Nick Lane is in the vanguard of scientists now tracing its ramifications across the tree of life. This conflicted merry-go-round of energy and matter has long taunted true understanding. At its core is a cycle of reactions that transforms inorganic molecules into the building blocks of life, and the reverse - the iconic Krebs cycle that sits at the heart of metabolism. In Transformer, Nick Lane captures a scientific renaissance that is hiding in plain sight. The answer could turn our picture of life on Earth upside down. What really animates cells and sets them apart from non-living matter? This question goes back to the flawed geniuses and heroic origins of modern biology. Yet in terms of information there is no difference between a living cell and one that died a moment ago. 'One of my favourite science writers' Bill Gatesįor decades, biology has been dominated by information - the power of genes.
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