Transformer: The Deep Chemistry of Life and Death

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In a footnote, the author confides that “probably only a tenth of what I wanted to write about actually made it into the book.” On behalf of humanities majors everywhere, I can only say thank goodness. International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), which meets annually. The ICMJE created the Lane notes that "cancer is a disease of the genome is too close to dogma." Different mutations are found in different parts of many tumours, often with little if any overlap, implying that the mutations accumulated during the growth of the tumor, rather than triggering its inception. Moreover, the same oncogene mutations are often found in normal tissues surrounding a tumor,

If that’s as clear to your ears as a morning hello, have I got a book for you! Unfortunately, it’s not to me: The tour of the chem lab during my high-school orientation included an eyewash station to save your sight from an errant spray of acid and a furled blanket with which you could smother yourself in case you caught fire. I’ve given chemistry a wide berth ever since. Mitochondrial DNA inherited from the mother. The idea of mother's curse is that as male and female metabolisms differ, some mitochondrial mutations could be neutral for the female but bad for the male. Genes in the nucleus can evolve to fix problems with mitochondrial DNA in males. Crosses between species can cause ‘hybrid breakdown’, attributed to incompatibilities between mitochondrial and nuclear genes.His second book, Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life (OUP, 2005) is an exploration of the extraordinary effects that mitochondria have had on the evolution of complex life. It was selected as one of The Economist's Books of the Year for 2005, and shortlisted for the 2006 Royal Society Aventis Science Book Prize and the Times Higher Young Academic Author of the Year Award. Moving electrical charges generate an electromagnetic field, and it may be that the fluctuating electrical patterns of the EEG, or electroencephalogram, reflect the activity of the membranes involved in respiration. An electromagnetic field can entrain water, and all the molecules within a cell, into a state of sympathetic oscillations. Might that resonance state feel like something? As we get older, our respiratory performance declines slowly. The rate of respiration is depressed the most at complex I, the largest and most complex of the respiratory complexes. Complex I is the main source of reactive oxygen species (ROS) from mitochondria, and the rate at which these escape (ROS flux) tends to creep up with age. Also, complex 1 is the only entry point for NADH. So the decline in complex I activity with age means that it’s no longer so easy to oxidise NADH. 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.

This is probably the best book on biology (and more specifically biochemistry) that I've ever read. The Krebs cycle is a set of nine reactions arranged in a circular fashion, each generating intermediate organic chemicals. In respiration, the primary output is ATP, but some of the intermediates are drawn off as precursors for the synthesis of amino acids, fats, sugars and more. Transformer is a complex yet accessible, illuminating, and thrilling exploration of the vitality and elemental mysteries of our existence.

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In glycosis, pyruvate is converted to lactate, allowing the cell to produce small amounts of ATP in the absence of oxygen. Warburg noted the propensity of cancers to ferment glucose in the presence of oxygen. However, many cancers don’t depend on aerobic glycolysis at all, normal tissues are also capable of aerobic glycolysis, and stem cells typically depend on ATP from aerobic glycolysis for their energy needs. To grasp the Krebs cycle is to fathom the deep coherence of biology. It connects the first photosynthetic bacteria with our peculiar cells. It links the emergence of consciousness with the inevitability of death. And it puts the subtle differences between individuals in the same grand story as the rise of the living world itself. Lane is British and makes no concessions to American English. Experiments work “first go,” not first try. We fly in aeroplanes and put on jumpers instead of sweaters. And in the fall, perhaps we engage in a programme of maths or simply enjoy the tonne of colours in the trees. We are so aware of the vast amounts of information stored in our genes, that we sometimes overlook the obvious. There’s no difference in the information content between a living organism and one that died a moment ago. What stopped was metabolism. What’s new is that the reactions that make up the Krebs cycle and onwards can occur spontaneously. The Krebs cycle is the engine of life, turning gases into living things. Genes emerged from this metabolic whirl. But now we’re faced with a strange situation: the Krebs cycle simultaneously creates and destroys, giving it a yin and yang that (I argue) still dictates how our genes work, including our risk of diseases. 2. Metabolism gives meaning to genetic information.

After reading this book, one will understand how this cycle of matter (eponymously named in the 1930s after Sir Hans Adolf Krebs) is a sound explanation for the origin of life, lifespan, and the end of life. You will learn how the whole beautiful process can be understood in terms of physical chemistry, which is a unique sweet spot in the massive space of possible scientific explanations. It is a remarkable story. A thrilling tour of the remarkable stories behind the discoveries of some of life’s key metabolic pathways and mechanisms. [Lane] lays bare the human side of science… The book brings to life the chemistry that brings us to life. Life started out using the Krebs cycle to convert gases into living cells—the engine of biosynthesis. But modern animals use it for biosynthesis and to generate energy. They can’t spin the cycle in both directions at the same time, so how did they manage? A thrilling tour of the remarkable stories behind the discoveries of some of life’s key metabolic pathways and mechanisms. He lays bare the human side of science… The book brings to life the chemistry that brings us to life. Joseph Moran, Science

Chapter extracts

Plants make use of rubisco for photosynthesis. Rubisco is inefficient and is as likely to fix CO2 as O2. CO2 levels were high when the molecule evolved, but even today the buildup of CO2 within the leaf causes crops to lose as much as one quarter of their yield. Amazingly, rubisco now turns out to be widespread in ancient bacteria, doing a totally different job: degrading sugars derived from the RNA of other cells, to support growth fueled by eating other cells. Amazing! Takes science writing to a new level ... with soaring prose but uncompromising on scientific detail, Transformer made me think about life on earth in a completely different way’ Alternately admiring and critical, unvarnished, and a closely detailed account of a troubled innovator. The chemistry in this book is made more accessible by the narrative elements, but it sure as hell (pardon my French) isn't a layperson's level of, let's say high school chemistry. The chemical reactions that he speaks about here are achievable only under very strict laboratory conditions, with the right ingredients, enzymes, and environmental conditions, like pressure and temperature. Or, as it happens, in every one of the cells in our body. The green sulfur bacterium Chlorobium thiosulfatophilum lives by photosynthesis in stinking, sulfurous waters such as hot springs. It reverses the Krebs cycle by using ferredoxin which has a biologically unparalleled ability to press electrons onto even the most unreactive molecules. However, ferredoxin reacts spontaneously with oxygen, becoming readily oxidized by even low levels of the gas. So in the presence of oxygen the reverse Krebs cycle usually grinds to a halt. Bacteria that use it today are normally restricted to environments with very low oxygen levels.

of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) recommends the following citation style, which is the now nearly universally Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) are such vital physiological signals that cells go out of their way to keep ROS flux within tight physiological limits. Redox tone – the balance of electron sources and sinks in a cell – is as critical to homeostasis (our normal chemical balance) as temperature or acidity. Any damage to the respiratory chain will tend to increase ROS flux. If I have understood the author's thesis (and this is not 100% certain, but I think so), it could be summarized thusly: to help authors and editors create and distribute accurate, clear, easily accessible reports of biomedical studies.

From the renowned biochemist and author of The Vital Question , an illuminating inquiry into the Krebs cycle and the origins of life.