I recall reading in 'The Vital Question' (also by Nick Lane) that free radicals (produced when a cell is unable to meet energy production demands) signals the r

I recall reading in 'The Vital Question' (also by Nick Lane) that free radicals (produced when a cell is unable to meet energy production demands) signals the replication of mitochondria. Antioxidants suppress this signal which leads to cell death. Interestingly an increase in free radicals themselves beyond a certain threshold also result in programmed cell death