Primrose Kitten

Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the meaning of life (Oxford Landmark Science).

We’re taught at some point in high school about how the mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell. It is something that was shown to us, and we simply agreed with it and moved on.

Nowadays, it is a well-known fact mitochondrion is, in fact, the powerhouse of the cell, but have you ever stopped and wonder what does that mean to you? What does it mean to have millions of mitochondria living in each cell of your body? You probably haven’t.

And the truth is, most people haven’t wondered that either, or that was until author, doctor and biochemist Nick Lane decided to not only pose this question but answer it in the form of a brilliant book.

Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the meaning of life, is Nick Lane’s answer to the pressing question “Are mitochondria that important in human evolution?” and to give you the short answer: Yes, they are. They are incredibly important.

This book, much like the title states it, talks about how (and most importantly, why) the mitochondria are the meaning of life. Through the book, author Nick Lane manages to show us several types of research, including his own, proving how without the mitochondria, we wouldn’t even exist… At least not how we are today.

The mitochondria are responsible, in many ways, for human evolution. It is thanks to that microscopic powerhouse that we aren’t a single cell bacteria anymore, but full-on humans with working bodies.

Through the book, we are shown just how the mitochondria is a vital part of everything that is happening to our bodies, including diseases, ageing, death and even evolution… It is truly amazing how many things depend on that little powerhouse inside of our cells.

Author Nick Lane delivers a great job with this book, managing to talk about a quite complex topic in such an energetic, almost unapologetic way, that it will catch your attention right away.