The fire machines of life

The fire machines of life is the next-generation working title for a book on mitochondria. An illustrated book targeted at the general audience and to be loved by all mitochondriacs, a cooperation of the mitochondrial and chemiosmotic scientific community and specialists in mitochondrial medicine with mitochondrial artists and science communicators.

The title

Work in progress

• Fire: The Fire of Life: An Introduction to Animal Energetics is the title of the famous textbook by Max Kleiber (Wiley, 1961; 454 pp).
• Machines: A machine is a tool consisting of one or more parts that is capable of using energy to achieve a particular goal. Machines are usually powered by mechanical, chemical, thermal or electrical means, and are frequently motorized. Historically, a powered tool also required moving parts to classify as a machine; however, the advent of electronics technology has led to the development of powered tools without moving parts that are considered machines Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine (2012-12-27). Mitochondria and all other chemiosmotic machines (the bioblasts) qualify as machines, even having moving parts. - Fire engines would be too close to simply fire fighting, although fire fighting might be considered as a partial function of chemiosmotic machines.
• of life: of all life - Nick Lane can certainly comment on this generalization.

Style

Work in progress

• Many many authors are invited to contribute with pictures and short texts - a joint project.
• Popular scientific reading = understandable for the lay audience, but scientifically rigorous.
• More pictures than text.
• Some pictures will help to catch the meaning of the text, other pictures will be simply beautiful.
• Limited or no references to the original literature in the printed version (lay audience), but unlimited numbers of references and notes in the 'Supplementary information' available online (scientific audience and further reading for the lay audience).
• Glossary not in the printed version, but available in the 'Supplementary information' online.

Contents

Work in progress

History

• History of the fire machines of life - the philosophical period.
• First scientific methods to explore the fire machines of life - from Lavoisier and Laplace 1783 to present
• The emerging picture of the fire machines of life.
• Contemporary Nobel Laureates and their eminent colleagues relfect on the history and their action in the exploration of the fire machines of life.

Introductory chapters

• Thermodynamics for understanding the fire machines of life
• Chemiosmosis - as it may be taught in the elementary school
• Bioblasts: Microorganisms and mitochondria
• Healthy mitochondria

The beauty of mitochondria

• Pictures from science - published and unpublished
• Pictures from scientists - for the fun of it
• Pictures from artists
• Short texts for explanation, reflection, amusement, stimulation