Author Description

This book addresses some important open questions in this interdisciplinary field of research. In spite of its broad scope, ranging from the earliest evidence of life on earth to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, the main focus is on chemical evolution. Once the macromolecules of life were formed, the evolution of the earliest life forms enhanced the importance of chirality. This led to the highly asymmetric environment of the macromolecules of the living cell the hallmark of life itself. The subject of chirality, in particular, is discussed in depth: the status of the weak force as the only true chiral influence is presented. A substantial number of papers review both the theoretical as well as the experimental basis of the origin of biochirality. A second broad area discussed in detail is the RNA world. Some successes of this hypothesis are highlighted; the hierarchy of previous evolutionary stages leading to the origin of life, such as the pyrophosphate world, are considered. The question is raised whether useful hints may still be inferred from molecular fossils existing in contemporary cells. Contents The Origin, Evolution, and Distribution of Life in the Universe C. Ponnamperuma Chemical Origin and Early Evolution of Biological Energy Conversion H. Baltscheffsky Phosphate in Models for Chemical Evolution G. Arrhenius, B. Gedulin and Mojzsis Evolution in an RNA World P. Schuster Small Pathogenic RNAs of Plants: Living Fossils of the RNA World? T.O. Diener The Weak Force and the Origin of Life A.J. MacDermott The Origin of Chirality, the Role of Phase Transitions and Their Induction in Amino Acids A. Salam Spontaneous Regulating Mechanisms That May Have Led to the Origin of Life J. Chela-Flores Chirality and the Origin of Life R. Navarro Gonzalez, R.K. Khanna and C. Ponnamperuma >Search for Phase Transitions