| The Spark of Life: Darwin and the Primeval Soup Contributor(s): Wills, Christopher (Author), Bada, Jeffrey (Author) |
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ISBN: 0738204935 ISBN-13: 9780738204932 Publisher: Basic Books OUR PRICE: $20.89 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: March 2001 Annotation: Where did we come from? Did life arise on earth or on some other planet? What did the earliest primitive organisms look like? Untangling a century of contentious debate, the authors explore current theories of the source of life -- from Martian meteors to hydrothermal vents -- and then present their own elegant scenario: Life arose not in the subterranean depths, as many believe, but on Earth's tumultuous surface, where a primitive form of natural selection spawned the first genetic material, perhaps in the form of a proto-virus. Knowing exactly how life began on Earth will not only teach us more about ourselves, it will bring us closer to finding life elsewhere. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Science | Life Sciences - Evolution - Science | Reference |
| Dewey: 576.83 |
| LCCN: 2001094807 |
| Lexile Measure: 1310 |
| Physical Information: 0.78" H x 5.96" W x 9.14" (1.05 lbs) 320 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: A highly readable survey of the historical prelude to the study of the origins of life, as well as selected areas of current research, including the search for extraterrestrial life.-NatureWhere did we come from? Did life arise on earth or on some other planet? What did the earliest primitive organisms look like? Untangling a century of contentious debate, the authors explore current theories of the source of life-from Martian meteors to hydrothermal vents-and then present their own elegant scenario: Life arose not in the subterranean depths, as many believe, but on Earth's tumultuous surface, where a primitive form of natural selection spawned the first genetic material, perhaps in the form of a proto-virus. Knowing exactly how life began on Earth will not only teach us more about ourselves, it will bring us closer to finding life elsewhere. |