The Origins of Life

From Abiotic Chemistry to the First Cells

Karl Niklas, Thomas Owens, Randy O. Wayne (Autoren)

Buch | Softcover

300 Seiten

2025
Academic Press Inc (Verlag)
978-0-443-33544-0 (ISBN)

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The Origins of Life: From Abiotic Chemistry to the First Cells is an essential textbook that tackles one of the greatest mysteries in science, how inanimate matter evolved into the first living things. The book takes an interdisciplinary approach, delving into the basic principles of the earth’s chemistry, the formation of pre-cellular entities, and the acquisition of chemical complexity. It explains the creation of chromosomes, metabolic pathways, and the features of the earliest prokaryotes. Users will find a detailed exposition of the World RNA Hypothesis in an accessible and easy-to-read style which is comprehensible for both science and non-science majors.

This textbook is a critical resource for upper-level undergraduate students in Cellular Biology, specifically those studying or researching evolution, cellular chemistry, and pre-biotic chemistry, as well as non-science majors in courses on the philosophy of science or related topics. It is also useful for professionals in biochemistry, evolutionary biology, and astrobiology who wish to understand the origins of life and first cells. Science communicators could use this interdisciplinary textbook for teaching and dissemination to broader audiences as well.

Karl Niklas is an emeritus professor at Cornell University. He is the author of five books, and has taught classes ranging from Introductory Biology, Introductory Botany, Evolution, and Biomechanics. His research has focused on the application of engineering principles and physics to understand biology and evolution. Tom Owens is an emeritus professor at Cornell University. Over the course of his career, he taught classes that spanned the range from Introductory Biology through the physiology, biochemistry, and biophysics of plant processes. His research encompassed the physiology and molecular biophysics of photosynthesis Randy O. Wayne is a plant cell biologist at Cornell University notable for his work on plant development. In particular, along with his colleague Peter K. Hepler, Wayne established the powerful role of calcium in regulating plant growth; accordingly, their 1985 article, Calcium and plant development, was cited by at least 405 subsequent articles to earn the "Citation Classic" award from Current Contents magazine and has been cited by hundreds more since 1993. He is an authority on how plant cells sense gravity through pressure, on the water permeability of plant membranes, light microscopy, as well as the effects of calcium on plant development. He has published over 50 articles and is the author of another book, Light and Video Microscopy.

1. Basic Principles and How They Constrain the Path to Life
2. Abiotic Chemistry, Physicochemical Selection, and the First Steps Toward Life
3. Membranes and the Critical Role of Containment
4. Defeating Chemical Equilibrium and the Rise of Chemical Complexity
5. Catalysis and Molecular Selection: the RNA World Hypothesis
6. From the RNA World to the DNA Genetic Code
7. Controlling Chemistry: Metabolism and Systemic Time
8. Genome Concatenation and Controlled Division: the Final Steps
9. Natural Selection and Major Evolutionary Transitions

Erscheinungsdatum	13.05.2025
Verlagsort	San Diego
Sprache	englisch
Maße	191 x 235 mm
Gewicht	580 g
Themenwelt	Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Zellbiologie
ISBN-10	0-443-33544-3 / 0443335443
ISBN-13	978-0-443-33544-0 / 9780443335440
Zustand	Neuware