nick lane oxygen the molecule that made the world

The book explains far more than the size ofĪncient insects: it shows how oxygen underpins the origin of biological complexity, the birth of photosynthesis, the sudden evolution of animals, the need for two sexes, the accelerated ageing of cloned animals like Dolly the sheep, and the surprisingly long lives of bats and birds.ĭrawing on this grand evolutionary canvas, Oxygen offers fresh perspectives on our own lives and deaths,Įxplaining modern killer diseases, why we age, and what we can do about it. Ways in which oxygen spurred the evolution of life and death. Oxygen takes the reader on an enthralling journey, as gripping as a thriller, as it unravels the unexpected Yet ifĪtmospheric oxygen reached 35 per cent in the Carboniferous, why did it promote exuberant growth, Reactive forms of oxygen, known as free radicals, are thought to cause ageing in people. Fruit flies raised at twice normal atmospheric levels of oxygen live half as long as their Divers breathing pure oxygen at depth suffer from convulsionsĪnd lung injury. The strange and profound effects that oxygen has had on the evolution of life pose a riddle, which this book High oxygen levels may also explain the global firestorm that contributed to theĭemise of the dinosaurs after the asteroid impact. Giant spiders, tree-ferns, marine rock formations and fossil charcoalsĪll tell the same story. Researchers claim they could have flown only if the air had contained more oxygen than today. Three hundred million years ago, in Carboniferous times, dragonflies grew as big as seagulls, with wingspans of

Oxygen has had extraordinary effects on life.

Nick lane oxygen the molecule that made the world