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A guide to understanding the formation of life in the Universe
The revised and updated second edition of Astrobiology offers an introductory text that explores the structure of living things, the formation of the elements required for life in the Universe, the biological and geological history of the Earth, and the habitability of other planets. Written by a noted expert on the topic, the book examines many of the major conceptual foundations in astrobiology, which cover a diversity of traditional fields including chemistry, biology, geosciences, physics, and astronomy.
The book explores many profound questions such as: How did life originate on Earth? How has life persisted on Earth for over three billion years? Is there life elsewhere in the Universe? What is the future of life on Earth? Astrobiology is centered on investigating the past and future of life on Earth by looking beyond Earth to get the answers. Astrobiology links the diverse scientific fields needed to understand life on our own planet and, potentially, life beyond. This new second edition:
Expands on information about the nature of astrobiology and why it is useful
Contains a new chapter "What is Life?" that explores the history of attempts to understand life
Contains 20% more material on the astrobiology of Mars, icy moons, the structure of life, and the habitability of planets
New 'Discussion Boxes' to stimulate debate and thought about key questions in astrobiology
New review and reflection questions for each chapter to aid learning
New boxes describing the careers of astrobiologists and how they got into the subject
Offers revised and updated information throughout to reflect the latest advances in the field
Written for students of life sciences, physics, astronomy and related disciplines, the updated edition of Astrobiology is an essential introductory text that includes recent advances to this dynamic field.
Autorentext
CHARLES S. COCKELL is Professor of Astrobiology at the University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
Klappentext
A guide to understanding the formation of life in the Universe The revised and updated second edition of??Astrobiology??offers an introductory text that explores the structure of living things, the formation of the elements required for life in the Universe, the biological and geological history of the Earth, and the habitability of other planets. Written by a noted expert on the topic, the book examines many of the major conceptual foundations in astrobiology, which cover a diversity of traditional fields including chemistry, biology, geosciences, physics, and astronomy. The book explores many profound questions such as: How did life originate on Earth? How has life persisted on Earth for over three billion years? Is there life elsewhere in the Universe? What is the future of life on Earth???Astrobiology??is centered on investigating the past and future of life on Earth by looking beyond Earth to get the answers. Astrobiology links the diverse scientific fields needed to understand life on our own planet and, potentially, life beyond. This new second edition:
Zusammenfassung
A guide to understanding the formation of life in the Universe
The revised and updated second edition of Astrobiology offers an introductory text that explores the structure of living things, the formation of the elements required for life in the Universe, the biological and geological history of the Earth, and the habitability of other planets. Written by a noted expert on the topic, the book examines many of the major conceptual foundations in astrobiology, which cover a diversity of traditional fields including chemistry, biology, geosciences, physics, and astronomy.
The book explores many profound questions such as: How did life originate on Earth? How has life persisted on Earth for over three billion years? Is there life elsewhere in the Universe? What is the future of life on Earth? Astrobiology is centered on investigating the past and future of life on Earth by looking beyond Earth to get the answers. Astrobiology links the diverse scientific fields needed to understand life on our own planet and, potentially, life beyond. This new second edition:
Inhalt
Acknowledgments xvii
About the Companion Website xix
1 Astrobiology 1
1.1 Introductory Remarks 1
1.2 The Major Questions of Astrobiology and the Content of the Textbook 3
1.3 Some Other Features of the Textbook 9
1.4 A Brief History of Astrobiology 10
1.5 Conclusions 15
Bibliography 15
2 What is Life? 17
2.1 The Concept of Life 17
2.2 What is Life? The Historical Perspective 17
2.3 Spontaneous Generation 19
2.4 More Modern Concepts 23
2.5 Schrödinger and Life 27
2.6 Life as a Dissipative Process 27
2.7 Life: Just a Human Definition? 28
2.8 Does It Matter Anyway? 30
2.9 Conclusions 30
Questions for Review and Reflection 30
Bibliography 31
3 Matter and Life 33
3.1 Matter and Life 33
3.2 Life is Made of Ordinary Matter 34
3.3 The Atomic Nucleus 34
3.4 Electrons, Atoms, and Ions 35
3.5 Types of Bonding in Matter 37
3.6 Ionic Bonding 38
3.7 Covalent Bonding 39
3.7.1 Covalent Bonds and Life 40
3.8 Metallic Bonding 41
3.9 Van der Waals Interactions 42
3.10 Hydrogen Bonding 44
3.11 An Astrobiological Perspective 46
3.12 The Equation of State Describes the Relationship Between Different Types of Matter 47
3.13 Other States of Matter 50
3.14 The Interaction Between Matter and Light 53
3.15 Conclusions 57
Questions for Review and Reflection 57
Bibliography 57
4 The Molecular Structure of Life 59
4.1 Building Life 59
4.2 The Essential Elements: CHNOPS 59
4.3 Carbon is Versatile 62
4.4 The Chains of Life 62
4.5 Proteins 63
4.6 Chirality 66
4.7 Carbohydrates (Sugars) 68
4.8 Lipids 71
4.9 The Nucleic Acids 72
4.10 The Solvent of Life 76
4.11 Alternative Chemistries 78
4.13 Conclusions 84
Questions for Review and Reflection 85
Bibliography 85
5 The Cellular Structure of Life 87 …