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Hepimiz Yıldız Tozuyuz : Büyük Patlama’dan Dünkü Akşam Yemeğine Bedenimizdeki Atomların Hikâyesi
Cansız nesnelerden tamamen farklı olduğunuzu düşünebilirsiniz, ama sonuçta bizim bedenlerimiz de evrende var olan elementlerden oluşuyor. Eğer 70 kg iseniz, 10 kg kömür oluşturacak kadar karbon, bir tuzluğu dolduracak miktarda tuz, birkaç yüzme havuzunu dezenfekte edecek ölçüde klor ve 7,5 santimlik bir çivi üretmeye yetecek kadar demir taşıyorsunuz demektir. Peki bu elementler nereden geldi ve bizi nasıl oluşturdu?
Evrendeki tüm maddenin –çevremizdeki ve içimizdeki her şeyin– nihai bir doğum günü var: Büyük Patlama. Dan Levitt, atomlarımızın Büyük Patlama ile başlayan uzun yolculukları sırasında nasıl yıldızlara dönüştüklerini, gezegenimizin biçimlenmesini sağladıklarını, ardından bu cansız atomların hayret verici şekillerde birleşerek nasıl canlılığı yarattığını ve nihayetinde bizim ortaya çıkmamızı mümkün kıldığını, dahası bedenlerimizin hücrelerimizdeki muazzam mekanizmalarla tabaklarımızdaki yiyecekleri nasıl bize dönüştürdüğünü anlatıyor.
Ama yaşamın hikâyesi olduğu kadar, onun sırlarını çözme yolunda önemli adımlar atmamızı sağlayan biliminsanlarının da hikâyesi bu – kıran kırana rekabetlerin, takıntıların, hayal kırıklıklarının, ani aydınlanmaların ve elbette safi tesadüflerin önemli bir yer tuttuğu heyecanlı bir bilim tarihi anlatısı.
Usta bir hikâye anlatıcısı olan Levitt’in akıcı bir dille kaleme aldığı bu kitabı bilime ve bilim tarihine meraklı tüm okurlarımızın severek okuyacağını umuyoruz.
Evrendeki tüm maddenin –çevremizdeki ve içimizdeki her şeyin– nihai bir doğum günü var: Büyük Patlama. Dan Levitt, atomlarımızın Büyük Patlama ile başlayan uzun yolculukları sırasında nasıl yıldızlara dönüştüklerini, gezegenimizin biçimlenmesini sağladıklarını, ardından bu cansız atomların hayret verici şekillerde birleşerek nasıl canlılığı yarattığını ve nihayetinde bizim ortaya çıkmamızı mümkün kıldığını, dahası bedenlerimizin hücrelerimizdeki muazzam mekanizmalarla tabaklarımızdaki yiyecekleri nasıl bize dönüştürdüğünü anlatıyor.
Ama yaşamın hikâyesi olduğu kadar, onun sırlarını çözme yolunda önemli adımlar atmamızı sağlayan biliminsanlarının da hikâyesi bu – kıran kırana rekabetlerin, takıntıların, hayal kırıklıklarının, ani aydınlanmaların ve elbette safi tesadüflerin önemli bir yer tuttuğu heyecanlı bir bilim tarihi anlatısı.
Usta bir hikâye anlatıcısı olan Levitt’in akıcı bir dille kaleme aldığı bu kitabı bilime ve bilim tarihine meraklı tüm okurlarımızın severek okuyacağını umuyoruz.
400 pages, Paperback
Published January 15, 2025
189 people are currently reading
4362 people want to read
About the author
Dan Levitt
1 book52 followersDan Levitt spent over 25 years writing, producing, and directing award-winning documentaries for National Geographic, Discover, Science, PBS, among others. His film topics included how Galileo, Newton, Einstein, and Hawking made their greatest discoveries, the archeology of Custer’s Last Stand, and the scientific search for alien life. Dan began his career as a Peace Corps volunteer, teaching high school physics and biology in Kenya. He lives in Cambridge with his wife, two children, and their dog, Maxwell Smart.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 115 reviews
March 16, 2023
Brilliant. Rating is always subjective and it depends on what the reviewer knows. While reviewing this book I feel 5 is not sufficient and I have give more. The author is an amazing storyteller and the book has so much information that I never knew and also did not expect or imagine while starting it. The emotion I experienced described best is AWE. This is definitely one of the best book I have read till date. I don’t have to explain more on what the book is as the title says it all - Big Bang to you. I am thankful to the app and other reviewers to help me pick this book to read.
February 15, 2023
This book is fun ride from the beginning of time navigating through many invisible details that make the world what it is. A big part of the fun is the stories about the individuals who found ways to see clearly into the past and into realms that are too large or too small for the senses.
Many of these discoveries were stumbled upon while looking for something else. Many were ridiculed and suppressed by the prior generation of great minds. The stories are so weird—you can’t make up stuff like this.
And when you pause to look all the way back, instead of vertigo, there is an irrefutable sense of success and humor at being part of such a universe.
Many of these discoveries were stumbled upon while looking for something else. Many were ridiculed and suppressed by the prior generation of great minds. The stories are so weird—you can’t make up stuff like this.
And when you pause to look all the way back, instead of vertigo, there is an irrefutable sense of success and humor at being part of such a universe.
February 17, 2023
5 stars. I loved this book! Levitt makes science comprehensible and entertaining. Have you ever wondered where you actually came from? Not the procreation bit but what you are made of, and how that matter actually became the stuff of our bodies and life? Levitt takes us from the Big Bang to the first forms of life to our present day selves. The book is ambitious and Levitt nails it.
December 9, 2023
Dan Levitt is a master storyteller weaving so many informative bits together so well. This book beautifully ties Physics (how atoms were created) chemistry (how atoms combine to make molecules and processes that make for complexity of life functions), and biology (cells, viruses, and evolution of life) together. It uses history to tell stories capable of being consumed as stand-alone articles.
Each one offers deeper understanding of facts that, in current teaching regimens end up as under appreciated in their magnitude at the hands of well-meaning but ineffective curricula filled with meaningless tidbits that students are required to memorize. This book does the opposite; it piques curiosity which in turn promotes enduring understanding.
Levitt has managed to synthesize such a beautiful story. He’s filled it with so much information that any student could use as a jump-off point for deeper investigation.
I appreciate Dan Levitt’s passion, humanity and brilliance. We are all better for his contribution to understanding who we, as a species are and where we came from. He is a world citizen of the first order
What’s Gotten Into You” is a collection of the greatest scientific discoveries regarding how humans came to be. I’m in awe of this story. It is something I hoped to write some day. I’ll be re-reading this for years to come.
Despite the title’s catchy play on a phrase, this book really deserves a title like, “The greatest story ever told.” Alas, others have already beat Levitt to it.
Each one offers deeper understanding of facts that, in current teaching regimens end up as under appreciated in their magnitude at the hands of well-meaning but ineffective curricula filled with meaningless tidbits that students are required to memorize. This book does the opposite; it piques curiosity which in turn promotes enduring understanding.
Levitt has managed to synthesize such a beautiful story. He’s filled it with so much information that any student could use as a jump-off point for deeper investigation.
