Transformer The deep chemistry of life and death

Review by Booklist Review

Lane, professor of evolutionary biology at University College London and author of The Vital Question (2015), examines the foundational relationships within the flow of energy, life, disease, and death. Beginning with an overview of the Krebs cycle, the sequence of reactions that generate cellular energy, Lane deconstructs it by reviewing a more ancient process. Lane vibrantly describes what is sometimes dubbed the reverse Krebs cycle, that is, how primeval bacteria drive growth to create "the universal precursors of life." After investigating fundamentals of metabolism and respiration, Lane takes readers on an exhilarating journey into the biology, chemistry, and physics underlying processes that eventually transform such materials as carbon and various gases into sentient beings. Life, however, will ultimately end, and on this point Lane details how energy cycles break down with age, which may eventually lead to cancer, Alzheimer's, and other diseases. Closing with a fascinating look at the concept of flux and its connection to human consciousness, Transformer is a complex yet accessible, illuminating, and thrilling exploration of the vitality and elemental mysteries of our existence.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Biochemist Lane (The Vital Question) digs into the "merry-go-round of energy and matter known as the Krebs cycle" in this dense and demanding outing. "For decades, biology has been dominated by information--the power of genes," Lane writes, and aims to shift the focus instead to energy, which he writes "conjures... genes themselves into existence and still determines their activity, even in our information-soaked lives." To that end, he devotes chapters to topics related to the process involved in cellular respiration known as the Krebs cycle, discussing how spontaneous chemical reactions in the heat and pressure of undersea vents could have generated the basic building blocks of life in Earth's early days; how the Krebs cycle is involved in cancer; what the cycle can reveal about ageing; and proposing that energy "has to correspond in some way to the stream of consciousness." Unfortunately, he assumes readers will come equipped with a background in chemistry, suggesting at one point, for example, that "you can probably see where I'm going with this" before concluding that "when forwards flux through the Krebs cycle is impaired, cancer cells can make citrate by converting a-ketoglutarate into isocitrate, then citrate, through reverse flux." General readers can give this one a pass. (July)

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

An enthusiastic, up-to-date overview of the biochemistry of life. Lane, a professor of evolutionary biology and author of The Vital Question and Life Ascending, reminds us that energy flow animates cells and sets them apart from inanimate matter. All creatures produce energy, and all living tissues consume it; the second law of thermodynamics assures that this process is imperfect. The vicissitudes of life unravel the delicate symbiosis between living tissues, and hypoxia, infections, inflammation, and mutations all hamper energy flow. "Tissue function eventually becomes strained, biosynthetic pathways falter, ATP synthesis declines and the delicate web of symbiosis between tissues begins to fray," writes the author. "And so we age." Central to this "deep chemistry" is the Krebs cycle, a complex series of reactions whereby almost all cells break down carbohydrates, fats, and proteins to produce energy, with carbon dioxide and hydrogen as waste products. The process was discovered in the 1930s, and Lane does not conceal his amazement as he recounts the revelation, a generation later, that some primitive cells run the Krebs cycle in reverse, using carbon dioxide and hydrogen to make organic molecules. Furthermore, this reaction only occurs in the absence of oxygen and isn't discouraged by the heat and toxic chemical conditions present on the young Earth and in deep-ocean hydrothermal vents today. As the mechanism for the primordial metabolism of life, it's a prime candidate. Lane excels in describing the history of his subject, which includes many obsessive and not always magnanimous geniuses. The cycle itself includes a vast, complicated collection of chemical reactions that scientists are still exploring. "Most of the individual steps I'm going to show here," writes the author, "are not 'real,' as the whole series occurs virtually instantaneously in a sort of soft-shoe shuffle." A first-rate writer, Lane explains these concepts with a minimum of jargon, but readers unfamiliar with college biology and chemistry will struggle. An exciting new approach to the science of life, but it's not for the faint of heart. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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