Singularities landmarks on the pathways of life / Christian de Duve.

Author/creator De Duve, Christian
Format Electronic
Publication InfoCambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press,
Descriptionxiv, 258 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Supplemental ContentFull text available from eBooks on EBSCOhost
Subjects

Contents Building blocks -- Homochirality -- Protometabolism -- ATP -- Electrons and protons -- Thioesters -- RNA -- Proteins -- DNA -- Membranes -- Protonmotive force -- Protometabolism revisited -- The LUCA -- The first fork -- Eukaryotes -- Oxygen -- Endosymbionts -- Multicellulars -- Homo -- Evolution -- Final comments.
Review "This brief but deep book presents a sophisticated consideration of the key steps or bottlenecks that constrain the path to the origin and evolution of life. Christian de Duve, a pioneer of modern cell biology and Nobel laureate, gives in this book a contemporary response to Erwin Schrodinger's tremendously influential What Is Life?, which 60 years ago influenced many of the pioneers of molecular biology. Christian de Duve offers shrewd insights on the conditions that may have first called forth life and surveys the entire history of life, using as landmarks the many remarkable singularities along the way, such as the single ancestry of all living beings, the universal genetic code, and the monophyletic origin of eukaryotes."--Jacket.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references (pages 241-250) and index.
Access restrictionAvailable only to authorized users.
Technical detailsMode of access: World Wide Web
Genre/formElectronic books.
LCCN 2004054761
ISBN9780521841955 (hardback)
ISBN052184195X (hardback)
ISBN9780521603010 (pb.)
ISBN0521603013 (pb.)