I appreciate Dan Levitt’s passion, humanity and brilliance. We are all better for his contribution to understanding who we, as a species are and where we came from. He is a world citizen of the first order
What’s Gotten Into You” is a collection of the greatest scientific discoveries regarding how humans came to be. I’m in awe of this story. It is something I hoped to write some day. I’ll be re-reading this for years to come.
Despite the title’s catchy play on a phrase, this book really deserves a title like, “The greatest story ever told.” Alas, others have already beat Levitt to it.
March 30, 2023
Very educational bool. I enjoyed reading it. I was very surprised to find that a catholic priest was the first to postulate the Big Bang theory. Reading the book it’s amazing the knowledge that we take for granted that didn’t exist 250 years ago. I was very surprised to learn that the fact that plants turn co2 to O2 was discovered until the early 19th century. I was even more surprised to learn that the chemical process for photosynthesis wasn’t understood until 1950 or 1960. The book makes it very apparent that our knowledge in the physical sciences(biology, chemistry and physics) is increasing at an exponential rate. I haven’t look at chemistry in almost 50 years and even then I only had one semester of college chemistry and 1 year of high school biology; There were parts of the book that while I could understand qualitatively, my lack of chemistry and biology knowledge hindered my quantitative understanding.
It is a very interesting perspective
It is a very interesting perspective
January 21, 2025
Wow, I loved this book so much. It was an actual, physical book that I picked up probably 100 times before finishing. So I definitely feel a sense of accomplishment in finally finishing it.
As I get older, I find I’m having this increasing thirst for knowledge—I want to know everything! This was a fun trip back to what felt like chemistry, biology, history, and physics classes. We started at 13.8 billion years ago, before space and time as we know it, and followed the Big Bang to the formation of the solar system and the Earth (I had no idea that the prevailing theory is that most of our water came from asteroids), to the wondrous existence of Cyanobacteria, our first ancestors, literally creating the air we breathe, to plants and their remarkable ability to use the energy from the sun and the minerals from the earth to construct and sustain the tiny building blocks making animal life possible. And then the beautiful, miraculous cells that make up you and me (there were so many moments I had to stop and look up what were such huge breakthroughs—like Photo 51 of DNA using x-ray crystallography in 1952, or the the first time scientists were able to get a peek inside of the human cell using electron microscopes in 1945). I have learned much of this before, but I couldn’t appreciate it the way I do now. I wish I could go back to school! There’s just so so much going on, it’s impossible not to take it for granted, but I really enjoyed getting the chance to probe deeper.
This was also a fascinating look at how cognitive biases played out in some of the most brilliant minds that have ever existed. It took a lot of courage and thick skin to be a heterodox thinker, and being able to collaborate and admit mistakes was a super power.
I am amazed at how rudimentary the tools were, and yet these people with their imaginations and quest for understanding were able to advance human knowledge by incredible degrees. It blows my mind that people were able to formulate mathematical equations and theories, based on careful observations and logic, that we are now able to see physical evidence for (Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity and the Big Bang being one example).
I finished this book feeling so much awe and a reverence for existing in this moment right now, having a little more understanding of the complexity deep down, and how I’m connected not only to every living thing, but the universe itself.
“We are a way for the cosmos to know itself.”
-Carl Sagan
As I get older, I find I’m having this increasing thirst for knowledge—I want to know everything! This was a fun trip back to what felt like chemistry, biology, history, and physics classes. We started at 13.8 billion years ago, before space and time as we know it, and followed the Big Bang to the formation of the solar system and the Earth (I had no idea that the prevailing theory is that most of our water came from asteroids), to the wondrous existence of Cyanobacteria, our first ancestors, literally creating the air we breathe, to plants and their remarkable ability to use the energy from the sun and the minerals from the earth to construct and sustain the tiny building blocks making animal life possible. And then the beautiful, miraculous cells that make up you and me (there were so many moments I had to stop and look up what were such huge breakthroughs—like Photo 51 of DNA using x-ray crystallography in 1952, or the the first time scientists were able to get a peek inside of the human cell using electron microscopes in 1945). I have learned much of this before, but I couldn’t appreciate it the way I do now. I wish I could go back to school! There’s just so so much going on, it’s impossible not to take it for granted, but I really enjoyed getting the chance to probe deeper.
This was also a fascinating look at how cognitive biases played out in some of the most brilliant minds that have ever existed. It took a lot of courage and thick skin to be a heterodox thinker, and being able to collaborate and admit mistakes was a super power.
I am amazed at how rudimentary the tools were, and yet these people with their imaginations and quest for understanding were able to advance human knowledge by incredible degrees. It blows my mind that people were able to formulate mathematical equations and theories, based on careful observations and logic, that we are now able to see physical evidence for (Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity and the Big Bang being one example).
I finished this book feeling so much awe and a reverence for existing in this moment right now, having a little more understanding of the complexity deep down, and how I’m connected not only to every living thing, but the universe itself.
“We are a way for the cosmos to know itself.”
-Carl Sagan
August 25, 2023
“What’s Gotten Into You” is a fascinating and ambitious work of popular science that explores the elements that make up the human body and how they traveled billions of miles and across billions of years to make us who we are.
Dan Levitt, a science and history documentarian, takes readers on a journey from the Big Bang to the creation of stars, through the assembly of Planet Earth, and the formation of life as we know it. Along the way, he introduces us to the scientists who made groundbreaking discoveries and unearthed extraordinary insights into the composition of life. The book is filled with unexpected findings, fierce rivalries, obsession, heartbreak, flashes of insight, and flukes of blind luck.
One of the most striking aspects of this book is how Levitt weaves together science and history to tell a compelling story. He reconstructs the journey of our atoms across billions of years, filling readers with awe and gratitude. As Levitt says in an interview with CNN, “Sometimes when I look at people, I think, ‘Wow, you are such incredible organisms and our atoms all share the same deep history that goes back to the big bang’.”
The audiobook is well-produced and Mike Chamberlain’s narration is engaging. He brings Levitt’s words to life with his clear and expressive voice. The pacing is just right, allowing listeners to fully absorb the wealth of information presented.
Overall, “What’s Gotten Into You” is a wondrous and vastly entertaining audiobook that will leave listeners with a greater appreciation for the complexity and beauty of life. It’s a must-listen for anyone interested in science, history, or simply understanding more about our place in the universe.
Dan Levitt, a science and history documentarian, takes readers on a journey from the Big Bang to the creation of stars, through the assembly of Planet Earth, and the formation of life as we know it. Along the way, he introduces us to the scientists who made groundbreaking discoveries and unearthed extraordinary insights into the composition of life. The book is filled with unexpected findings, fierce rivalries, obsession, heartbreak, flashes of insight, and flukes of blind luck.
One of the most striking aspects of this book is how Levitt weaves together science and history to tell a compelling story. He reconstructs the journey of our atoms across billions of years, filling readers with awe and gratitude. As Levitt says in an interview with CNN, “Sometimes when I look at people, I think, ‘Wow, you are such incredible organisms and our atoms all share the same deep history that goes back to the big bang’.”
The audiobook is well-produced and Mike Chamberlain’s narration is engaging. He brings Levitt’s words to life with his clear and expressive voice. The pacing is just right, allowing listeners to fully absorb the wealth of information presented.
Overall, “What’s Gotten Into You” is a wondrous and vastly entertaining audiobook that will leave listeners with a greater appreciation for the complexity and beauty of life. It’s a must-listen for anyone interested in science, history, or simply understanding more about our place in the universe.
