The Vital Question Audiobook By Nick Lane cover art

The Vital Question

Energy, Evolution, and the Origins of Complex Life

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The Vital Question

By: Nick Lane
Narrated by: Kevin Pariseau
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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. Biological Sciences Biology Evolution Evolution & Genetics Science Thought-Provoking Natural History
Fascinating Scientific Concepts • Compelling Evolutionary Theory • Excellent Narration • Engaging Biochemical Explanations
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What made the experience of listening to The Vital Question the most enjoyable?

The author's concise, entertaining, and intelligent presentation of the material. And then Kevin Pariseau gave it some further propellant in his slick narration.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Vital Question?

This is not one of those "memorable moments" presentations. Instead, it was a compelling and multi-layered treatise, building basic science first then expanding eloquently into the great questions under study, the main one of course being a discussion of how life might have emerged out of inorganic structure. I really enjoyed his explanation of the bioenergetics behind each hypothesis. On the other hand one must bear in mind that much of this material is speculative in nature due to the great gulf of deep time that lies between the emergence of life and the present moment.

Which character – as performed by Kevin Pariseau – was your favorite?

The mighty mitochondrion, of course.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, a rare breath of fresh air compared to a lot of books.

Any additional comments?

Kevin Pariseau took this brilliant material and made it smooth and enjoyable. I had to nick one star off a complete five star rating in all categories because of a few moments of redundant rambling that occurred here and there, but these interludes were rare.

Top Tier Presentation

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How did life come to exist? What are the mechanisms that keep it going? Could there possibly be life on another world? This book answers these questions and more in an entertaining and engaging way. Although a basic understanding of cellular biology is helpful, Lane always reviews basic principles before diving into the meat of his story. I would probably have to read it again to understand half of the details he provides, but understanding everything is not necessary to get the big picture and still learn a lot! Definitely worth a credit.

Fascinating!

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Similar to The Selfish Gene, this book systematically asks and answers deep questions, leading you backward through the evolution of ancient single-celled organisms and how they might have combined to form primitive multi-celled organisms. The author brilliantly explains how geochemistry predates the biochemistry of organisms, and how recent advances in genetics and tracing the flow of energy help to explain recent versions of the tree of life.

Mind-blowing explanation of evolution

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the power plants that are within each of our cells, our mitochondria, are a wonder of the universe...this book is pedantic, but mind expanding if you are patient and let nick lane try to answer the vital question.

energy is the key driver of evolution.

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Interesting approach to the origins and evolution of life. Also, insightful ideas about reproduction, ageing, diseases, degeneration, and death. I struggled following the book thru audio, even with the pdf figures. This is another book that will requires reading. The audio was a good firt-cut for such complex and fascinating subject.

New answers for an old question.

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Fascinating. Awe inspiring. These are the words that come to mind when the author attempts to understand and explain the complexity, intricacy, and low probability of the first cell let alone complex eukaryotic life. This book takes you on a ride back to the dawn of the first cell, but goes where few other works dare go. The author theorizes how, under the constraints of chemistry and energy, life can start and evovle. A more "pure" scientist may critique that many of the ideas in this book are just that, ideas. However, I don't think that takes anything away from the beautiful tapestry this author has weaved and brought out from the dark recesses of human understanding for all to marvel at.

How every form of life came to be

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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.

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

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Very very detailed. I feel like an expert on cellular mechanisms now. A interesting book that will have you hitting the rewind button...when you "zone-out" and start thinking about what to cook for dinner, or if you prefer soft or strong toilet paper. Suddenly you have to rewind to find out where the mind-drift happened. But, the fact that I'm so curious about the sentences I missed testifies to the insightfulness of this book. To spoil the ending...the mitochondria did it.

Deep, Interesting and Complex

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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.

Super interesting/important topic; very technical

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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.

I wish more books were written this way.

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