by Nick Lane
masking genetic damage in
Pangaea 84
polonium 108
222, 321
panspermia 126
polymorphism 286, 287
maturation in 232–3
paper production 72
Population Reference Bureau
resonance 174, 186
Paramecium 226–7
233
respiration
Park, Jeen-Woo 264
Porter, Roy 178
aerobic 21, 32, 161, 167
Partridge, Linda 247
Porter, William 173
evolution of 162–3
Pasteur, Louis 18
Poss, Kenneth 209
ideal oxygen levels for 167,
Pasteur point 165
predation 72, 321
169
Pauling, Ava Helen 174
Priestley, Joseph 2, 3, 5–6, 342
mechanism of 163
Pauling, Linus 173–6, 185, 187,
primates 176, 233, 243
anaerobic 21, 32, 161, 273
189, 190, 211
prions 194–5
balance with photosynthesis,
Pearl, Raymond 252–3, 275
producers, see photosynthesis
see photosynthesis
Peck, Lloyd 102–104
prokaryotes
consumers 24
Pennsylvania State University
evolution of 157
mechanism of 3, 5
141
properties of 151
oxygen poisoning from
Permian
proteins
112–13, 125
carbon dioxide levels 83
synthesis of 152
respiratory genes 161–2
INDEX • 373
Rhee, Sue Goo 203
Sendivogius, Michael 3–4
sperm 225, 226, 237, 270
rhesus monkeys 260–1, 262,
senescence 216, 322; see also
continuous production of 280
300, 303, 305
longevity
mitochondria in 276–81
ribonucleic acid, see RNA
catastrophic 237–8, 239
motility 279
Richter, Christoph 264
evolution of 220, 227
Spiegelman’s monsters 31
Ries crater 97
programmed 215, 234, 235–6,
Spiegelman, Sol 30–31
RNA
238, 269
Stalin 315
messenger 152
stochastic 215, 234
Stamler, Jonathan 206
ribosomal 156–7, 162
sex, see reproduction
Stanford University 175, 254
transfer 152
sexes 13, 15, 277–81, 321
Stanley, Leo L. 213
Robinson, Jennifer 94, 95, 98
Shakespeare 284
stem cells 270, 272
Rochester University 119
Shark Bay, Australia 35
sterols
Ronsseus 178
Sheffield, University of 82, 83,
fossil biomarkers of 36, 52, 152,
root nodules 165–6, 167
91
320
Rose, Michael 231
Shields, Graham 68
oxygen requirement for 36
Royal Institute of Natural
signalling, biological 206–10
stomata 82, 92
Sciences, Belgium 101–2
245–7, 295, 296
stress
Royal Institution 120
silica 41, 93, 95, 98
oxidative
Royal Navy 10
single nucleotide
as a signal 128, 296–301, 12,
Ruben, Samuel 135
polymorphisms, see SNPs
325–6
Rubisco 80–1, 91, 134
singlet oxygen 121
definition of 127
Russell, Bertrand 175
Sklodowska, Marya 106
effects on gene expression
rust 38, 122
Smith, James Lorraine 9
299–301, 327
Rutten, M. G. 77, 85, 98
Smith, John Maynard 86, 221,
in ageing and disease 210,
Ruvkun, Gary 244
236, 277
292, 294, 299–301, 310–13
Ryan, William 39
Smith, Mark 304
in Alzheimer’s disease 304,
Rye, Rob 43
Smithsonian Institution 54
305, 308–10
snowball Earth
in cells 207
S
early Precambrian 47–9, 160,
in infectious diseases 296–99
320
in photosynthesis 133, 145
St Helena Bay, South Africa 40
late Precambrian 60–3, 65 66,
on early Earth 143, 148, 164,
St Lawrence River 177
68, 69, 74, 320
169, 319
Salk Institute, San Diego 217
slushball Earth 63
on Mars 129
San Quentin prison 213
SNPs 282, 286
resistance to 244, 260, 274,
Sapelo Island, Georgia 230
Société de Biologie 213
319
Saraste, Matti 146, 161–3, 164,
SOD 200–3, 204, 208, 210, 293,
proteins 208, 219–20, 261, 295,
168
308, 316, 319
299, 333
Scheele, Carl 2, 3
copper-zinc, see cytosolic
resistance 244, 249, 250, 251,
School of Hygiene and
cytosolic 201, 202, 257–8,
259, 260–1
Tropical Medicine, London
258 n.
response 195, 205, 207–8, 211,
328
and Down syndrome 202,
219–20
Schrag, Dan 62
304 n.
stromatolites 35, 47, 49, 51, 52,
Schweers, Olaf 304
knockout mice 202, 318 n.
152, 197
Schweitzer, Albert 175
manganese, see mitochondrial
strontium isotopes 66–67
science
mitochondrial 201, 202, 257,
Sturtian ice age 60, 63
hypothesis 14, 341
258 n.
Sulfolobus acidocaldarius 160
nature of 14–15, 341
as a signal 210
sulphate
Scripps Institution of
Sohal, Rajinder 257
in evaporites 42
Oceanography 32–33
soma 225–6, 228
in seawater 42, 49
Scuba diving 9–10
somatic mutation theory
sulphate-reducing bacteria 39,
scurvy
225–6
41, 52, 67–8, 70, 196–7
cure for 178
Sophocles 283
sulphur
lemon juice in 178
Sorbonne, Paris 107
as counterbalance to oxygen
symptoms of 177
Southern Denmark, University
199, 205–6
Seilacher, Dolf 56
of 41
isotopes 42–3, 67–8
selection
Southern Illinois, University of
superoxide dismutase, see SOD
group 221, 235–6
97
superoxide radicals 115, 125,
individual 221–2, 235–6, 239
Southern Methodist
192, 200–3, 319
selenium 280
University, Dallas 257
on Mars 129
Sellafield, reprocessing plant
SoxRS 207, 324
production in body 123, 253
Spencer, Herbert 216
properties of 118–19
374 • INDEX
Sutovsky, Peter 279
US Environmental Protection
volcanoes
swamp plants 94
Agency 117
as source of atmospheric gases
Sydney, University of 36
US Geological Survey 87
23
Sykes, Richard 287, 291 n.