January 20, 2025
Spectacular book both scientifically and philosophically. The book chronologically details the beginning of matter (the Big Bang), the formation of greater elements via stars, and the formation of Earth followed by the beginning of life and how atoms spontaneously formed living entities.
The author then details how the human body works at the molecular level and touches on the philosophy of consciousness and how the human body, which is nothing more than an extremely complex system of atoms, forms a sense of self. Well written and entertaining from beginning to end.
The author then details how the human body works at the molecular level and touches on the philosophy of consciousness and how the human body, which is nothing more than an extremely complex system of atoms, forms a sense of self. Well written and entertaining from beginning to end.
February 15, 2023
Fascinating, well written. Loved it.
March 6, 2023
Learned about people that are not widely known. Well researched but no momentous insight into our physical makeup. Author’s conclusion says it all.
November 30, 2024
Grand, sweeping and fun, Levitt takes the reader on a popular science tour from the Big Bang to the latest theories of how a massive collection of atoms formed our conscious beings. The science is the heart of the book and the author does a very good job of staying out of the weeds, but even still there were times when I just didn't care about gluons or quarks and wanted to get to the next topic. And for that I deducted a star.
High points for me were the stories of the scientists and their breakthroughs. The description of so many people today as brilliant feels so overused and cheap that it was a joyfully humbling experience to read about actually brilliant people. Levitt sets up the stories very well with his genuine curiosity about how we got here by posing those big philosophical questions we think about from time to time.
I generally read a chapter at a time and stopped. There's a lot to take in and think about. This isn't the kind of book I'd continuously read for hours on end. That's simply an observation and not a criticism.
The early chapters address the formation/creation of our universe and made me think of the awesome NOVA (PBS) five-part series entitled The Planets. (I have PBS Passport and those episodes are presently unavailable, although episodes before and after The Planets from that season are available.) This book and those episodes are perfect together. If you enjoy NOVA generally you'll probably like this book too.
High points for me were the stories of the scientists and their breakthroughs. The description of so many people today as brilliant feels so overused and cheap that it was a joyfully humbling experience to read about actually brilliant people. Levitt sets up the stories very well with his genuine curiosity about how we got here by posing those big philosophical questions we think about from time to time.
I generally read a chapter at a time and stopped. There's a lot to take in and think about. This isn't the kind of book I'd continuously read for hours on end. That's simply an observation and not a criticism.
The early chapters address the formation/creation of our universe and made me think of the awesome NOVA (PBS) five-part series entitled The Planets. (I have PBS Passport and those episodes are presently unavailable, although episodes before and after The Planets from that season are available.) This book and those episodes are perfect together. If you enjoy NOVA generally you'll probably like this book too.
March 19, 2023
It’s hard to come up with a concise description of “What’s Gotten Into You” by Dan Levitt. I think the best description is probably the book’s subtitle: “The Story of Your Body’s Atoms from The Big Bang through Last Night’s Dinner.”
“What’s Gotten Into You” describes both the science and the scientists who unlocked the mysteries of universe and how we got here. Along the way, the author highlights recurring obstacles that have dogged scientific breakthroughs, including “it’s too weird to be true." For example, Albert Einstein had serious problems accepting the concept of an expanding universe. Levitt also describes how many advances came from scientists who never received proper recognition or reward for their discoveries. This is a sprawling, mind-bending topic that Mr. Levitt somehow manages to tackle in an accessible and entertaining way. I recommend "What's Gotten Into You" even for those who don't typically enjoy reading about science, because it's that good.
“What’s Gotten Into You” describes both the science and the scientists who unlocked the mysteries of universe and how we got here. Along the way, the author highlights recurring obstacles that have dogged scientific breakthroughs, including “it’s too weird to be true." For example, Albert Einstein had serious problems accepting the concept of an expanding universe. Levitt also describes how many advances came from scientists who never received proper recognition or reward for their discoveries. This is a sprawling, mind-bending topic that Mr. Levitt somehow manages to tackle in an accessible and entertaining way. I recommend "What's Gotten Into You" even for those who don't typically enjoy reading about science, because it's that good.
May 29, 2025
There was plenty of interesting science in here but it was also very bloated with stories of scientists being catty with one another. Sort of felt like the real housewives of biology.
February 21, 2024
How do we know what to do with the atoms that we ate last night for dinner?
In What's Gotten Into You?, Dan Levitt tells the story of the elements that make up your body. We're full of stuff that's made of stuff. Where did it all come from?
Like many other popular science books, Dan Levitt recounts the history of our universe and the subsequent human exploration of it. He tells us how we know what we know, and all of the missteps along the way. But Levitt approaches this story with a different focus and different angle from the usual broad and linear brush stroke.
Like Carl Sagan once said, "If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe." And that's where this story starts.
Levitt traces the most abundant dozen or so elements of your body from the big bang, to the formation of the solar system, to the genesis of life on Earth, to the discovery of photosynthesis, all the way to the cells in your body.
If you've already read books like, Cosmos, A Brief History of Time, or A Short History of Nearly Everything, you'll find that there is a lot of overlapping information in this volume. Even then, I found that there was just enough unique and interesting information here to not be a mostly redundant read.
This is a fascinating way to think about the universe and our place in it, and Levitt does a great job of building an engaging and easy to understand picture of the science that went into figuring out what we know today.
In What's Gotten Into You?, Dan Levitt tells the story of the elements that make up your body. We're full of stuff that's made of stuff. Where did it all come from?
Like many other popular science books, Dan Levitt recounts the history of our universe and the subsequent human exploration of it. He tells us how we know what we know, and all of the missteps along the way. But Levitt approaches this story with a different focus and different angle from the usual broad and linear brush stroke.
Like Carl Sagan once said, "If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe." And that's where this story starts.
Levitt traces the most abundant dozen or so elements of your body from the big bang, to the formation of the solar system, to the genesis of life on Earth, to the discovery of photosynthesis, all the way to the cells in your body.
If you've already read books like, Cosmos, A Brief History of Time, or A Short History of Nearly Everything, you'll find that there is a lot of overlapping information in this volume. Even then, I found that there was just enough unique and interesting information here to not be a mostly redundant read.
This is a fascinating way to think about the universe and our place in it, and Levitt does a great job of building an engaging and easy to understand picture of the science that went into figuring out what we know today.
February 20, 2023
I won this book in a giveaway, and I’m so glad I did! For science and biology lovers, this is the book for you. I thoroughly enjoyed the level of explanation, not too basic but also not too complicated. Though I know a lot of the concepts that were talked about given my background in biomedical science, the history of how they were discovered and the people involved was all new information for me. The way the scientists were described made them more relatable and real than any science or history textbook I’ve read. I found the histories intriguing and the drama involved entertaining.
I also loved the journey that the book took me on, from the first atoms in the universe to the intricacies of the cell. This book laid out each scientific discovery ranging from the disciplines of astrophysics, chemistry, and biology, that were needed to get to where our understanding is today of the body. The difficulties of each discovery, the wrong turns scientists made, and the eventual correct directions that lead to greater understanding. I was entertained the whole time. I recommend this book to any science lovers out there.
