Oxygen. The Molecule that made the World

Nick Lane

384 pages, parution le 12/12/2002

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Résumé

Oxygen is the engine of life and evolution. This book explores the impact that oxygen has had on Earth, tracing the history of life from the very beginning. It explains the rise of animals and plants, the origin of two sexes, and the evolution of ageing and death. Above all, Oxygen offers fresh perspectives on our own lives, explaining why we age and what we can do about it. Readership: General educated lay public, and anybody who is interested in an up-to-date, scientific explanation of ageing, and what can be done about it; university students of biology, chemistry and medicine, and interested sixth-form students; professional biologists, earth scientists and doctors.

Offers fresh perspectives on our own lives and deaths, explaining why we age and what we can do about it
Draws on the role of oxygen in evolution to develop a new explanation of ageing, the Double Agent Theory of ageing
Conveys scientific concepts in a simple and accessible way, through the use of clear language, an engaging tone, and vivid analogies
Shows how oxygen drove the evolution of sophisticated cells, multicellular organisms, large animals and plants, photosynthesis, predators, giant insects, two sexes and ageing
Links the extremes of the living world, from bacterial tolerance of cosmic radiation, to the organisation of our own bodies, to the extinction of the dinosaurs in a global firestorm
Panoramic view of life on Earth drawing on geology, cosmology, chemistry, biology and medicine
A captivating vision of contemporary science and a humane synthesis of our place in nature

Contents

Introduction: Elixir of Life - and Death
In the Beginning there was no Oxygen: The Origins and Importance of Oxygen
Silence of the Aeons: Three Billion Years of Microbial Evolution
Fuse to the Cambrian Explosion: Snowball Earth, Environmental Change and the First Animals
The Bolsover Dragonfly: Oxygen and the Rise of the Giants
Treachery in the Air: Oxygen Poisoning and X-Irradiation: A Mechanism in Common
Green Planet: Radiation and the Beginnings of Photosynthesis
Looking for LUCA: Last Ancestor in the Age Before Oxygen
Portrait of a Paradox: Vitamin C and the Many Faces of an Antioxidant
The Antioxidant Machine: A Hundred and One Ways of Living with Oxygen
Sex and the Art of Bodily Maintenance: Trade-offs in the Evolution of Ageing
Eat! Or You'll Live Forever: The Triangle of Food, Sex, and Longevity
Gender Bender! The Rate of Living and the Need for Sexes
Beyond Genes and Destiny: The Double Agent Theory of Ageing and Disease
Life, Death and Oxygen: Lessons From Evolution on the Future of Ageing

L'auteur - Nick Lane

Honorary Research Fellow, University of London

Caractéristiques techniques

	PAPIER
Éditeur(s)	Oxford University Press
Auteur(s)	Nick Lane
Parution	12/12/2002
Nb. de pages	384
Format	16 x 24
Couverture	Relié
Poids	717g
Intérieur	Noir et Blanc
EAN13	9780198508038