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Preface | |
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Creation of an Environment Suitable for the Origin of Life | |
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Origin of the Universe | |
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Newton's Universe Was Infinite and Static | |
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Hubble's Universe Was Finite and Expanding | |
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The Doppler Effect Shows That Almost All Galaxies Are Moving Away from Us | |
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Rate of Separation and Distance Data Suggest That the Universe Originated about 20 Billion Years Ago | |
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Quasars Have Anomalously High Redshifts | |
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Isotropic Background Radiation Is Believed to Be a Remnant of the Big Bang | |
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Current Evidence Suggests That the Rate of Expansion of the Universe Is Increasing | |
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Formation of the Elements | |
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Chemical Composition of the Sun Approximates Chemical Composition of the Universe | |
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Five Stable Subatomic Particles and Many More Unstable Ones Have Been Identified | |
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Four Types of Forces Account for All Interactions in the Universe | |
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Prior to Star Formation the Only Elements Formed in Significant Amounts Were Hydrogen and Helium | |
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Elements between Helium and Iron Were Produced in the Centers of Stars | |
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Formation of Elements Heavier Than Iron Starts with Neutron Capture | |
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Isotopes with Even Numbers of Protons Are Favored in Element Formation | |
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Beginnings of Chemistry | |
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Atoms Are Composed of Protons, Neutrons, and Electrons | |
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Periodic Table Is Arranged To Emphasize Electron Structure | |
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Atoms Can Combine to Form Molecules | |
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Ionic Bonds Form between Oppositely Charged Atoms | |
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Covalent Bonds Form between Atoms That Share Electron Pairs | |
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Molecular Interactions Are Largely Due to Noncovalent Forces | |
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Element Abundances of the Planets | |
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Planets Must Have Formed from the Same Nebula as the Sun | |
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Planets Differ in Mass, Density, and Composition | |
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Chemical Clues Concerning Earth's Composition Come from Density Considerations and Analysis of Meteorites | |
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Terrestrial Abundances of the Elements Are A Function of Element Abundances in the Universe, Chemical Reactions, and Loss of Volatiles | |
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Jovian Planets Are Most Likely to Have Retained Their Volatiles | |
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Isotope Dating of Certain Meteorites Indicates That Earth Formed about 4.6 Billion Years Ago | |
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Geologic, Hydrologic, and Atmospheric Evolution of Earth | |
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Earth Has a Layered Structure | |
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Evidence for the Layered Structure Comes from Studies of Seismic Waves | |
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Core Formation Occurred during the First 100 Million Years of Earth's History | |
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Continental Movements Reflect Geologic Activity within the Mantle | |
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Tectonic Plates Are Composed of Old Granites and Young Basalts | |
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Volcanoes and Quakes Reflect the Existence of Convection Cells in the Upper Mantle | |
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Liquid Water Covers Two-Thirds of Earth's Surface | |
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Magnetic Fields Protect Some Planets from the Solar Winds | |
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Surface Temperature Has Been Delicately Balanced for Almost 4 Billion Years | |
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Earth's Intermediate Distance from the Sun Has Helped to Moderate Earth's Surface Temperature | |
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Water and Carbon Dioxide Have Helped to Moderate Earth's Surface Temperature | |
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Earth's Atmosphere Is Subdivided into Four Regions | |
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Prebiotic Atmosphere Was a Reducing One | |
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Logic of Loving Systems | |
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Cells, Organelles, and Biomolecules | |
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The Cell Is the Fundamental Unit of Life | |
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Biomolecules Are Composed of a Small Number of Light Elements | |
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Biochemical Reactions Are a Subset of Ordinary Chemical Reactions | |
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Cells and Their Organelles Are Composed of Small Molecules and Macromolecules | |
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Macromolecules Form Complex Folded Structures | |
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Metabolic Strategies and Pathway Design | |
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Thermodynamics Gives Us the Criterion to Determine the Energy Status for a Biochemical Reaction | |
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Living Cells Require a Steady Supply of Starting Materials and Energy | |
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Organisms Differ in Sources of Starting Materials, Energy, and Reducing Power | |
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Reactions Show Functional Coupling | |
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Thermodynamically Unfavorable Reaction Can Be Made Favorable by Coupling to the Adenosine Triphosphate-Adenosine Diphosphate System | |
