Includes bibliographical references and index

The origin of the atmosphere / Tobias C. Owen -- The early atmosphere as a source of biogenic compounds / James F. Kasting and Lisa L. Brown -- The endogenous synthesis of organic compounds / Stanley L. Miller -- Hydrothermal systems / Nils G. Holm and Eva M. Andersson -- Cosmic origin of the biosphere / Armand H. Delsemme -- Clues from the origin of the Solar System: meteorites / John R. Cronin -- Micrometeorites on the early Earth / Michel Maurette -- Membrane compartments in prebiotic evolution / David W. Deamer -- Origin of life in an iron-sulfur world / Günter Wächtershäuser -- Clues from present-day biology: the thioester world / Christian de Duve -- Origins of the RNA world / Alan W. Schwartz -- Catalyzed RNA synthesis for the RNA world / James P. Ferris -- Catalysis in the RNA world / Kenneth D. James and Andrew D. Ellington -- Self-replication and autocatalysis / Jens Burmeister -- Hyperthermophiles and their possible role as ancestors of modern life / Karl O. Stetter -- Tracing the roots of the universal tree of life / J. William Schopf -- Titan / François Raulin -- Life on Mars / Christopher P. McKay

"The aim of this book is to integrate the most recent discoveries in astronomy, planetology, paleontology, biology, and chemistry, and to use this knowledge to present plausible scenarios that give us a better understanding of the likely origin of life on Earth. Twenty-two top experts contribute to chapters that discuss everything from the environment and atmosphere of the early Earth, through the appearance of organic molecules in the prebiotic environment, to primitive chiral systems capable of self-replication and evolution by mutation. The book also discusses various clues to the origin of life that can be obtained from the study of the past and present microbial world, as well as from the planets Titan and Mars." "Chemists, biologists, Earth scientists, and astronomers will find that this book presents a thought-provoking summary of our current state of knowledge of this extraordinary event."--Jacket

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