If theoretical physicists can seriously entertain canonical standard models even for the big-bang generation of the entire universe, why cannot life scientists reach a consensus on how life has emerged and settled on this planet? Scientists are hindered by conceptual gaps between bottom-up inferences (from early Earth geological conditions) and top-down extrapolations (from modern life forms to common ancestral states). This book challenges several widely held assumptions and argues for alternative approaches instead. Primal syntheses (literally or figuratively speaking) are called for in at least five major areas. (1) The first RNA-like molecules may have been selected by solar light as being exceptionally photostable. (2) Photosynthetically active minerals and reduced phosphorus compounds could have efficiently coupled the persistent natural energy flows to the primordial metabolism. (3) Stochastic, uncoded peptides may have kick-started an ever-tightening co-evolution of proteins and nucleic acids. (4) The living fossils from the primeval RNA World thrive within modern cells. (5) From the inherently complex protocellular associations preceding the consolidation of integral genomes, eukaryotic cell organization may have evolved more naturally than simple prokaryote-like life forms. - If this book can motivate dedicated researchers to further explore the alternative mechanisms presented, it will have served its purpose well.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Springer-Verlag Berlin and Heidelberg Gmbh & Co. Kg
ISBN-13
9783642216244
eBay Product ID (ePID)
108584243
Product Key Features
Book Title
Origins of Life: the Primal Self-Organization
Author
Armen Y. Mulkidjanian, Richard Egel, Dirk-Henner Lankenau
Format
Hardcover
Language
English
Topic
Chemistry, Geology, Biology
Publication Year
2011
Type
Textbook
Number of Pages
366 Pages
Dimensions
Item Height
235mm
Item Width
155mm
Item Weight
729g
Additional Product Features
Editor
Dirk-Henner Lankenau, Richard Egel, Armen Y. Mulkidjanian