The Vital Question

Energy, Evolution, and the Origins of Complex Life

By: Nick Lane

Narrated by: Kevin Pariseau

Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

To explain the mystery of how life evolved on Earth, Nick Lane explores the deep link between energy and genes.

The Earth teems with life: in its oceans, forests, skies, and cities. Yet there's a black hole at the heart of biology. We do not know why complex life is the way it is or, for that matter, how life first began. In The Vital Question, award-winning author and biochemist Nick Lane radically reframes evolutionary history, putting forward a solution to conundrums that have puzzled generations of scientists.

For two and a half billion years, from the very origins of life, single-celled organisms such as bacteria evolved without changing their basic forms. Then, on just one occasion in four billion years, they made the jump to complexity. All complex life, from mushrooms to man, shares puzzling features, such as sex, which are unknown in bacteria. How and why did this radical transformation happen? The answer, Lane argues, lies in energy: All life on Earth lives off a voltage with the strength of a lightning bolt.

Building on the pillars of evolutionary theory, Lane's hypothesis draws on cutting-edge research into the link between energy and cell biology in order to deliver a compelling account of evolution from the very origins of life to the emergence of multicellular organisms while offering deep insights into our own lives and deaths.

Both rigorous and enchanting, The Vital Question provides a solution to life's vital question: Why are we as we are, and indeed, why are we here at all?

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2015 Nick Lane (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Ouch!

I like popular science books – over the years they have been my favourite reads and listens. I’m always looking out for new ones, so when the author of the seminal popular science book, ‘The Selfish Gene’, recommended this popular science book in a newspaper article I read I jumped onto Audible to download it. The only problem is that, for me, it wasn’t popular science, it was rocket science.

I’d like to tell you what the book is about, but I’m not really sure. I’m currently on my second listen because I’m determined to try to understand it – but I think I’m losing this battle.
The author tries very hard to make it comprehensible to the intelligent lay person with a bit of scientific knowledge, but either I don’t meet these criteria, or he fails. There are lengthy passages all about the biochemistry taking place inside a cell and I was totally lost. Here’s what I think I did sort of understand:

Life started with single celled creatures (prokaryotes) and then suddenly multi-celled creatures (eukaryotes) came on the scene. People have always thought this was a straightforward progression as the single celled-creatures would have joined together to form multi-celled ones but if that was the case you would expect to find bacteria joining up to form multicellular life forms all over the place, but that isn’t the case. Every single eukaryote (all plants, animals, birds, fish, fungus etc) alive today traces its origin back to a single common ancestor (or a single colony in any case). So it must be really hard for prokaryotes to join together like this and it must have taken very rare and special circumstances.

The fundamental problem seems to be a lack of energy. If a prokaryote gets bigger, then it can no longer transfer energy efficiently because the machinery for this is near the cell walls, and this leaves a giant blob of useless soup in the middle of the cell that can’t perform metabolism because it’s too far from the cell walls where the energy is. So that limits the size of single celled organisms. Prokaryotes don’t have mitochondria, and these organelles seem to be the magic trick that appears to make multicellular life possible.

The author argues that the most likely place where mitochondria could have evolved is in underwater alkaline hydrothermal vents. The most incomprehensible sections of the book are where he explains why these chemical environments are so well suited to this purpose.

So it was a rare event that’s happened only once (successfully) in the history of life on this planet, and it could theoretically also happen occasionally on other planets, because physics is the same throughout the universe.

I think…I think that’s what he’s saying. Anyway, judging by the reviews, other people have managed to understand it, so if you think you know your cellular biochemistry then I’m sure it’s an excellent book. If you don’t, then I wouldn’t recommend it.

Really interesting and well presented new thoughts

A great presentation of the biochemical basis of evolution, why it's almost inevitable from first principles... but that the step from prokaryotes (bacteria, etc) to eukaryotes (complex cells with a nucleus, mitochondria, etc) was probably singular (happened only once successfully) in the past ... may the proton flux power always be with you!

Intensely Informative, Missing a Story

I don't ever mean to disrespect the research and professed findings of dedicated scientists, but I do feel like Lane misses the mark in this book. There is no issue with the info contained within "The Vital Question." Unfortunately, for every minutia of relevant knowledge, there is the ever looming threat of falling asleep. Nick Lane fails to provide a compelling narrative to accompany his facts and this book reads more like a college textbook than intriguing non-fiction. I appreciate Lane for opening my mind to the concept that energy and complex life are more deeply related than current research has predicted, but his method in communicating his message could use some polish.

I am a eukaryotes that decided to merge w/ another

very detailed biology book and have a very interesting end that enlighten your view about life on Earth.

Fascinating read

A highly technical but fascinating and thorough hypothesis on the origins of life. Satisfying propositions for how we came to be and the processes underlying the most important aspects of our existence

Very Informative

Not being a biology, chemistry, or physics major in college and having had only the introductory courses in each I will have to listen to this book several times to realize it's full impact and depth. It certainly helps one to realize the complexity of the cosmos in which we live. Although, to really understand the knowledge it imparts I am going to not only listen to it many more times but to stop ever so often and truly attempt to assimilate what I hear.

makes me want to review biology

being well out of college and medical school, I haven't had much interest in reviewing cell biology and biochemistry, but this book has made me purchase more on that subject, as it relates it all to the origin of life and bigger questions.

One of the most fascinating, albeit complicated, books I've read

If you've ever wondered how it all started and how scientists could even possibly begin to speculate, this book will explain it all. You've heard of the "primordial goo" I'm sure. This book explains exactly what that means. It explains how we go from nothing, to something, to something slightly more complex, to something complex enough for natural selection to kick in; all while explaining how no laws of thermodynamics (and the tendency toward entropy and disorder instead of order) were violated. No pieces are left out for you to guess at. He explains it all and the research behind it. Like building Legos, you can see pieces falling into place, all leading to the evolution of us. Really was an amazing read.

Super interesting/important topic; very technical

This book was quite hard to follow as a non-scientist. But the topic is very interesting. I’m glad I read it, even though I think I only understood about 50% of it. I wish someone would write a more accessible version of this for non-scientists.

I wish more books were written this way.

Many people would say this book assumed the reader to be beyond 101 stuff. I’m self taught and delighted in the fact that I had to listen to this book three times and will probably listen three more times - it’s that well done - I pulls me in to a deeper understanding every time I listen. I wish more books assumed this level of understanding. I wish more books were written this way.