Transformer: The Deep Chemistry of Life and Death

author: Nick Lane

related books: Oxygen, The Vital Question, Power, Sex, Suicide

The main takeaway

A living cell and one that just died have the same DNA. Put differently, both cells have precisely the same information content. Just as the flow of people and goods, rather than the arrangement of the buildings, determines that a city is alive, the fluxes of metabolites and energy characterise a living cell. Modern biology is often solely discussed in terms of information. In "Transformer", Lane argues that metabolism is at least as important. This viewpoint of "follow the goods" is also emphasised on a completely different scale by Vaclav Smil in 📚How the World Really Works.

In my opinion, Nick Lane is the best biology author out there. Lane has an unmatched talent for making seemingly boring topics (Transformer mainly covers the importance of the Krebs cycle) and making them exciting. Read this work and realise why the citric acid cycle is the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything. Within these pages, Lane depicts the Krebs cycle as the heart of the metabolism, linking it with the origin of life, \(CO_2\) assimilation, cancer, ageing and even consciousness.

The key insight is that the Krebs cycle links catabolism (degradation of metabolites for energy) and anabolism (synthesis of more complex metabolites for growth). It is a checkpoint for respiration and acts as a hub to start the synthesis of all building blocks of life: carbohydrates, lipids, nucleotides, and amino acids. Cancer cells, for example, promote their anabolic power by mainly using fermentation for energy. This process is known as the Warburg effect. It can even run in reverse, taking up \(CO_2\) as an alternative to the Calvin cycle for carbon fixation. Because the Krebs cycle controls reparation, it also regulates the electric potential on the membranes of the mitochondria (the topic of Lanes' equally brilliant book "The Vital Question"). The last ( speculative though exciting) chapter discusses the emerging biology of electric fields and their relation with consciousness and morphogenesis (see also the work of Michael Levin on bioelectricity).

In addition to the pure science, Lane also paints the history of the unravelling of these biochemical processes. It conveys the brilliance and resourcefulness of the pioneers but does not skip the quarrels and small-mindedness.

Who is this for?

Honestly, not for the faint of heart, as this can be a highly technical popular science book. To follow Lane's dissemination, you likely need to have followed a course in biochemistry at some point in your life. If you have, you are in for a treat! It is a joy to rediscover a topic previously filed under "dreadfully dull" and realise its profound implications in life and death.