I also loved the journey that the book took me on, from the first atoms in the universe to the intricacies of the cell. This book laid out each scientific discovery ranging from the disciplines of astrophysics, chemistry, and biology, that were needed to get to where our understanding is today of the body. The difficulties of each discovery, the wrong turns scientists made, and the eventual correct directions that lead to greater understanding. I was entertained the whole time. I recommend this book to any science lovers out there.
October 2, 2023
Although your soul may or may not have been reincarnated, the atoms inside you had past lives in many other organisms large and small. Some of the nitrogen in the fingernail of your right thumb may have once drifted in the air, before it was pulled into the root of a clover, embedded into ammonia by bacteria, and then used to make a protein in a leaf that was eaten by a moth, which decomposed next to a mushroom that you ate three weeks ago in a salad.
"We are a way for the cosmos to know itself." – Carl Sagan
This was a book that I just happened to notice on the shelf of the library. It sounded intriguing, and it turned out to be very interesting. I'm glad I read it. I especially enjoyed the historical perspectives – the stories of the men and women who brought so much illumination to our understanding of the cosmos and our own selves.
June 15, 2024
This one goes to the main shelf.
I wouldn’t consider this as a science book but a history of science book, which I’ve learned, I love.
Physics, chemistry, biology all mixed in a way that makes you realize how much we’ve learned in such a short span. From the Big Bang to our DNA, our atoms reveal a spectacular history and it’s fascinating to know they will still be here long after we’re gone.
Levitt does a fantastic job when presenting all ideas in a manner that it’s understandable for anyone, regular people like me will find this book easy to understand and follow. And that’s why everyone should read this. Who knows if it encourages new scientists?
GREAT BOOK!!
I wouldn’t consider this as a science book but a history of science book, which I’ve learned, I love.
Physics, chemistry, biology all mixed in a way that makes you realize how much we’ve learned in such a short span. From the Big Bang to our DNA, our atoms reveal a spectacular history and it’s fascinating to know they will still be here long after we’re gone.
Levitt does a fantastic job when presenting all ideas in a manner that it’s understandable for anyone, regular people like me will find this book easy to understand and follow. And that’s why everyone should read this. Who knows if it encourages new scientists?
GREAT BOOK!!
July 15, 2023
Interesting scientce exploration with a focus on the scientists who made the discoveries.
July 2, 2023
Reminded me of Bryson’s short history of nearly everything, but better. A nice overview of many science ideas and the history of the development of those ideas.
June 2, 2023
First time a book I read which reveals the birth of atoms from the Big Bang in the cosmos and the subsequent road map of how they became molecules, which ultimately ended up in us as a human being. Apart from the science details on such, the author also embedded the related history, incidents and scientists who have contributed to the discovery and understanding of astronomy and the biology of our body in this story, which made the book very interesting to read.
Part I started with the initial transformation path involved creation of stars and planets etc.
Part II obviously was our solar system with the Sun and planet Earth, which were caught in various events leading to the start-up environment supporting the molecules of life, where life (single cell) first developed around 3.8 billion years ago. The principle atoms and molecules in living things include oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus, sulphur, hydrogen and water.
Part III covered the importance of photosynthesis that supports life form with glucose in the cycle of plant and animal's breathing process, enabling life from ocean scum to green planet ... especially how plants have become a food channel providing us the elements we need.
Part IV dived into our cells, the key component of us, explaining the complexity of using the different molecules to sustain our body's need to stay alive.
More about the chapters in each part are highlighted as a spoiler, if one does not mind continuing reading ...
Part I
Chapter 1 ... Big Bang that created the seeds for all particles.
Chapter 2 ... Discovering elementary quark particles constituting an atom.
Chapter 3 ... Revealing atomic elements in stars and how they were formed.
Chapter 4 ... Exploring the turbulent 700 million years history of Earth since it was formed from dust and gas of vast primordial clouds to become a planet of the Sun.
Part II
Chapter 5 ... First the unveiling of the sources of water on Earth, which included some from icy comets from the Kuiper Belt and also from condensation on dust grains that formed the planet, but most of them likely from asteroids originated from the Asteroid Belt or around Jupiter that showered our planets in the early days (4.4 to 3.8 billion years ago) causing water being flung into the atmosphere as thick clouds. This ultimately poured back down to the surface of Earth when the atmosphere cooled down and pooled as the ocean of the planet.
Chapter 6 ... Search for the origin of the molecules of life ... organic molecules that are built around chains or rings of carbon. Chemical analysis of meteorites and radio telescope observations confirmed that the cosmos are sprinkled with organic molecules, meaning that various organic molecules may have arrived from space on asteroids, comets and space dust.
Chapter 7 ... Origin of the first cells. It likely started out with a membrane capturing a proto-RNA inside, which upon replicating errors creating proteins, DNA, proteins and cellular machinery. These single cell organisms include bacteria and archaea, which are generally accepted to have lived 3.5 billion years ago. As for where such development originated from, different theories, including at hydrothermal vent in the ocean depths with environment where amino acids, proteins and RNA may have formed; and at tide pools, ponds, volcanic lagoons etc. with no sure answer.
Part III
Chapter 8 ... Importance of photosynthesis that supports life form with glucose in the cycle of plant and animal's breathing process. The process to transform cosmic energy (Sun's energy) to produce glucose from carbon dioxide and water while displacing oxygen (with Rubisco enzyme initiating the Calvin-Benson cycle). Humans and animals then reverse the process when consuming food by burning glucose and oxygen while expelling carbon dioxide and water.
Chapter 9 ... The principle atoms in living creatures ... including carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphur, oxygen (mainly from fusion during supernova explosions) traveled through the cosmos into the Earth's atmosphere and waters ... these were incorporated into organisms in the ocean, sank to the bottom of the ocean, were thrust deep into the Earth by plate tectonics, and were expelled again in volcanic eruptions and as plates were pushed around, before finding themselves in plants and other life-forms once more. Phosphorus and nitrogen are the two critical elements to make membranes, proteins and DNA of organisms. Nitrogen was abandoned from the ocean and atmosphere which cyanobacteria can access.
Cyanobacteria were in the ocean at least 2.4 billions years ago and they were able to carry out oxygenic photosynthesis that led to introduction of more oxygen into the atmosphere. Eukaryotic cells (ancestors of plants and animals), which appeared about 1.7 billions years ago, were the result of endosymbiosis after one cell engulfing another cell with each benefitting the other ... one provides food and the other (evolved into mitochondria later) burns sugar with oxygen to produce energy. Further ingestion (likely 1.25 billions years ago) of a cyanobacterium (later evolved into chloroplast) skilled in photosynthesis was another symbiosis behaviour to the symbiotic union of these bacteria into the eukaryotic cell. Mitochondria and chloroplasts have DNA of their own.
