Origins Of Life On The Earth And In The Cosmos. 2nd Edition

"Geoffrey Zubay's Origins of Life on the Earth and in the Cosmos is the most readable and even-handed general treatment of the problem of the origins of life since Miller and Orgel's 1974 monograph." -Gerald F. Joyce, Scripps Research Institute Origins of Life on the Earth and in the Cosmos suggests answers to the age-old questions of how life arose on the earth and how it might a-rise elsewhere. This thorough revision of a successful first edition describes the key events in the evolution of living systems, starting with the creation of an environment suitable for the origins of life. Whereas we may never be able to reconstruct the precise pathway that led to the origin of life on earth, we can make some plausible reconstructions of how it took place. Such exercises have greatly expanded our understanding of the principles of chemical evolution and how they compare and contrast with the principles of biological evolution. Key Features • Provides an excellent review of basic biochemistry and evolution • Written in a clear, concise style for scientists, students, and readers interested in a scientific inquiry into the origins of life • Written by an authority in the field, and brought fully up-to-date in light of new research • Pulls together valuable information not found in a single source • Organized and presented in a manner conducive for use in a college course • Heavily illustrated to make difficult concepts concrete