The Origins of Life

Life arose on Earth more than three billion years ago. How the first self-replicating systems emerged from prebiotic chemistry and evolved into primitive cell-like entities is an area of intense research, spanning molecular and cellular biology, organic chemistry, cosmology, geology, and atmospheric science. Written and edited by experts in the field, this volume provides a comprehensive account of the environment of the early Earth and the mechanisms by which the organic molecules present may have self-assembled to form replicating material such as RNA and other polymers. The contributors examine the energetic requirements for this process and focus in particular on the essential role of semi-permeable compartments in containment of primitive genetic systems.

Preface	p. vii
Introduction and Overview	p. 1
Historical Development of Origins Research	p. 5
Setting The Stage
Cosmic Carbon Chemistry: From the Interstellar Medium to the Early Earth	p. 21
The Hadean-Archaean Environment	p. 35
Earth's Earliest Atmospheres	p. 49
Components of First Life
Planetary Organic Chemistry and the Origins of Biomolecules	p. 67
The Organic Composition of Carbonaceous Meteorites: The Evolutionary Story Ahead of Biochemistry	p. 89
Ribonucleotides	p. 109
The Origin of Biological Homochirality	p. 123
Primitive Systems
Bioenergetics and Life's Origins	p. 141
Mineral Surfaces, Geochemical Complexities, and the Origins of Life	p. 157
From Self-Assembled Vesicles to Protocells	p. 179
Membrane Transport in Primitive Cells	p. 193
First Polymers
Primitive Genetic Polymers	p. 207
Closing the Circle: Replicating RNA with RNA	p. 229
The Origins of Cellular Life	p. 245
Transition to a Microbial World
Origin and Evolution of the Ribosome	p. 261
Deep Phylogeny-How a Tree Can Help Characterize Early Life on Earth	p. 279
Constructing Partial Models of Cells	p. 295
An Origin of Life on Mars	p. 305
Index	p. 313
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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