Phosphorus made its way on the continents to the ocean, where life first evolved, by glaciers (as resulted from Snowball Earth 770 and 635 million years ago) flow grounding mountains beneath like sandpaper shredding phosphorus and other minerals into the ocean. First animals arose in our oxygenated ocean 700-800 million years ago before plants evolved on the continents. The atmosphere that time contained considerably less than 1 percent oxygen, not the 21 percent as in today. Only until 540 million years ago that oxygen levels reached 5 to 10 percent in the atmosphere was there enough in the ocean to support large creatures. About 510 million years ago, ancient fish were flicking as they stalked other fish. Although photosynthesis introduced oxygen into the air over 2 billion years ago, UV rays would shred organic molecules like razors. It was until UV rays high in the atmosphere began splitting some of the oxygen molecules creating a thin layer of ozone which cast a sunshade over the Earth that made it safer for life to leave the oceans about 500 millions ago ... when algae began to invade the rocky continents and evolved into primitive plants like mosses and liverworts and then land plants. With plants spread across the continents, oxygen levels went up and around 300 to 400 millions ago, it was possible for fish to wriggle out of the oceans and evolve into oxygen hungry descendants (including humans) to live on land ... with plants on land became a food source for them.
Chapter 10 ... Plant cells need phosphorus to make DNA, RNA & proteins; magnesium and manganese to make chlorophyll; calcium to strengthen cell walls; potassium, iron & sulphur to make enzymes. Plants acquire nitrogen via symbiosis with bacteria ... bacteria give ammonia to their hosts in return receiving sugar for the energy-guzzling operation of pulling nitrogen from the air. Also minuscule root tips with proton pumps expel hydrogen ions into soil particles causing the soil to loosen their holds on other minerals for the root to drag inside ... plants never let the excavated minerals go and that is how one gets these minerals when eating the plant.
Humans only obtain about 15 percent of its protein from consuming fish, most of us are largely built from food that originated from plants ... even animals that hunt other animals that were fed by plants. Hence the atoms inside us that came from the Big Bang and stars, reached us through plants.
Part IV
Chapter 11 ... Human cells are built from proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals like sodium and potassium. Carbohydrates and fats contain only carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, while proteins also contain nitrogen and sulphur. Vitamins being organic substances are made by plants (except B-12 and D) are provided by plants.
Chapter 12 ... DNA strands presented as chromosomes in the nucleus of cells, composed of nucleotides (A - adenine, C- cytosine, G - guanine and T - thymine) attached to deoxyribose (carbon sugar molecule) with the phosphate backbone ... which are made up of elements carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and hydrogen. With genes in a DNA turned on and off, a cell can make various proteins and the proteins do most of everything else in the functioning of the human body. A fertilized egg in the womb received enzymes from the mother to encourage reaction in its development, it also inherited mitochondria and ribosomes from her to make energy and proteins.
Chapter 13 ... With further discovery inside cells using centrifuge and electron microscope ... structures like mitochondria, ribosomes and cell organelles (endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, lysosome) were revealed, each performing different functions. ATP molecule consisting 47 atoms (including phosphorus) is being used to distribute energy (within cells for metabolism) from a mitochondrion by losing a phosphorus to become ADP, and then recycle back to the mitochondrion where an enzyme (ATP Synthase) adds a new phosphate to recharge it as ATP again. This ATP generation is done by a mechanism in the mitochondrial membrane using hydrogen ions current (positively charged hydrogen protons) to create a difference in electric charge between the two sides of their membrane.
The sodium-potassium pump is another of electric current mechanism that enables our neuronal signalling ... salt (sodium chloride) and plants (lot of potassium) being the key ingredients to facilitate the sodium and potassium ions race in and out of the nerve membrane that propagate a wave of electrical charge travelling along the nerves.
Part I started with the initial transformation path involved creation of stars and planets etc.
Part II obviously was our solar system with the Sun and planet Earth, which were caught in various events leading to the start-up environment supporting the molecules of life, where life (single cell) first developed around 3.8 billion years ago. The principle atoms and molecules in living things include oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus, sulphur, hydrogen and water.
Part III covered the importance of photosynthesis that supports life form with glucose in the cycle of plant and animal's breathing process, enabling life from ocean scum to green planet ... especially how plants have become a food channel providing us the elements we need.
Part IV dived into our cells, the key component of us, explaining the complexity of using the different molecules to sustain our body's need to stay alive.
More about the chapters in each part are highlighted as a spoiler, if one does not mind continuing reading ...
Part I
Chapter 1 ... Big Bang that created the seeds for all particles.
Chapter 2 ... Discovering elementary quark particles constituting an atom.
Chapter 3 ... Revealing atomic elements in stars and how they were formed.
Chapter 4 ... Exploring the turbulent 700 million years history of Earth since it was formed from dust and gas of vast primordial clouds to become a planet of the Sun.
Part II
Chapter 5 ... First the unveiling of the sources of water on Earth, which included some from icy comets from the Kuiper Belt and also from condensation on dust grains that formed the planet, but most of them likely from asteroids originated from the Asteroid Belt or around Jupiter that showered our planets in the early days (4.4 to 3.8 billion years ago) causing water being flung into the atmosphere as thick clouds. This ultimately poured back down to the surface of Earth when the atmosphere cooled down and pooled as the ocean of the planet.
Chapter 6 ... Search for the origin of the molecules of life ... organic molecules that are built around chains or rings of carbon. Chemical analysis of meteorites and radio telescope observations confirmed that the cosmos are sprinkled with organic molecules, meaning that various organic molecules may have arrived from space on asteroids, comets and space dust.
Chapter 7 ... Origin of the first cells. It likely started out with a membrane capturing a proto-RNA inside, which upon replicating errors creating proteins, DNA, proteins and cellular machinery. These single cell organisms include bacteria and archaea, which are generally accepted to have lived 3.5 billion years ago. As for where such development originated from, different theories, including at hydrothermal vent in the ocean depths with environment where amino acids, proteins and RNA may have formed; and at tide pools, ponds, volcanic lagoons etc. with no sure answer.
Part III
Chapter 8 ... Importance of photosynthesis that supports life form with glucose in the cycle of plant and animal's breathing process. The process to transform cosmic energy (Sun's energy) to produce glucose from carbon dioxide and water while displacing oxygen (with Rubisco enzyme initiating the Calvin-Benson cycle). Humans and animals then reverse the process when consuming food by burning glucose and oxygen while expelling carbon dioxide and water.
Chapter 9 ... The principle atoms in living creatures ... including carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphur, oxygen (mainly from fusion during supernova explosions) traveled through the cosmos into the Earth's atmosphere and waters ... these were incorporated into organisms in the ocean, sank to the bottom of the ocean, were thrust deep into the Earth by plate tectonics, and were expelled again in volcanic eruptions and as plates were pushed around, before finding themselves in plants and other life-forms once more. Phosphorus and nitrogen are the two critical elements to make membranes, proteins and DNA of organisms. Nitrogen was abandoned from the ocean and atmosphere which cyanobacteria can access.
Cyanobacteria were in the ocean at least 2.4 billions years ago and they were able to carry out oxygenic photosynthesis that led to introduction of more oxygen into the atmosphere. Eukaryotic cells (ancestors of plants and animals), which appeared about 1.7 billions years ago, were the result of endosymbiosis after one cell engulfing another cell with each benefitting the other ... one provides food and the other (evolved into mitochondria later) burns sugar with oxygen to produce energy. Further ingestion (likely 1.25 billions years ago) of a cyanobacterium (later evolved into chloroplast) skilled in photosynthesis was another symbiosis behaviour to the symbiotic union of these bacteria into the eukaryotic cell. Mitochondria and chloroplasts have DNA of their own.
