Oxygen. The molecule that made the world

This volume unravels the unexpected ways in which oxygen spurred the evolution of life and death. The book explains far more than the size of ancient 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.Drawing on this grand evolutionary canvas, "Oxygen" offers perspectives on our own lives and deaths, explaining modern killer diseases, why we age and what we can do about it. Advancing revelatory ideas, following chains of evidence, the book ranges through many disciplines, from environmental sciences to molecular medicine. The result is a vision of contemporary science and a humane synthesis of our place in nature.