Molecular Evolution and the Origin of Life. - Hardcover

Fox, Sidney W.; Dose, Klaus

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0716701634 ISBN 13: 9780716701637

Publisher: W.H. Freeman, 1972

Synopsis

Excerpt from Foreword: "Until quite recently attempts to answer the question of how life originated were thought to be irresponsible speculations and not worthy of serious scientists. Now the situation has largely changed. It is generally accepted today that the development of the first forms of life on Earth was not a solitary "happy" event but an event whose repetition was an integral part of the general development of matter- and thus an event that lends itself to serious scientific investigations. Methods have recently been developed that make a possible objective study of the different periods in the long history of the evolution of organic matter, as well as the study of the subsequent formation of multimolecular forms- on cosmic objects such as planetesimals and particles of gas and dust. After the Earth had formed, and its lithosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere had developed, the monomeric and polymeric matter became more complex. Then the first forms of life evolved, and the elaboration of their structures and metabolism continued. The question of how life originated can thus be answered only through the joint efforts of scientists of various specialties- astronomers, geologists, physicists, chemists, and biologists.

About this edition

• Publisher: W.H. Freeman
• Publication date: 1972
• ISBN 10: 0716701634
• ISBN 13: 9780716701637
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 359