Phosphorus made its way on the continents to the ocean, where life first evolved, by glaciers (as resulted from Snowball Earth 770 and 635 million years ago) flow grounding mountains beneath like sandpaper shredding phosphorus and other minerals into the ocean. First animals arose in our oxygenated ocean 700-800 million years ago before plants evolved on the continents. The atmosphere that time contained considerably less than 1 percent oxygen, not the 21 percent as in today. Only until 540 million years ago that oxygen levels reached 5 to 10 percent in the atmosphere was there enough in the ocean to support large creatures. About 510 million years ago, ancient fish were flicking as they stalked other fish. Although photosynthesis introduced oxygen into the air over 2 billion years ago, UV rays would shred organic molecules like razors. It was until UV rays high in the atmosphere began splitting some of the oxygen molecules creating a thin layer of ozone which cast a sunshade over the Earth that made it safer for life to leave the oceans about 500 millions ago ... when algae began to invade the rocky continents and evolved into primitive plants like mosses and liverworts and then land plants. With plants spread across the continents, oxygen levels went up and around 300 to 400 millions ago, it was possible for fish to wriggle out of the oceans and evolve into oxygen hungry descendants (including humans) to live on land ... with plants on land became a food source for them.
Chapter 10 ... Plant cells need phosphorus to make DNA, RNA & proteins; magnesium and manganese to make chlorophyll; calcium to strengthen cell walls; potassium, iron & sulphur to make enzymes. Plants acquire nitrogen via symbiosis with bacteria ... bacteria give ammonia to their hosts in return receiving sugar for the energy-guzzling operation of pulling nitrogen from the air. Also minuscule root tips with proton pumps expel hydrogen ions into soil particles causing the soil to loosen their holds on other minerals for the root to drag inside ... plants never let the excavated minerals go and that is how one gets these minerals when eating the plant.
Humans only obtain about 15 percent of its protein from consuming fish, most of us are largely built from food that originated from plants ... even animals that hunt other animals that were fed by plants. Hence the atoms inside us that came from the Big Bang and stars, reached us through plants.
Part IV
Chapter 11 ... Human cells are built from proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals like sodium and potassium. Carbohydrates and fats contain only carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, while proteins also contain nitrogen and sulphur. Vitamins being organic substances are made by plants (except B-12 and D) are provided by plants.
Chapter 12 ... DNA strands presented as chromosomes in the nucleus of cells, composed of nucleotides (A - adenine, C- cytosine, G - guanine and T - thymine) attached to deoxyribose (carbon sugar molecule) with the phosphate backbone ... which are made up of elements carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and hydrogen. With genes in a DNA turned on and off, a cell can make various proteins and the proteins do most of everything else in the functioning of the human body. A fertilized egg in the womb received enzymes from the mother to encourage reaction in its development, it also inherited mitochondria and ribosomes from her to make energy and proteins.
Chapter 13 ... With further discovery inside cells using centrifuge and electron microscope ... structures like mitochondria, ribosomes and cell organelles (endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, lysosome) were revealed, each performing different functions. ATP molecule consisting 47 atoms (including phosphorus) is being used to distribute energy (within cells for metabolism) from a mitochondrion by losing a phosphorus to become ADP, and then recycle back to the mitochondrion where an enzyme (ATP Synthase) adds a new phosphate to recharge it as ATP again. This ATP generation is done by a mechanism in the mitochondrial membrane using hydrogen ions current (positively charged hydrogen protons) to create a difference in electric charge between the two sides of their membrane.
The sodium-potassium pump is another of electric current mechanism that enables our neuronal signalling ... salt (sodium chloride) and plants (lot of potassium) being the key ingredients to facilitate the sodium and potassium ions race in and out of the nerve membrane that propagate a wave of electrical charge travelling along the nerves.
July 24, 2023
Found this audiobook to be so interesting. I learnt so much about how the knowledge of the human body came to be. Would definitely recommend to any science nerd out there☺️
January 13, 2023
I head Dan Levitt read from the book tonight and can't wait to read it for myself. A fascinating discussion!
January 28, 2023
I am not a "science person" so was pretty amazed at not only how much I enjoyed this book but how much I finally managed to learn about things like the Big Bang, molecules, botany and more. Dan Levitt is first and foremost a great story teller. I found myself marking so many different anecdotes strewn throughout the book to share with friends. Complicated theories are made accessible for the layperson while the often untold story of the actual people behind these discoveries is revealed in all their complexity. Some of these stories are so inspiring and some are pretty wild. I wish I learned more of the context in which so much of science took place while I was in school. Physics would have been less abstract and so much more relevant--not to mention engaging. I also love his discussion of different types of biases and thinking traps and how it almost derailed so many important discoveries. A really amazing read on so many levels!
October 11, 2023
Wonderous, beautiful, and profound book !
March 6, 2024
The best review I saw here is by Brian Clegg. Start here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I don’t usually care for popular-science books written by science journalists. But author Dan Levitt has done his homework on this one. Still, for me this book had a slowish start. The first chapter that really connected for me was the Origin of Life one, chapter 6. Not that there’s anything wrong with his earlier stuff -- but it was too familiar for me to care much about.
The Origin of Life! Now, there’s a meaty question, and one unlikely to have a definitive answer anytime soon. If ever! The “local” origin could even have been on Mars! Or even further afield? Regardless, life on Earth began pretty early, maybe 3.8 billion years ago? Which is remarkable, since the Earth itself formed around 4.5 billion years ago, and 3.8 billion marks the end of the Late Heavy Bombardment, or the Hadean era, when the Earth’s surface was, basically, molten rock. As you will discover, there is a LOT of controversy over the early history of our planet!
Less controversy over the significance of life’s discovery of photosynthesis, which "transformed the Earth’s surface, accounting for the existence not only of plants but also of rubber, coal, gas, oil and all animal life” — from the short review at the WSJ that first drew this book to my attention. Cyanobacteria (formerly known as blue-green algae) were apparently the pioneers, but the early history of photosynthesis is . . . murky. Just go with Levitt’s human-interest stories (which are pretty cool). Photosynthesis, especially as done by modern multi-cellular plants, is such an amazing kludge that the remarkable thing is that it works at all.
The stuff on the discovery of endosymbiosis by eukaryotes (and ultimately by multicellular plants) is great. Lynn Margulis is one of my scientific heroes, and it was great fun reading this familiar tale. The sheer number of mitochondria that power our cells! And the Wisdom of Plants stuff! Great fun. The Wood Wide Web! — which seems to be a real thing.
And on to the discovery of the significance of DNA. Which, to me, demonstrated that it was Double Helix time, and if Watson and Crick hadn’t discovered it, someone else would have, soon after. Wow, I’d forgotten this was so early: 1953! When I was 7 years old . . .
The Code of Life stuff! Just let the RNA do the work to figure it out. I’d never even heard of Marshall Nuremberg, who figured how to do this back in 1961. My, how time flies.
So. It’s all worth reading, even if some of the historic stuff gets tedious. Like, how could the old-timers have been so dense about scurvy! I mean, fresh veggies and citrus: how hard is that? I know, vitamins were discovered later, and all the deficiency diseases are easy to avoid now. Well. Obesity and diabetes are the modern scourges. Plus deaths from opiates/fentanyl!