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Reactions Are Organized into Sequences or Pathways | |
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Sequentially Related Enzymes Are Frequently Clustered | |
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Activities of Pathways Are Regulated by Controlling the Amounts and Activities of the Enzymes | |
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Both Anabolic and Catabolic Pathways Are Regulated by the Energy Status of the Cell | |
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Regulation of Pathways Involves the Interplay of Kinetic and Thermodynamic Factors | |
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Biochemical Catalysis | |
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Given Favorable Thermodynamics, Kinetic Factors Determine Which Reactions Can Occur | |
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All Catalysts Obey the Same Basic Set of Rules | |
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Enzyme Catalysts Are Highly Selective and Function under Very Mild Conditions | |
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Each Member of the Trypsin Family of Enzymes Is Specific for Hydrolysis of a Particle Type of Peptide Linkage | |
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Storage, Replication, and Utilization of Biochemical Information | |
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DNA and RNA Have Similar Primary Structures | |
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Most DNAs Exist as Complementary Double-Helix (Duplex) Structures | |
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Cellular RNAs Form Intricate Folded Structures Interspersed with Double-Helix and Other Motifs | |
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DNA Replication Exploits the Complementary Structure That Forms between Its Two Polynucleotide Chains | |
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Transcription Involves the Selective Copying of Specific Regions of Much Longer DNA Chains | |
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Nascent Transcripts Undergo Extensive Changes Following Synthesis | |
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Some RNAs Have Catalytic Properties | |
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Proteins Are Informational Macromolecules | |
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Cellular Machinery of Protein Synthesis Is Constructed from RNA and Protein Components | |
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Code Used in Translation Was Deciphered with the Help of Synthetic Messengers | |
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Biochemical and Prebiotic Pathways: A Comparison | |
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General Considerations Concerning the Origin of Life on Earth | |
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Earth and The Origin of Life | |
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Getting the Chemistry of Life Underway | |
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Evolutionary Aspects of the Origin of Life | |
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Experimental Approaches Exist for Studying the Origin of Life | |
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Biochemical Pathways Involving Carbohydrates | |
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Breakdown of Sugars (Glycolysis) Follows a Linear Pathway with Many Branchpoints | |
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Most of the Enzymes Used in Glycolysis Are Used in the Reverse Process of Sugar Synthesis | |
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Pentose Phosphate Pathway Supplies Ribose and Reducing Power | |
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Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle Continues the Degradation Process Begun in Glycolysis | |
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Thermodynamics of the Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle Permits It to Operate in More Than One Way | |
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Glyoxylate Cycle Permits Growth on a Two-Carbon Source | |
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Prebiotic Pathways Involving Carbohydrates | |
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Synthesis of Sugars in the Prebiotic World Is Likely to Have Started with Formaldehyde | |
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Formaldehyde Was Probably Synthesized in the Prebiotic Atmosphere | |
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Glycolaldehyde Catalyzes the Incorporation of Formaldehyde into Sugars | |
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Strongly Basic Conditions Used in the Formose Reaction Are Not Conductive to High Yields of the Aldopentoses | |
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Under Mildly Basic Conditions Formaldehyde Incorporation into Pentoses and Hexoses Is Greatly Reduced | |
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Lead (Plumbous) Salts Catalyze Aldopentose Synthesis under Mildly Basic Conditions | |
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Lead Salts Also Catalyze the Interconversion of Aldopentoses and the Synthesis of Aldopentoses from Tetroses and Hexoses | |
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High Yields of Ribose 2,4-Bisphosphate Can Be Synthesized under Controlled Conditions from Glycolaldehyde and Formaldehyde | |
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We Still Face Problems with the Synthesis of Ribose | |
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Similarities and Differences between the Biosynthesis of Nucleotides and the Prebiotic Synthesis of Nucleotides | |
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Overview of Nucleotide Metabolism | |
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Biosynthesis of Purine Ribonucleotides | |
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Biosynthesis of Pyrimidine Nucleotides | |
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Prebiotic Synthesis of Nucleotides | |
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From Purines to Activated Nucleotides | |
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RNA Metabolism and Prebiotic Synthesis of RNA | |
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RNA Metabolism | |
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Prebiotic Synthesis of RNA | |
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Effectiveness of RNA to Function as a Ribozyme Is Dependent on Its Capacity to Form Complex Folded Structures | |
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Properties of Known Ribozymes | |
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Amino Acid Synthesis Now and Then | |
