The Life Machines

“Even if (like me) you haven’t thought about mitochondria since high school biology, if you’re interested in how your body works and how to stay healthy, this fascinating and accessible book is for you. In recent years scientists have shown that these tiny cellular engines play a big role in maintaining good health, raising the prospect of new mitochondria-targeting treatments for illnesses like heart disease and cancer. Until they arrive, The Life Machines can help you keep your mitochondria happy, and keep yourself healthy.” —Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, author of Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less“The emerging field of mitochondrial medicine holds enormous potential to improve human health, enhance longevity, and transform the treatment of age-related diseases. The involvement of mitochondria in health and disease and the future of targeting them is beautifully illustrated in this book.” —Nir Barzilai, MD, author of Age Later and President of the Academy for Health & Lifespan Research“In The Life Machines, Daria Mochly-Rosen and Emanuel Rosen offer a compelling, accessible journey into the world of mitochondria and their critical role in health and disease. As someone who lost a child to mitochondrial disease and has spent decades advocating on behalf of such patients, I applaud the authors for illuminating how mitochondrial dysfunction underlies both common illnesses, rare inherited disorders, and even the aging process itself. Their work powerfully bridges scientific insight with public understanding—an essential step toward better awareness, research, and hope for affected families.” —Philip Yeske, PhD, Science & Alliance Officer, United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation“This delightful, enthusiastic book will change your life. After getting to know the billions of tiny, fascinating, hard-working, multipurpose mitochondria that keep you alive and healthy, you’ll learn how to help your mitochondria thrive and keep you youthful.”—Daniel E. Lieberman, Author of Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Healthy and Rewarding“The diverse and critical functions of our mitochondria to promote our health go far beyond being the powerhouse of our cells and what is common knowledge. The Life Machines is the illuminating master class for understanding these vital organelles, and for what we can do to keep them healthy”—Eric Topol MD, author of SUPER AGERS“If you want to live a remarkable life, start by taking care of your mitochondria. The Life Machines is eye-opening, science-backed, and delightfully readable—think of it as a user manual for the powerhouses inside you. You can’t be extraordinary if your cells are running on empty.”—Guy Kawasaki, Chief evangelist of Canva and host of the Remarkable People podcast“Mitochondria have always intrigued me because evolution suggests they were once ancient bacteria that we somehow internalized for mutual benefit! In the last few years, we have learned they are so much more than energy machines and that they can cause a host of diseases when dysfunctional.  Using case studies and cogent descriptions of scientific breakthroughs, The Life Machines explores this mysterious resident of our every cell.  It makes for a great read.” —Abraham Verghese, author of The Covenant of Water and Cutting for Stone

Daria Mochly-Rosen is the George D. Smith professor for translational medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. She’s passionate about translating scientific discoveries into treatments and demystifying science to help people make educated health decisions. Based on her discoveries, Daria has founded three biotech companies. She has also founded SPARK, a program that focuses on translating scientific innovations to benefit patients. Following the success of the program at Stanford, leading to the formation of over fifty biopharma companies, SPARK now operates in dozens of universities around the world. Daria and Emanuel Rosen are married, live in Menlo Park, California, and have four adult children and three grandchildren.

Emanuel Rosen is a bestselling author whose books have been translated into thirteen languages. Throughout his writing career, he’s been focusing on simplifying complex concepts by using plain language and storytelling. He’s the author of the national bestseller The Anatomy of Buzz, and the award-winning Absolute Value (with Stanford professor Itamar Simonson). Emanuel was previously vice president of marketing at Niles Software, where he launched the company’s flagship product, EndNote. He’s presented his work in numerous forums, including at companies such as Google, Intel, and Nike. Emanuel and Daria Mochly-Rosen are married, live in Menlo Park, California, and have four adult children and three grandchildren.