Overall for me, a 4-star book. Highly recommended! And a lot of fun.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I don’t usually care for popular-science books written by science journalists. But author Dan Levitt has done his homework on this one. Still, for me this book had a slowish start. The first chapter that really connected for me was the Origin of Life one, chapter 6. Not that there’s anything wrong with his earlier stuff -- but it was too familiar for me to care much about.
The Origin of Life! Now, there’s a meaty question, and one unlikely to have a definitive answer anytime soon. If ever! The “local” origin could even have been on Mars! Or even further afield? Regardless, life on Earth began pretty early, maybe 3.8 billion years ago? Which is remarkable, since the Earth itself formed around 4.5 billion years ago, and 3.8 billion marks the end of the Late Heavy Bombardment, or the Hadean era, when the Earth’s surface was, basically, molten rock. As you will discover, there is a LOT of controversy over the early history of our planet!
Less controversy over the significance of life’s discovery of photosynthesis, which "transformed the Earth’s surface, accounting for the existence not only of plants but also of rubber, coal, gas, oil and all animal life” — from the short review at the WSJ that first drew this book to my attention. Cyanobacteria (formerly known as blue-green algae) were apparently the pioneers, but the early history of photosynthesis is . . . murky. Just go with Levitt’s human-interest stories (which are pretty cool). Photosynthesis, especially as done by modern multi-cellular plants, is such an amazing kludge that the remarkable thing is that it works at all.
The stuff on the discovery of endosymbiosis by eukaryotes (and ultimately by multicellular plants) is great. Lynn Margulis is one of my scientific heroes, and it was great fun reading this familiar tale. The sheer number of mitochondria that power our cells! And the Wisdom of Plants stuff! Great fun. The Wood Wide Web! — which seems to be a real thing.
And on to the discovery of the significance of DNA. Which, to me, demonstrated that it was Double Helix time, and if Watson and Crick hadn’t discovered it, someone else would have, soon after. Wow, I’d forgotten this was so early: 1953! When I was 7 years old . . .
The Code of Life stuff! Just let the RNA do the work to figure it out. I’d never even heard of Marshall Nuremberg, who figured how to do this back in 1961. My, how time flies.
So. It’s all worth reading, even if some of the historic stuff gets tedious. Like, how could the old-timers have been so dense about scurvy! I mean, fresh veggies and citrus: how hard is that? I know, vitamins were discovered later, and all the deficiency diseases are easy to avoid now. Well. Obesity and diabetes are the modern scourges. Plus deaths from opiates/fentanyl!
Overall for me, a 4-star book. Highly recommended! And a lot of fun.
August 6, 2023
(AUDIOBOOK)
A fascinating book With a scientific view of who we are, how we got here, and what may lie beyond. A thought provoking conclusion.
May be the best book I have read on the scientific method and what it has revealed.
A fascinating book With a scientific view of who we are, how we got here, and what may lie beyond. A thought provoking conclusion.
May be the best book I have read on the scientific method and what it has revealed.
June 7, 2025
Starting with an overview of the atom and how three particles, one force and a lot of space created everything after the big bang. I had several aha moments. Terrific stuff.
We move on to how the elements were made, up to iron then beyond, over the life cycle of stars. Later there is a explanation about formation the other elements in supernova. So far so good.
Perhaps reflecting Dave's knowledge of physics and biology, we skip the chemistry of how molecules and compounds form and leap straight into the delivery of water from asteroids onto the cooled earth over unknown timeframes. Timeframes are estimated for all other events. An oversight?
Suddenly life has arrived in the form of bacteria without the biochemistry or an explanation of how water formed. That's at least 60% of the planet and our body composition unexplained. It's a big gap.
RNA appears. Physical chemistry is given a light touch - hydrophobic molecules line up and happen to form a double membrane with repicating RNA inside. Is this the first virus? Did viruses evolve into bacteria then algae? Dave doesn't say. Lots of unproven hypotheseses arise which head down unprovable avenues. As there were no real advances towards understanding where our atoms came from, the stories are redundant. Unless Dave was making some other point? Scientists are human too? Science has limits? Belief is irrational?
Back to the planet and photosynthesis which oxidises iron in the rocks. Interesting, however how algal photosynthesis came about isn't described until later. And what about plankton? The timelines here are confused and confusing.
Too much oxygen plunged the earth into an ice age, or snowball earth and wiped out all other life. Except those under the sea. Or by deep water vents. Meanwhile deep volcanic activity produced greenhouse gases which warmed the planet and created carbonate from acid rain.
Carbon dioxide and the carbon cycle are touched on very succinctly. Nice. Other greenhouse gases in abundance are ignored. This undermines the modern link to runaway global warming. The Gaia hypothesis is mentioned twice.
Carbon dioxide increased and ground glacial rocks washed into the ocean, giving the nitrogen and phosphorus necessary for marine eukaryotes to evolve. It's all physical, chemical then biological energy transfer. Ok got that.
Complex life diversified from sponges, maybe, and a rare algae engulfed a bacteria which evolved into mitochondria and chloroplasts. This must have happened because archaic cyanobacteria still exist. This circular reasoning is not challenged.
The narrative continues, peppered with little stories of scientists and (in revisionist hindsight) what Dave believes is biased science. The vignettes are great.
Plants make their way onto land, evolving roots and internal transport structures. Marine animals, which somehow evolved backbones, also make landfall after land plants supercharge the oxygen atmosphere again.
Nevermind, humans have now evolved and we delve into the molecules within our food and the biochemistry of DNA. Nitrogen is the rising star and our proteins mostly come from the manufacture of it, doubling the human population beyond inferred planetary limits. Good stuff.
Then we suddenly diverge into potential plant intelligence. Interesting, sure, but unrelated to the origin of our atoms. More relevant is the range of compounds plants manufacture due to their massive genomes that end up in our medicine and food. Plant cells, fortified by cellulose and lignin, form complex structures that conquer the world.
Back to humans evolution in one sentence and no mention of animal cells. It's a big jump. Dave describes how we process the plant molecules (and how atoms make these is omitted) we need to build bodies. Diseases such as scurvy and beriberi are discovered. Then research into vitamins with no description of their role in chemical processes.
How this relates to our atoms is a mystery until the end of the chapter. About 20 proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals are needed to build a mobile body. If any are missing, we become ill. I think this is the point Dave was trying to make, but am not sure.
A whole chapter is devoted to the discovery of DNA and its role in cell processes. It's a sudden steep dive into the detail from the book's large scale overview. I found this jarring. No mention is made of how DNA in eukaryotic cells of humans (nor is there mention of plants and animal cell evolution) could have arisen from our atoms. It's a big gap.
The penultimate chapter describes the cell and how it works very well. Finally. But with no evolutionary context. Sadly, the book at this stage feels overlong.
The book is a whirlwind ride with loose turning points in the cell's evolution supported by unprovable explanations, big gaps and side tracks. The purpose of a few chapters is unclear and could be easily omitted. Maybe a preface about why the formation of water, fetal development in the womb, the evolution from lemurs to apes to humans, are missed would help readers understand why Dave chose this particular narrative?
The in depth discovery of DNA would have been better summarised. The last chapters would have been ordered better by molecules, cell, cell organelles then food digestion. The concluding chapter needed more on vast time frames, energy transfer and emergence.
Dave aims to cover a huge topic. The narrative would have been tighter and flowed better if he kept going the way he started, answering his big question: where did your body's atoms come from and how did they form you? He appears to get bogged down by how science works (and sometimes does not work).
