Nick Lane is Professor of Evolutionary Biochemistry at UCL. Having earned his PhD at the Royal Free Hospital Medical School in 1995, Lane has gone on to write numerous popular science books on topics from the origin of life to mitochondria and oxygen.
Lane's latest work, The Vital Question: Why Is Life The Way It Is?, narrates the momentous evolution of complex cells (and the basis for all life) from rock formations on the ocean floor. It was well reviewed, including by Bill Gates.