Cosmochemical Evolution and the Origins of Life: Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on the Origin of Life and the First Meeting of the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life Barcelona, June 25–28, 1973 Volume I: Invited Papers

Front Matter....Pages I-XI
Preface....Pages 1-3
Front Matter....Pages 5-5
Fitness in the Universe: Choices and Necessities....Pages 7-27
Galactic Clouds of Organic Molecules....Pages 29-40
The Outer Solar System: Perspectives for Exobiology....Pages 41-55
Catalytic Reactions in the Solar Nebula: Implications for Interstellar Molecules and Organic Compounds in Meteorites....Pages 57-67
Front Matter....Pages 69-69
Natural Evidence for Chemical and Early Biological Evolution....Pages 71-86
Aspects of the Geologic History of Seawater....Pages 87-91
Homeostatic Tendencies of the Earth’s Atmosphere....Pages 93-103
Microfossils from the Middle Precambrian McArthur Group, Northern Territory, Australia....Pages 105-118
The Development and Diversification of Precambrian Life....Pages 119-135
Front Matter....Pages 137-137
The Atmosphere of the Primitive Earth and the Prebiotic Synthesis of Amino Acids....Pages 139-151
Biomolecules from HCN....Pages 153-157
The Prebiotic Synthesis of Oligonucleotides....Pages 159-172
The Possible Role of Clays in Prebiotic Peptide Synthesis....Pages 173-187
Interactions between Amino Acids and Nucleotides in the Prebiotic Milieu....Pages 189-200
Coacervate Systems and Origin of Life....Pages 201-205
Transfer RNA and the Translation Apparatus in the Origin of Life....Pages 207-219
Front Matter....Pages 221-221
A Hypothetic Scheme for Evolution of Probionts....Pages 223-226
From Proteinoid Microsphere to Contemporary Cell: Formation of Internucleotide and Peptide Bonds by Proteinoid Particles....Pages 227-237
Chemical and Catalytical Properties of Thermal Polymers of Amino Acids (Proteinoids)....Pages 239-252
Front Matter....Pages 221-221
Pre-Enzymic Origin of Metabolic Redox Processes and of the Energy Storage Processes....Pages 253-262
Experimental Attempts for the Study of the Origin of Optical Activity on Earth....Pages 263-283
Life’s Beginnings — Origin or Evolution?....Pages 285-293
Front Matter....Pages 295-295
On the Chemical Constitution of Cometary Nuclei....Pages 297-301
Photochemical Conversions of Lower Aldehydes in Aqueous Solutions and in Fog....Pages 303-309
Inferences from Protein and Nucleic Acid Sequences: Early Molecular Evolution, Divergence of Kingdoms and Rates of Change....Pages 311-330
On the Possible Origin and Evolution of the Genetic Code....Pages 331-350
Genetics and the Origin of the Genetic Code....Pages 351-356
Origin of the Genetic Code: A Physical-Chemical Model of Primitive Codon Assignments....Pages 357-362
The Iron-Sulphur Proteins: Evolution of a Ubiquitous Protein from Model Systems to Higher Organisms....Pages 363-386
A New Hypothesis for the Evolution of Biological Electron Transport....Pages 387-395
Pathways of Chemical Evolution of Photosynthesis....Pages 397-404
Inorganic Types of Fermentation and Anaerobic Respirations in the Evolution of Energy-Yielding Metabolism....Pages 405-413
Front Matter....Pages 415-415
Test Results on the Viking Gas Chromatograph-Mass Spectrometer Experiment....Pages 417-430
Automated Life-Detection Experiments for the Viking Mission to Mars....Pages 431-441
Organic Contamination Problems in the Viking Molecular Analysis Experiment....Pages 443-455
Model Systems for Life Processes on Mars....Pages 457-462
An Automatically-Returned Martian Sample by 1985?....Pages 463-482
Life on Jupiter?....Pages 483-486
The Possibility of Organic Molecule Formation in the Venus Atmosphere....Pages 487-490
Front Matter....Pages 415-415
Planetary Systems and Extraterrestrial Life....Pages 491-495
The Origin of Life in a Cosmic Context....Pages 497-505
Back Matter....Pages 507-523