From Stardust to First Cells

Unites and interweaves the various evidences from astronomy, geology, chemistry, and biology to more thoroughly explore the beginning and first evolutionary steps of life

Argues that life most likely arose in four, interconnected hierarchical stages of increasing complexitycosmic, geological, chemical, and biological Contends that the most likely crucible for biosynthesis was a hydrothermal crater lake, where life began to brew

Unites and interweaves the various pieces of evidence from astronomy, geology, chemistry, informatics Argues that life most likely arose in five interconnected hierarchical stages of increasing complexity Contends that the most likely cradle for biosynthesis was a hydrothermal crater lake, where life began to brew

Auteur

Sankar Chatterjee is Paul Whitfield Horn Distinguished Professor of Geosciences and Curator of Paleontology at Texas Tech University. He received his Ph.D. from Calcutta University and was a Postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Institution. He taught at the University of California, Berkeley, and George Washington University before he moved to Texas Tech. His current research focuses on astrobiology and the origin of life. He is an elected fellow of the Geological Society of America and the American Association of the Advancement of Science. He led several expeditions to Antarctica, China, India, and the American Southwest in search of dinosaurs and early birds. His previous book, The Rise of Birds (Johns Hopkins University Press), has been translated into many languages.

Contenu
Prologue.- Defining life.- Origin of life: a model of hierarchical complexity.- Cosmic connections.- cradle of life.- Bioenergetics and primitive metabolism.- Chemical stage.- Lipid membrane: encapsulating life.- The RNA worldreality or dogma? The age of information.- A code script for life.- The advent of proteins.- The virus world in deep time.- DNA takes over.- First life.- Life beyond earth.- Epilogue.