochemist Nick Lane details the discovery of the Kreb’s and other cycles that contribute to the production of energy for the bo When I saw this book being offered up on NetGalley， I was particularly interested in the subject， having majored in Biology/Human Anatomy and Physiology in college。 Besides， the Kreb’s Cycle （and my favorite organelle， the mighty mitochondria） is one of the most important processes in the human body， one that provides the energy that allows it to hum along。Evolutionary biochemist Nick Lane details the discovery of the Kreb’s and other cycles that contribute to the production of energy for the body。 He brings to life the scientists who toiled in the laboratories to eke out the secrets that the energy cycles kept hidden。 He also explores how the early organisms may have produced energy and how they may have led to the Kreb’s cycle。I thought the best part of the book was how the author detailed the scientists’ quest to discover those elusive secrets。 I also quite enjoyed the appendix and source material that he used。 Rather than just a list of articles and books， the author took the time to review most of the research material in detail， giving the reader many starting points should they wish to further investigate the subject on their own。Despite my praise of parts of the book， I found it a slow-going read， especially when the author detailed the Kreb’s and other cycles。 I am the first one to admit that it is difficult to take a complex subject such as biochemistry and explain it in a text-heavy scholarly medium like a book。 Despite the illustrations， which I don’t find all that compelling， it was still difficult to follow， and I had the advantage of already understanding how it all worked。This brings me to ask the question: “For whom was this book written？” It’s not a book that a casual reader can pick up and merrily go on their way to understanding the complexity of the Kreb’s cycle。 Conversely， I’m not sure if someone who is well-versed in the subject is going to enjoy it either， except for the history of the discoveries that the even a more learned reader may not have known。I reluctantly rate this book 3。5/5。 It’s really well-written and enjoyable in spots， but I found myself slogging through the rest。 I wouldn’t say that this is a book in search of an audience， but the audience has to be carefully found。 。。。more
candy floss
，
Definitely not for the layperson！ I really enjoyed the history/mini biography side of this book， but found the Biochemical paths very overwhelming （ Even with an used biochemistry degree albeit 40years ago） 。 I am sure more clever people than me will not get as lost， so would recommend it。
Allyson Dyar
，
When I saw this book being offered up on NetGalley， I was particularly interested in the subject， having majored in Biology/Human Anatomy and Physiology in college。 Besides， the Kreb’s Cycle （and my favorite organelle， the mighty mitochondria） is one of the most important processes in the human body， one that provides the energy that allows it to hum along。Evolutionary biochemist Nick Lane details the discovery of the Kreb’s and other cycles that contribute to the production of energy for the bo When I saw this book being offered up on NetGalley， I was particularly interested in the subject， having majored in Biology/Human Anatomy and Physiology in college。 Besides， the Kreb’s Cycle （and my favorite organelle， the mighty mitochondria） is one of the most important processes in the human body， one that provides the energy that allows it to hum along。Evolutionary biochemist Nick Lane details the discovery of the Kreb’s and other cycles that contribute to the production of energy for the body。 He brings to life the scientists who toiled in the laboratories to eke out the secrets that the energy cycles kept hidden。 He also explores how the early organisms may have produced energy and how they may have led to the Kreb’s cycle。I thought the best part of the book was how the author detailed the scientists’ quest to discover those elusive secrets。 I also quite enjoyed the appendix and source material that he used。 Rather than just a list of articles and books， the author took the time to review most of the research material in detail， giving the reader many starting points should they wish to further investigate the subject on their own。Despite my praise of parts of the book， I found it a slow-going read， especially when the author detailed the Kreb’s and other cycles。 I am the first one to admit that it is difficult to take a complex subject such as biochemistry and explain it in a text-heavy scholarly medium like a book。 Despite the illustrations， which I don’t find all that compelling， it was still difficult to follow， and I had the advantage of already understanding how it all worked。This brings me to ask the question: “For whom was this book written？” It’s not a book that a casual reader can pick up and merrily go on their way to understanding the complexity of the Kreb’s cycle。 Conversely， I’m not sure if someone who is well-versed in the subject is going to enjoy it either， except for the history of the discoveries that the even a more learned reader may not have known。I reluctantly rate this book 3。5/5。 It’s really well-written and enjoyable in spots， but I found myself slogging through the rest。 I wouldn’t say that this is a book in search of an audience， but the audience has to be carefully found。[Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for my honest and objective opinion which I have given here。] 。。。more