Utah, University of 101
as source of energy 132
symbiosis 50, 51, 196
Voronoff, Serge 214
Szathmáry, Eörs 221, 277
Szent-Györgyi, Albert 179
V
W
van Niel, Cornelis 134
T
Varanger ice age 60, 69
Wakeling, J. M. 77
vegetables, see fruit
Walcott, Charles Doolittle 54
Tanaka, Masashi 334
Vendian period 56
Warrawoona, Australia 35
tannins 204
Vendobionts 56, 59, 66, 69, 70,
water
Taramelli, Donatella 330
74, 133, 320
irradiation of 113–15
telomerase 269–71
Venus, see Mars
in photosynthesis 131–2, 135,
telomeres 268–71
Viking Mission 128–9
137
Teske, Andreas 67, 68
Virginia 230
Watson, Andrew 79, 92–3
tetraploidy 223
vitamin C 117, 172, 241, 311,
Watson, James 174, 176
Texas, University of 98
317
Weindruch, Richard 260, 300
thalassaemia 189 n., 286, 327
absorption 188
Weismann, August 228, 235,
Thermus thermophilus 127
in anaemia 183
239, 267, 275
thiols
antioxidant role 173, 182–3,
Werner’s syndrome 258–9,
oxidation of 206–7, 209,
186, 191–3, 202, 204
268, 293
210–11
ascorbyl radical 185
Westendorp, Rudi 233
S-nitrosylation of 206
biosynthesis of 176–7
Whitaker, R. H. 149
in transcription factors 206–7
in cancer 175–6, 189–90
White, Owen 126
thioredoxin 205, 207
in carnitine synthesis 181, 318,
Whittington, Harry 55
Thiosphaera pantotropha 31
339
Widdel, Friedrich 41
Three Mile Island,
in collagen synthesis 181,
Williams, George C. 239, 241,
Pennsylvania 111
183–4, 191
295, 296
thyroxine 340
in common cold 175
Wisconsin Regional Primate
Tissenbaum, Heidi 244
consumption of 177
Research Center 260, 300
Tonegawa, Susumu 209
and copper 184–6
Wisconsin, University of 59
trachea, see insects
dehydroascorbate 185–6, 191,
Woese, Carl 155–7
transcription factors 206–8,
193
Wolbach, Wendy 97
210, 245, 295
as an electron donor 184–6
Woodall, John 178
transplantation, organ 328
excretion 179–80, 188
worms 56–57, 149; see also
tsunami, megawave 97
and Fenton reaction 186–7, 189
nematodes
tumour necrosis factor 261
in haemochromatosis 188–9
Turke, Paul 296
intravenous 175–6, 190
X
and iron 184–6
U
isolation of 179
X chromosome 225
in lassitude 181
Xenopus laevis 281
ubiquitin 279
mechanism of 183, 190
ultraviolet radiation 25, 73,
megadose 175, 187–8, 189,
Y
259
192 n.
splitting water 129, 141, 145,
in neuro-endocrine functions
Yale University 56
148, 164, 169, 318–9, 320
182, 191, 318
Yashin, Anatoli 332–3
University College, London
neutrophils 182–3, 191–3
Y chromosome 225
215
pro-oxidant effects 186–7,
yeast, see fermentation
uraninite 44
188–190, 192
Yellowstone National Park
uranium 108
recommended daily allowance
160
isotopes 44, 46
179–81
yoghurt 213
natural reactors 44, 46
supplementation 172, 180
urea 228
synthesis of 179
Z
Urey, Harold 17–18
vitamin E 117, 172, 186, 192,
uric acid 205
193, 204, 306, 309
Zeno, paradox of 86
Document Outline
Cover
Contents
1 Introduction: Elixir of Life — and Death
2 In the Beginning: The Origins and Importance of Oxygen
3 Silence of the Aeons: Three Billion Years of Microbial Evolution
4 Fuse to the Cambrian Explosion: Snowball Earth, Environmental Change and the First Animals
5 The Bolsover Dragonfly: Oxygen and the Rise of the Giants
6 Treachery in the Air: Oxygen Poisoning and X-Irradiation: A Mechanism in Common
7 Green Planet: Radiation and the Evolution of Photosynthesis
8 Looking for LUCA: Last Ancestor in an Age Before Oxygen
9 Portrait of a Paradox: Vitamin C and the Many Faces of an Antioxidant
10 The Antioxidant Machine: A Hundred and One Ways of Living with Oxygen
11 Sex and the Art of Bodily Maintenance: Trade-offs in the Evolution of Ageing
12 Eat! Or You’ll Live Forever: The Triangle of Food, Sex and Longevity
13 Gender Bender: The Rate of Living and the Need for Sexes
14 Beyond Genes and Destiny: The Double-Agent Theory of Ageing and Disease
15 Life, Death and Oxygen: Lessons From Evolution on the Future of Ageing
Further Reading
Glossary A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
L
M
N
O
P
R
S
T
U
Y
Index A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
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