Much could have been summarised more succinctly by describing the range of popular and fringe hypotheses and concluding that we just don't know. Perhaps a better theme, as far as the science goes, would be the possibilities for further research, rather than its biased limitations. Critical peer review is an integral part of the scientific process yet this is ignored.
The book is an incomplete jigsaw and narrative about science and our atoms through the ages. There are a few factual errors but that is inevitable given the popular science format. The text would be improved by diagrams throughout.
The text is easy to read, with a general summary at the end of each chapter and a more esoteric concluding chapter at the end.
Your atoms, along with every other atom, started on the stars. Over eons of geological, chemical and biological change, these atoms have been recycled through earth feedback systems and subject to chance events. The systems and associated processes are sometimes in semi ordered equilibria and sometimes in chaos. Science has tried to answer "what is life" and cell evolution with varying success. Not much is known, but what is, is very interesting.
If you want an interesting brain dump about what Dave thinks about all this, warts and all, not sweating the detail, this book with all its patchy flaws is for you.
We move on to how the elements were made, up to iron then beyond, over the life cycle of stars. Later there is a explanation about formation the other elements in supernova. So far so good.
Perhaps reflecting Dave's knowledge of physics and biology, we skip the chemistry of how molecules and compounds form and leap straight into the delivery of water from asteroids onto the cooled earth over unknown timeframes. Timeframes are estimated for all other events. An oversight?
Suddenly life has arrived in the form of bacteria without the biochemistry or an explanation of how water formed. That's at least 60% of the planet and our body composition unexplained. It's a big gap.
RNA appears. Physical chemistry is given a light touch - hydrophobic molecules line up and happen to form a double membrane with repicating RNA inside. Is this the first virus? Did viruses evolve into bacteria then algae? Dave doesn't say. Lots of unproven hypotheseses arise which head down unprovable avenues. As there were no real advances towards understanding where our atoms came from, the stories are redundant. Unless Dave was making some other point? Scientists are human too? Science has limits? Belief is irrational?
Back to the planet and photosynthesis which oxidises iron in the rocks. Interesting, however how algal photosynthesis came about isn't described until later. And what about plankton? The timelines here are confused and confusing.
Too much oxygen plunged the earth into an ice age, or snowball earth and wiped out all other life. Except those under the sea. Or by deep water vents. Meanwhile deep volcanic activity produced greenhouse gases which warmed the planet and created carbonate from acid rain.
Carbon dioxide and the carbon cycle are touched on very succinctly. Nice. Other greenhouse gases in abundance are ignored. This undermines the modern link to runaway global warming. The Gaia hypothesis is mentioned twice.
Carbon dioxide increased and ground glacial rocks washed into the ocean, giving the nitrogen and phosphorus necessary for marine eukaryotes to evolve. It's all physical, chemical then biological energy transfer. Ok got that.
Complex life diversified from sponges, maybe, and a rare algae engulfed a bacteria which evolved into mitochondria and chloroplasts. This must have happened because archaic cyanobacteria still exist. This circular reasoning is not challenged.
The narrative continues, peppered with little stories of scientists and (in revisionist hindsight) what Dave believes is biased science. The vignettes are great.
Plants make their way onto land, evolving roots and internal transport structures. Marine animals, which somehow evolved backbones, also make landfall after land plants supercharge the oxygen atmosphere again.
Nevermind, humans have now evolved and we delve into the molecules within our food and the biochemistry of DNA. Nitrogen is the rising star and our proteins mostly come from the manufacture of it, doubling the human population beyond inferred planetary limits. Good stuff.
Then we suddenly diverge into potential plant intelligence. Interesting, sure, but unrelated to the origin of our atoms. More relevant is the range of compounds plants manufacture due to their massive genomes that end up in our medicine and food. Plant cells, fortified by cellulose and lignin, form complex structures that conquer the world.
Back to humans evolution in one sentence and no mention of animal cells. It's a big jump. Dave describes how we process the plant molecules (and how atoms make these is omitted) we need to build bodies. Diseases such as scurvy and beriberi are discovered. Then research into vitamins with no description of their role in chemical processes.
How this relates to our atoms is a mystery until the end of the chapter. About 20 proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals are needed to build a mobile body. If any are missing, we become ill. I think this is the point Dave was trying to make, but am not sure.
A whole chapter is devoted to the discovery of DNA and its role in cell processes. It's a sudden steep dive into the detail from the book's large scale overview. I found this jarring. No mention is made of how DNA in eukaryotic cells of humans (nor is there mention of plants and animal cell evolution) could have arisen from our atoms. It's a big gap.
The penultimate chapter describes the cell and how it works very well. Finally. But with no evolutionary context. Sadly, the book at this stage feels overlong.
The book is a whirlwind ride with loose turning points in the cell's evolution supported by unprovable explanations, big gaps and side tracks. The purpose of a few chapters is unclear and could be easily omitted. Maybe a preface about why the formation of water, fetal development in the womb, the evolution from lemurs to apes to humans, are missed would help readers understand why Dave chose this particular narrative?
The in depth discovery of DNA would have been better summarised. The last chapters would have been ordered better by molecules, cell, cell organelles then food digestion. The concluding chapter needed more on vast time frames, energy transfer and emergence.
Dave aims to cover a huge topic. The narrative would have been tighter and flowed better if he kept going the way he started, answering his big question: where did your body's atoms come from and how did they form you? He appears to get bogged down by how science works (and sometimes does not work).
Much could have been summarised more succinctly by describing the range of popular and fringe hypotheses and concluding that we just don't know. Perhaps a better theme, as far as the science goes, would be the possibilities for further research, rather than its biased limitations. Critical peer review is an integral part of the scientific process yet this is ignored.
The book is an incomplete jigsaw and narrative about science and our atoms through the ages. There are a few factual errors but that is inevitable given the popular science format. The text would be improved by diagrams throughout.
The text is easy to read, with a general summary at the end of each chapter and a more esoteric concluding chapter at the end.
Your atoms, along with every other atom, started on the stars. Over eons of geological, chemical and biological change, these atoms have been recycled through earth feedback systems and subject to chance events. The systems and associated processes are sometimes in semi ordered equilibria and sometimes in chaos. Science has tried to answer "what is life" and cell evolution with varying success. Not much is known, but what is, is very interesting.
If you want an interesting brain dump about what Dave thinks about all this, warts and all, not sweating the detail, this book with all its patchy flaws is for you.
March 16, 2023
Loved this book because it amazed me so often. One of those books that as you are reading, you look up and have to tell someone what you just read because it is so amazing. Top book for 2023.
March 6, 2023
Really interesting science book about how all of the atoms and elements which came from the Big Bang became us. My favorite parts were the photosynthesis and DNA sections.
My weird thought: what if the universe itself is alive and we are a small part of it like the cells in our bodies are small parts of us.
My weird thought: what if the universe itself is alive and we are a small part of it like the cells in our bodies are small parts of us.
April 3, 2023
Enlightening, entertaining, and extremely readable journey through fascinating material. The author is able to make even huge ideas personal and approachable, and he packs the book with details you will want to share with others. Central to the book are the personal tales of the scientists who changed the way we understand the world, and you get to know them as their research challenges the accepted beliefs of their time. A great read.
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