"One of the deepest, most illuminating books about the history of life to have been published in recent years." -- The Economist

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 form. 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?

• We started tracking this book on May 8, 2015.
• This book was $14.87 when we started tracking it.
• The price of this book has changed 164 times in the past 3,850 days.
• The current price of this book is $9.99 last checked 5 hours ago.
• This book is at its lowest price in the past 90 days.
• This lowest price this book has been offered at in the past year is $9.49.
• The lowest price to date was $6.50 last reached on March 16, 2017.
• This book has been $6.50 2 times since we started tracking it.
• The highest price to date was $15.99 last reached on April 30, 2016.
• This book has been $15.99 5 times since we started tracking it.

• Science & MathBiological SciencesBiochemistry
• Science & MathBiological SciencesBiology

• Publication Date: July 13, 2015
• Text-to-Speech: Disabled
• Lending: Disabled
• Print Length: 369 Pages
• File Size: 51 KB