Prebiotic Chemistry and Life's Origin

About this book

How life originated from an inanimate mixture of organic and inorganic compounds on the primordial Earth remains one of the great unknowns in science. This origin of life, or abiogenesis, continues to be examined theoretically and experimentally in the context of 'prebiotic' conditions. Speculations have been made of the favourable conditions for the formation of prebiotic molecules following the formation of the young universe. How did those molecules assemble to form bio-polymers? How did the capacity of those polymers to replicate emerge, and what were the predominant geochemical conditions of our solar system, or others planetary systems? The answer to those questions could answer how life emerged.

This book provides a broad but in-depth analysis of the latest discoveries in prebiotic chemistry from the microscopic to the macroscopic scale, utilising experimental insight to provide a bottom up approach to provide a plausible explanation as to how life arose. With contributions from global leaders, this book is a reference for postgraduate students and a single source of comprehensive information on the latest technical and theoretical advancements for researchers in a variety of fields from astrophysics, astrochemistry and astrobiologist to organic chemistry and evolution.

Contents

- Origin of the Universe and Planetary Systems
- Geoastronomy: Rocky Planets as the Lavosier-Lomonosov Bridge from the Non-living to the Living World
- First Steps of Prebiotic Chemistry Catalyzed by Minerals and Metals
- Prebiotic Condensing Agents
- Soft Matter Science in Prebiotic Chemistry and the Origins of Life
- The Miller-Urey Experiment's Impact on Modern Approaches to Prebiotic Chemistry
- From Amino Acids to Peptides Before the Coming of Ribosomes
- Prebiotic Chemistry of Nucleobases and Nucleotides
- Prebiotic Amphiphiles: The Systems Chemistry Perspective
- The Handy Formamide Model System for Prebiotic Chemistry
- How Did the Proteome Emerge from Pre-biotic Chemistry?
- Investigating Prebiotic Protocells for an Understanding of the Origin of Life: A Comprehensive Perspective Combining the Chemical, Evolutionary and Historical Aspects
- Toward Evolution in Chemical Reaction Networks
- New Directions for an Experimental Approach to the Chemistry of the Origin of Life

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