Brian Clegg
，
This is probably the best book on biology （and more specifically biochemistry） that I've ever read。Ever since Richard Dawkins wrote The Selfish Gene， we've been dazzled by the importance of the genetic code （or， as Lane points out in one of his many asides， what should really be called the genetic cipher） - but this focus has tended to give an exaggerated importance to the information stored there。 Of course it's essential to life - but as this book explores， chemistry and energy are what life i This is probably the best book on biology （and more specifically biochemistry） that I've ever read。Ever since Richard Dawkins wrote The Selfish Gene， we've been dazzled by the importance of the genetic code （or， as Lane points out in one of his many asides， what should really be called the genetic cipher） - but this focus has tended to give an exaggerated importance to the information stored there。 Of course it's essential to life - but as this book explores， chemistry and energy are what life is really about。 Nick Lane points out that there is no difference in the information in an organism just before and just after it dies - but there's quite a lot of difference in terms of its life。Biology and chemistry can both be extremely difficult to put across in popular science。 Biology because it's so complicated with vast numbers of molecules and processes involved， and chemistry because， dare I say it， it can appear a bit dull。 What Lane does wonderfully well is to bring biochemistry to life。 He demonstrates this marvellously in his description of the discovery of the Krebs cycle - central to the process of respiration and at the heart of this book。 Read a standard description of the cycle， and it's pretty much impenetrable to the non-biochemist。 But first by using a very elegant way of visually portraying molecules and then by combining the mechanism of the cycle with the story of its discovery， Lane turns it into something accessible and exciting。The Krebs cycle is a series of chemical reactions that take place （in part or entirely） in most living organisms。 Running in one direction it explains respiration， the process by which organic molecules undergo controlled combustion to produce energy， while in reverse it is one of the ways that complex organic molecules can be constructed。 At the same time we see the importance of flows of energy and electrical potentials in understanding life。 It's heady stuff。 Lane goes on to show how the same processes that support life can produce cancers - and why these processes change over time， resulting in ageing and death。Another impressive aspect of this book is the way it brings the real scientific method into the spotlight。 This is something that science writing tend to over-simplify and treat with almost religious awe。 Yet it is undertaken by flawed human beings。 In showing how explanations of the Krebs cycle， the workings of mitochondria and more were gradually developed， Lane gives us plenty of stories of human endeavour and how the development of good science is not a straight line to success， but involves detours， misunderstandings and， yes， sometimes human pettiness。Although I love this book， it does inevitably suffer part way through from the problems of a biology book being read by non-biologists。 To start with I was carried along with enthusiasm engendered by those stories and Lane's novel presentation， but there are a couple of chapters midway through where the sheer volume of molecules named becomes somewhat overwhelming and I had to fight myself not to skip to a more interesting bit。 It's hard to see how this could be avoided - but it does remain an issue。We emerge back into the sunlight of comprehensibility and interest， though。 In this book， Nick Lane challenges us to see the nature of life differently - not dismissing genetics， but making it an equal partner with the physical and chemical processes that keep life going。 A challenge is even presented to the way that biology is taught - Lane sometimes points out aspects of traditional biology teaching that are simply wrong by modern standards。 But what keeps us engaged is the author's enthusiasm and insider insights that make this far more than the kind of simplified textbook that is the way many scientists see popular science。 It's a fascinating book。 。。。more
Steve
，