Origin of Life

Interstellar Molecules and the Origin of Life.- Molecules in Interstellar Clouds.- On the Origin of Organic Molecules in Interstellar Space and Some of its Consequences.- Comets and the Origin of Life.- Nature and Origin of Organic Molecules in Comets.- Liquid Water on a Planet over Cosmic Periods.- Organic Analysis of the Antarctic Carbonaceous Chondrites.- Nitrogen Compounds in Carbonaceous Meteorites: A Reassessment.- Abiotic Organic Synthesis in Space.- Formation of Prebiotic Precursors from Model Reducing Atmospheres: Role of Hydrogen Escape.- Organic Chemical Evolution of Reducing Model of the Atmosphere of the Primitive Earth. Role of UV Light and Electric Discharges.- Far UV Photolysis of Methane-Water Gaseous Mixtures and the Prebiotic Synthesis of Aldehydes.- Photolysis of CH4-NH3 Mixtures and PH3 as Models for the Photochemical Transformations on the Primitive Earth and Jupiter.- Possible Role of Phosphine in Chemical Evolution.- Clays as Prebiotic Photocatalysts.- Clay-Mediated Reactions of HCN Oligomers. The Effect of the Oxidation State of the Clay.- Chemical Evolution and Plate Tectonics.- The Strecker Synthesis in the Primitive Ocean.- Photoassisted Carbon Dioxide Reduction and Formation of Two- and Three-Carbon Compounds.- Melanoidin Polymers as Possible Oxygen Sinks in the Pre-biotic Oceans.- Formation of Energy Rich Phosphate in Fenton’s Reaction.- Abiotic Synthesis of Phosphoric Esters of Monosaccharides According to the “Cold Model”.- Synthesis and Degradation of Amino Acids by Contact Glow Discharge Electrolysis, a Possible Route for Prebiotic Formation of Bio-organic Compounds.- Genesis of Amino Acids in the Primeval Sea: Formation of Amino Acids from Sugars and Ammonia in a Modified Sea Medium.- Porphyrin-Like Compounds Genesis underSimulated Abiotic Conditions.- The Role of Analytical Procedures in the Formation of Biochemicals from Experiments Simulating the Chemical Evolution of Primeval Earth.- Reduction of Thionucleosides: A Prebiotic Pathway to Deoxyribonucleosides.- Factors Influencing the Rate of Non-Enzymatic Activation of Carboxylic and Amino Acids by ATP.- HCN Oligomerization - Isolation and Preliminary Characterization of a New Precursor of Adenine.- Cyanamide Mediated Syntheses of LEU, ALA and PHE Peptides under Plausible Primitive Earth Conditions.- Template-Directed Synthesis of Oligoguanylic Acids - Metal Ion Catalysis.- Chemical Evolution of Model Systems of Primeval Earth Periphery and Thermal Polymerization of Aqueous Solutions of Cyanides.- The Polymerization Products of ?-aminopropionitrile. The Component Separation Using Cation-Exchange Resin.- The Cold Theory of the Origins of Life. Assumptions for the Theory and Experimental Evidence.- The Appearance of Protobiopolymers and Protomembranes in Accordance with the “Cold Theory” of the Origins of Life.- Terrestrial Evolution of Polymerization of Amino Acids: Heat to ATP.- Potentiometric Titration Behavior of Polyamino Acids Prepared by Thermal Polycondensation.- On the Polycondensation of Amino Acid Adenylates on Montmorillonites.- Polymerization of Serine Guanylate in the Presence of Montmorillonite.- Quantum Mechanical Conformational Analysis of Aminoacyladenylates: Implication in the Origin of Life.- Environmental Conditions for the Formation of Marigranules and Kinetic Studies on the Formation.- Membrane Lipids and the Origin of Life.- Resolution of Underivatized Amino Acids by High Pressure Liquid Chromatography, Using Chiral Eluants.- Stereoselective Interactions of Small Biological Molecules.- Possible SelectiveAdsorption of Enantiomers by Na-Montmorrillonite.- Spontaneous and Induced Generation of Optical Activity in Racemic 4,4?-Dimethyl-1,1?-Binaphthyl.- Amplification of Optical Activity by Crystallization in the Presence of Tailor-Made Additives. The “Inversion Rule”.- Generation and Amplification of Optically Active Compounds via Inclusion in Chiral Tri-o-thymotide Clathrates.- Asymetrical Radical Formation in ?-Irradiated D- and L-Alanines.- A New Experiment to Investigate the Origin of Optical Activity Using a Low Energy Positron Beam of Controlled Helicity.- Competition, Coexistence and Irreversibility in Models of Early Molecular Evolution.- Histidyl-Histidine Catalysis of Glycine Condensation in Fluctuating Clay Environments.- A Theory for the Origin of a Self-Reproducing Chemical System by Natural Selection from Short, Random Oligomers.- A Mathematical Method for the Enumeration of Doublet Codes.- Evolving Nucleotide Binding Surfaces.- Origin and Evolution of the Genetic Code.- The Origin and Evolution of the Genetic Code.- Evolutionary Processes of the Genetic Code.- Summary of Evidence for an Anticodonic Basis for the Origin of the Genetic Code.- Primitive Transfer RNA and Origin of Darwinian System.- Evolution of the Terrestrial Atmosphere and its Fossils in Biosystems.- Organic Geochemistry of the ISUA Supracrustals.- Secondary Structures of Polypeptides as Evolutionary “Growing Points”.- Search for Primitive Replicative Properties on Early Polypeptides.- Emergence of Flavin Catalysis. An Approach Based on the Concept of Bioorganic Evolution.- Selective Acylability of Amino Acids by Non-Enzymic Model Reactions of Biochemical Transacylations.- Experiments on Transfer of Organic Molecular Information into Crystal Lattice Superstructures.-Phylogenetic Sequence of Metabolic Pathways in Precambrian Cellular Life.- Coupling to Solar Energy: Sensitized Photoreactions - The Primary Source of Self-Organization.- Ultraviolet Selection Pressure in the Prephanerozoic.- DNA-Protein Complex from an Extreme Halophile: A Histone-Like Protein in Archaebacteria.- The Evolution of Blue-Greens and the Origins of Chloroplasts.- Evolution of the Rhodospirillaceae and Mitochondria: A View Based on Sequence Data.- On the Origin of Photosynthetic Eukaryotic Cells: Cyanidium Caldarium as a “Bridge” Alga Between Prokaryotic Cyanobacteria and Eukaryotic Rhodophytes: Evidence from Environmental, Polysaccharide Biochemistry and Ultrastructural Studies.- Microbial Life in Cold Saline Environments.- Mutagens and Carcinogens: Occurence and Role During Chemical and Biological Evolution.- Could the Biochemical Metabolism be Different?.- Author Index.