by Nick Lane
First published 2015
Nick Lane examines the fundamental puzzle at biology's center. For two and a half billion years, bacteria and other single-celled life forms populated Earth without evolving beyond their basic structure. Then complex life appeared just once. Every complex organism from fungi to humans shares traits like sexual reproduction that bacteria lack. Lane argues that energy holds the key to this transformation. All earthly life operates on electrical potential equivalent to lightning. Lane connects evolutionary theory with recent discoveries about energy and cellular biology. He traces life's development from its earliest origins through the emergence of multicellular creatures. The book explains how energy constraints shaped the jump from simple to complex life forms and why this leap happened only once in Earth's history. Lane offers readers insight into the biological processes that govern our existence and mortality.
Genres: science, non-fiction, biology, academic, history-of-science, science-nature
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: academic, scientific-discovery
369 pages · Kindle Edition · W. W. Norton & Company