Cosmochemical Evolution and the Origins of Life

I Organic Cosmochemistry.- Amino Acids in Carbonaceous Chondrites.- Remarks on the Chemical Conditions on the Surface of the Primitive Earth and the Probability of the Evolution of life.- Molten Earth and the Origin of Prebiological Molecules.- Soil and Water and Its Relationship to the Origin of Life.- Microbial Contributions to the Evolution of the 'Steady State' Carbon Dioxide System.- Structure of Biogenic Origin from Early Precambriam Rocks of Euro-Asia.- II Abiotic Organic Synthesis.- Photochemical Synthesis of Simple Organic Free Radicals on Simulated Planetary Surfaces - an ESR Study.- High Frequency Discharge Experiment.- Formation of Prebiochemical Compounds in Models of the Primitive Earth's Atmosphere. I: CH4-NH3 and CH4-N2 Atmospheres.- Formation of Prebiochemical Compounds in Models of the Primitive Earth's Atmosphere. II:CH4-H2S Atmospheres.- Organic Synthesis by Quench Reactions.- Shock Synthesis of Amino Acids II.- Quantum Chemical Study of the Thermodynamics, Kinetics of Formation and Bonding of H2CN: Relevance to Prebiotic Chemistry.- Aminonitriles: Possible Role in Chemical Evolution.- III Abiotic Organic Synthesis and Interactions: Polymers.- Macromolecules and the Origin of Life.- NMR Studies of Prebiotic Polypeptides.- The Origin of Proteins: Heteropolypeptides from Hydrogen Cyanide and Water.- Prebiotic Nucleotide Synthesis-Demonstration of a Geologically Plausible Pathway.- Models of Prebiological Phosphorylation.- Conditions of Occurrence for Primeval Processes of Transphosphorylations.- IV Structural and Thermodynamic Considerations on the Origin of Life.- Experiments on the Origins of Optical Activity.- A Technique for the Determination of Enantiomeric Amino Acids in Biological Samples.- Coacervate-Like Microspheres fromLysine-Rich Proteinoid.- Evolution in Bioids: Hypercompetitivity as a Source of Bistability and a Possible Role of Metal Complexes as Prenucleoprotic Mediators of Molecular Asymmetry.- Entropy of the Genetic Information and Evolution.- Physical Foundations of the Probability of Biogenesis.- Some Physical Parameters Controlling Cell Size During the Evolution of the Procaryons.- V Early Biochemical Evolution.- The Beginning of Photosynthesis.- Evolution of Photosystems of Photosynthetic Organisms.- Evolution of Oxygen by Plants in Relation to Biosphere Evolution.- Ambiguity in the Interpretation of Abiotic Syntheses.- On the Question of the Origin and Evolution of the Genetic System.- A Model for the Coevolution of the Genetic Code and the Process of Protein Synthesis: Review and Assessment.- VI Miscellaneous papers.- Hot Hydrogen Atoms: Initiators of Reactions of Interest in Interstellar Chemistry and Evolution.- Role of Weak Bases on the Prebiotic Formation of Heterocyclic Compounds.- The Prebiotic Synthesis of Deoxythymidine Oligonucleotides.- A Possible Step in the Origin of the Genetic Code.- The Emergence of Carcinogens During the Evolution of Living Systems.- Index of Subjects.