Origins of life
- 2nd
- Cambridge. Cambridge University Press, 1999.
- ix, 100 p.; pb; 22 cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 93-95) and index.
How did life on earth originate? Did replication or metabolism come first in the history of life? In this book, Freeman Dyson examines these questions and discusses the two main theories that try to explain how naturally occurring chemicals could organize themselves into living creatures. The majority view is that life began with replicating molecules, the precursors of modern genes. The minority belief is that random populations of molecules evolved metabolic activities before exact replication existed. Dyson analyzes both of these theories with reference to recent important discoveries by ge.
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Biology Genetics and Evolution Predecessors Margulis Margulis Chemistry Paleontology Genetics Metabolism Living Creatures Molecules Resembling Proteins Nucleic Acids Genetic Apparatus