I remember reading that article when it came out. It was just as touching and good a read as earlier. Though, even here there are little details worth pointing out. In particular:
It’s simply bewildering that insensate matter—atoms and molecules, the same stuff from which rocks and air and stars are made—can do this.
Okay that works metaphorically,
but it seems to me it would be worth including that there is a distinct difference between elemental molecules and organic molecules.
Specifically the Kerb Cycle and that whole bewildering dance of atoms that’s needed to make - and fuel - this synthesis of organic molecules that creates life.
Metaphorically those mineral atoms learned how to harness electricity which made the organic world possible.
This enriches the whole of the understanding,
while providing the fundamental knowledge that enables further exploration and understanding how life and consciousness began in the first place. And so on.
Nick Lane - Transformer PDF
https://sackett.net/nick-lane__transformer.pdf
At page 211, Nick Lane gives a beautiful summary of the state of the science. The epilogue “Self”
‘I think therefore I am’ said Descartes, in one of the most celebrated lines ever written. But what am I, exactly?
The problem is we don’t know what emotions are: what is a feeling in physical terms? How does a discharging neuron give rise to a feeling of anything at all?
This is the ‘hard problem’ of consciousness, the seeming duality of mind and matter, the physical makeup of our innermost self. …
What is a quantum of solace?
Why would I even touch on such a question in a book on the Krebs cycle?
The answer is that the flux of metabolism, moment by moment, decade after decade, has to correspond in some way to the stream of consciousness – what else could animate our innermost being?
In this book, we’ve explored the dynamic side of biochemistry, the continuous flow of energy and matter that makes us alive.
I’m glad it’s going well by Bell. Second article is also excellent, exactly the sort of stuff that should be discussed more and more. As an aside, the public disinterest is baffling, the imaginings of the Consumption loving, Disneyland “Christian” mindscape, … 
Bell writes: “In principle, everything in biology can control everything else, depending on the context. I call this causal spreading . As organisms evolved increasing complexity, what causes their growth, behavior, and resilience (as well as what causes malfunctions), became spread among the different scales of the hierarchy from genes to networks of genes, from other molecules to cells and tissues. No one level has overall control. We must be able to respond at all levels, so that factors influencing whole tissues or organs can feed back to the genome and determine which genes are active and which are not. …”
Great stuff. Also
Worth noting is that Bell is a scientist. 
Back to Nick Lane and what all of this is about:
So, let’s take it to be possible that the electrical fields generated by mitochondria do have motive force. What can that tell us about consciousness?
… Well, for a start, it might tell us why the brain is so hooked on glucose as a fuel. If you recall, calcium influx into the mitochondria from their associated membranes (MAMs) activates the enzyme pyruvate dehydrogenase, ramping up Krebs-cycle flux and ATP synthesis nearly exponentially.
Plainly that powers work, but it also gives scope to the full dynamic range of mitochondrial membrane potential. To the full range of electrical fields. To the full music of the orchestra.
Until now, biology has tended to study the materials that make up the instruments.
The time has come to close our eyes and listen to the music. I want to suggest to you that this music is the stuff of feeling, of emotion. …
Oh Lausten, I do want to make a semantics clarification.
Earlier, we were discussing “doing one’s research” v. “doing one’s homework”. Seems to me, research is restricted to schooled, trained professions. Homework is for students.
Then I messed up, leaving the implication I considered myself a “student”.
A few years back I became aware and ashamed of using that conceit. Because thinking on it, I recognized that an actual “student/scholar” is a professional studier and learner.
I belong the “students-of-life” variety of curious human, driven by personal goals and passions, but casual and caught up with living. I am an enthusiast, not a student or scientist.
There’s also another lower class, the dilettante. For whom learning and knowledge is merely an ‘affect’, a facade to wear, while focused on other more self-serving distractions.
Still, homework is also a requirement for enthusiasts, those honestly curious and driven towards a more honest, realistic understanding of oneself, and the world we find ourselves within.
I felt I should make this clear, because, … well because it matters.