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Amino Acid Biosynthesis | |
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Prebiotic Pathways to Amino Acids | |
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Pioneering Experiments of Miller and Urey Suggest a Prebiotic Route to Amino Acids That Started in the Atmosphere | |
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Extraterrestrial Sources of Organic Material | |
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Chemistry of Translation | |
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Steps in Translation | |
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Rules for Base Pairing between Transfer RNA and Messenger RNA | |
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Early Developments in Polypeptide Synthesis | |
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Noninstructed Synthesis of Polypeptides | |
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Ribozyme-Instructed Synthesis of Peptides and Polypeptides | |
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Steps in the Emergence of a Translation System | |
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Lipid Metabolism and Prebiotic Synthesis of Lipids | |
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Fatty Acid Degradation | |
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Biosynthesis of Fatty Acids | |
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Synthesis of Phospholipids | |
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Prebiotic Synthesis of Lipids | |
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Properties of Membranes and Their Evolution | |
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Structures of Biological Membranes | |
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Functions of Biological Membranes | |
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Evolution of Membrane Structure and Function | |
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Possible Roles of Clays and Minerals in the Origin of Life | |
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Did "Living Clays" Precede Nucleic Acids? | |
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Clays Are Complexes of Cationic and Anionic Polymers | |
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Are Clays Capable of Inheritable Change? | |
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Could Clays of Unclear Nonclay Minerals Have Aided in the Development of the First Living Systems? | |
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Evolution of Living Systems | |
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Evolution of Organisms | |
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Existing Organisms Have a Common Origin | |
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Classical Evolutionary Tree Is Based on Morphology | |
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Biochemical Record | |
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Recombination and Mutation, The Ultimate Sources of Genetic Variability | |
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Earth: An Ever-Changing Environment | |
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Evolution of the Main Energy-Producing Pathway for Aerobic Metabolism: The Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle | |
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Carbohydrate Metabolism in Anaerobes and Aerobes | |
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Many Organisms Use Parts of the Krebs Cycle | |
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Scheme for Evolution of the Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle in Prokaryotes | |
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Evolution of Photosynthesis | |
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Photosynthesis Depends on the Photochemical Reactivity of Chlorophyll | |
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Photosynthesis Arose Early in Evolution and Is Still Widespread among Eubacteria | |
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Origin and Elaboration of the Genetic Code | |
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Triplet Code May Have Evolved from a Relaxed Singlet or Doublet Code | |
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Middle Base in the Codon May Have Been the First One to Acquire Meaning | |
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Amino Acids with Similar Side Chains Tend to Be Associated with Anticodons That Show Chemical Similarities | |
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Amino Acids in the Same Biosynthetic Pathway Use Similar Codons | |
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Amino Acids That Contain Chemically Similar Side Chains Frequently Share Two Code Letters | |
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There Is a Three-Base Periodicity in the Reading Frames That Reflects Codon Usage | |
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Synonym Codons Are Used to Varying Extents in a Species-Specific Manner | |
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The Code is Not Quite Universal | |
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Rules Regarding Codon-Anticodon Pairing Are Species Specific | |
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Changes in Codon or Antocodon Use Follow the Route with the Least Number of Steps | |
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Each Synthase Recognizes a Specific Amino Acid and Specific Regions on Its Cognate tRNA | |
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Prospectus | |
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Research on the Origin of Life Is A Unique Endeavour | |
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Earth's Atmosphere Has Changed A Great Deal in the Course of Time | |
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A Reducing Atmosphere Is Necessary for the Synthesis of HCN and CH[subscript 2]O | |
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Phosphorylation of Nucleosides Requires Phosphate Activation | |
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Nucleoside Formation Presents A Problem | |
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Accomplishments and Problems Associated with Polynucleotide Synthesis | |
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Sorting Out The Enantiomers: The Origin of Chirality | |
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Translation Must Have Followed RNA and Ribozyme Synthesis | |
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Early Functions of Lipids | |
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Glossary | |
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Appendix | |
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Answers to Problems | |
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Index | |