Origins of Life

Geoffrey Zubay is professor of biology at Columbia University, where he has taught since 1963. He has published numerous articles in his field as well as two textbooks: Principles of Biochemistry (1995), with William W. Parson and Dennis E. Vance, and the First Edition of Origins of Life on the Earth and in the Cosmos (1996). Dr. Zubay received an M.S. degree in physical chemistry from the University of Chicago in 1952 and his Ph.D. degree in physical chemistry from Harvard University in 1957. Dr. Zubay is currently an editorial board member of three scholarly journals, Origins of Life, Chemtracts: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Methods: A Companion to Methods in Enzymology. In 1984, he was awarded the Selman A. Waksman Award for Outstanding Contributions to Microbiology.

Origin of the Universe.Formation of the Elements.Beginnings of Chemistry.Element Abundances of the Planets.Geologic, Hydrologic, and Atmospheric Evolution of the Earth.Cells, Organelles, and Biomolecules.Metabolic Strategies and Pathway Design.Biochemical Catalysis.Storage, Replication, and Utilization of Biochemical Information.General Considerations Concerning the Origin of Life on the Earth.Biochemical Pathways Involving Carbohydrates.Prebiotic Pathways Involving Carbohydrates.Similarities Between the Biosynthesis of Nucleotides and the Prebiotic Synthesis of Nucleotides.RNA Metabolism and the Prebiotic Synthesis of RNA. Amino Acid Synthesis Now and Then.Chemistry of Translation.Early Developments in Polypeptide Synthesis.Lipid Metabolism and the Prebiotic Synthesis of Lipids.Properties of Membranes and Their Evolution.Possible Roles of Clays and Minerals in the Origin of Life.Evolution of Organisms.Evolution of the Main Energy-Producing Pathway for Aerobic Metabolism: The Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle.Evolution of Photosynthesis.Origin and Elaboration of the Genetic Code.