THE ORIGIN OF LIFE ON EARTH AND ELSEWHERE
Authors: MELVIN  CALVIN
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1961)

Special Article1 May 1961THE ORIGIN OF LIFE ON EARTH AND ELSEWHEREMELVIN CALVIN, Ph.D., D.SC.MELVIN CALVIN, Ph.D., D.SC.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-54-5-954 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptThe particular sequence of thoughts indicated by the title has its origin in my interest in the process of photosynthesis. It began when I asked myself the question: Which came first, the plants or the animals? This question had been answered in a variety of ways, but one can't help but wonder, as one learns more and more about the detailed mechanism by which living organisms store energy and use it, how they got started in the first place. Actually, these thoughts began long before we heard of Sputnik and all of its successors. However, the fact is that it...Bibliography1. 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Science 130: 1234-1237, 1959. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar19. CalvinVaughn MSK: Extraterrestrial life: some organic constituents of meteorites and their significance for possible extraterrestrial biological evolution. Proc. 1st Inter. Space Sci. Symp. (Nice, France, 1960). North-Holland Publ. Co., Amsterdam, 1960, pp. 1171-1191. Google Scholar20. OróKimball JAP: Synthesis of imidazoles and purines under primitive earth conditions. Abstr. Mtg. Amer. Chem. Soc., Sept., 1960. Biological Chem. Abstr., p. 25C, abstr. 68. Google Scholar21. Oró J: Synthesis of adenine from ammonium cyanide. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 2: 407-412, 1960. CrossrefGoogle Scholar22. OróGuidry JGL: A novel synthesis of polypeptides. Nature 186: 156-157, 1960. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar23. OróKimballFritzMaster JAPRF: Amino acid synthesis from formaldehyde and hydroxylamine. Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 85: 115-130, 1959. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar24. WadstenAnderson TS: Studies on a polymerization product of HCN. Acta Chem. Scand. 13: 1069-1074, 1959. CrossrefGoogle Scholar25. Ruske W: Trimeric and tetrameric hydrocyanic acid. Chem. Tech. 6: 489-494, 1954. Google Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Berkeley, California*Received for publication November 30, 1960.From the Department of Chemistry and the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, Calif.This address was presented before the California Section of the American Chemical Society, Berkeley, Calif., September 19, 1960, and before the Third Annual Basic Science Lecture of the Southern California Region of The American College of Physicians, November 18, 1960.†Preparation of this paper was sponsored by the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission.‡Research Professor of Chemistry, Miller Institute for Basic Research, 1960-61.Requests for reprints should be addressed to Dr. Melvin Calvin, Professor of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley 4, Calif. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byNontemplate-driven polymers: clues to a minimal form of organization closure at the early stages of living systemsHydrothermal Vent Origin of Life ModelsHydrothermal Vent Origin of Life ModelsOrigins of Life’s IngredientsThe origins of the genetic codeChemical EvolutionThe Bakerian Lecture, 1965 - Chemical evolutionBIBLIOGRAPHYUltra-Violet-Absorbing Compound(S) Reported Present in the Murray Meteorite 1 May 1961Volume 54, Issue 5Page: 954-976KeywordsBiologicsResearch laboratories Issue Published: 1 May 1961 PDF downloadLoading ...