Prebiotic chemistry and the origin of life
Giovanni Occhipinti
Naturwissenschaften, Medizin, Informatik, Technik / Chemie
Beschreibung
Born from twenty-five years of experimental research and a decade of bibliographic studies, this publication delves into the fascinating theory of life's abiotic origins. It begins with simple amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, revealing how these compounds, present from the prebiotic era and discovered in ancient meteorites, may have been pivotal in life's evolutionary journey. Focusing particularly on amino acids' chirality—that is, their existence in mirror-image right and left forms—the author probes the critical enigma of their separation and why the left (L) form dominates in all known living beings. The book sparks a compelling discussion about how this bifurcation might have occurred at life's very inception and the ultimate fate of the right form. The text further extends its reach, proposing theories on the genetic code's origins, the selection of the 20 natural amino acids from many known, and a physical theory of consciousness in bacteria. "Prebiotic Chemistry and the Origin of Life" is more than a trek through the complexities of chemistry and molecular biology; it's an enthralling journey into some of life's most profound existential questions.
