Power, Sex, Suicide

Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life

Chapter Extracts

Introduction. Mitochondria: Clandestine Rulers of the World

Part 1. Hopeful Monster: The Origin of the Eukaryotic Cell

Part 2. The Vital Force: Proton Power and the Origin of Life

Part 3: Insider Deal: The Foundations of Complexity

Part 4. Power Laws: Size and the Ramp of Ascending Complexity

Part 5. Murder or Suicide: The Troubled Birth of the Individual

Part 6. Battle of the Sexes: Human Prehistory and the Nature of Gender

Part 7. Clock of Life: Why Mitochondria Kill us in the End

Epilogue