Vital Dust
Subtitle: Life as a Cosmic Imperative
Publisher: Basic Books
Published: January 1, 1996
Language: eng
Number of pages: 384
ISBN-13: 9780465090457
Subjects: Biology; Biochemistry; Molecular evolution
Genres: Non-fiction; Science (Biology)
First sentence: VIRTUALLY ALL the organic matter in the living world can be summarized symbolically, if not euphonically, by the formula CHNOPS, which stands for carbon (C), hydrogen (H), nitrogen (N), oxygen (O), phosphorus (P), and sulfur (S).
Description: Nobel prize-winning biochemist Christian de Duve takes readers on a survey of the history of life on earth from a biochemical and molecular perspective, from the formation of the first biomolecules and prebiotic peptides to thioesters; RNA and the age of information, to the greening of the earth and the age (and workings) of the mind.
Table of contents: title: The Search for Origins; title: The First Catalysts of Life; title: The Fuel of Emerging Life; title: The Advent of RNA; title: RNA Takes Over