The Molecular Origins of Life Assembling Pieces of the Puzzle [Paperback]

This 199 book reviews discoveries in astronomy, paleontology, biology and chemistry to help us to understand the likely origin of life on Earth.The origin of life was probably a unique occurrence, and reconstructing this event is like assembling a puzzle made up of many pieces. The aim of this book is to integrate discoveries in astronomy, planetology, paleontology, biology and chemistry, and use this knowledge to give us a better understanding of the likely origin of life on Earth. Eighteen top experts contribute chapters that discuss everything from the environment and atmosphere of the early Earth, through the appearance of organic molecules in the prebiotic environment, to primitive chemical systems capable of self-replication and evolution by mutation.The origin of life was probably a unique occurrence, and reconstructing this event is like assembling a puzzle made up of many pieces. The aim of this book is to integrate discoveries in astronomy, planetology, paleontology, biology and chemistry, and use this knowledge to give us a better understanding of the likely origin of life on Earth. Eighteen top experts contribute chapters that discuss everything from the environment and atmosphere of the early Earth, through the appearance of organic molecules in the prebiotic environment, to primitive chemical systems capable of self-replication and evolution by mutation.The origin of life was probably the result of a singular event in the Earth's history, and reconstructing this event is like assembling a puzzle made up of many pieces. These pieces are composed of information acquired from many different disciplines. The aim of this book is to integrate the most recent discoveries in astronomy, planetology, paleontology, biology and chemistry, and use this knowledge to present plausible scenarios that give us a better understanding of the likely origin of life on Earth. Eighteen experts contribute chapters that discuss everything from the environment and atmosphere of ló›