Biogenesis: Theories of Life's Origin

Biogenesis provides a detailed, critical discussion of the modern scientific study of the origin of life. It covers the entire history, including the biological, geological, and cosmological background. The author explains the rationale behind the main assumptions and experimental strategies of the study of the origin of life, and reviews its plethora of theories, models, scenarios, and controversies.
The book begins with the history of the search for life's origin from the Greek philosophers to contemporary scientists. The author introduces the reader to important aspects of scientific thinking, and covers the biases, successes, and failures of these thinkers. Part II succinctly describes selected attributes of life, which are connected to theories and controversies of the studies of the origin of life. The main features of the solar system and Earth, where life is assumed to have originated, are briefly reviewed in Part III. This section covers the formation of the planet, its primordial atmosphere and seas, and the Gaia theory. Part IV investigates the rationale of the scientific theories of the origin of life. It begins with the fundamental assumptions and guidelines, as well as the main experimental strategies used by origin-of-life researchers. The book proceeds with a search for clues in both the geological and biological records. It concludes with a critical, but objective discussion of the main reactions, processes, models, and scenarios suggested for the emergence of various attributes of life in prebiotic environment and the transition from inanimate to animate.