Summary of Nick Lane's Life Ascending

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

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#1 Life exists in a multitude of forms, from bacteria to complex organisms. It is an extremely rare thing, but in an infinite universe there is always a probability of life emerging on one planet, and we must live on that planet.

#2 The origin of life is not a mystery, it’s just a matter of the rules that govern the emergence of life. Life probably emerged from the turning of our planet.

#3 Miller electrified a simple mixture of gases, and the basic building blocks of life all congealed out of the mix. The idea of a primordial soup fell out of favor as analyses of ancient rocks made it plain that the earth had never been rich in methane, ammonia, and hydrogen. The soup was saved by the discovery of abundant organic molecules in space.

#4 The idea of a primordial soup is not pernicious, but it distracts from the true underpinnings of life. Life can only evolve complexity through natural selection, and it is not reasonable to think that a soup could create a population of sophisticated replicators.

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Release date

Ebook: 8 October 2022