Life In The Universe

closetoStockholm,StanleyMillergavetheopeninglectureofaconferenceontheMol- ularEvolutionofLife. OnapictureItook,asaco-arrangeroftheseevents,Stanleyisseen approachinginhisusual,modestway,morefocussedonscienti?cdiscussionthanonthe camera. Last but not least, I shall tell you the true story about when we learned that Stanley isanenthusiasticenvironmentalist,inthebestsenseoftheword. About25yearsago,in Stockholm, Stanley, my wife and I strolled in the King’s Garden. Its elmtrees were full 7 J. Seckbach et al. (eds. ), Life in the Universe,7–8. C 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. 8 of young people who, some even spending nights in the trees, prevented the authorities from removing the elmtrees, by ax and saw. Also Stanley signed a petition to save the elmtrees—andtheyweresaved! Stanley, I believe that your greatness as a scientist and as a friend must be linked to the many facets of your wonderful personality. We much look forward to your lecture. THE BEGINNING OF CHEMICAL EVOLUTION EXPERIMENTS Recollections and Perspectives 1 2 3 S. L. MILLER , J. L. BADA , and A.

Dedication Biodata of editors Preface by the editors Acknowledgements Group photograph and List of Attendees

I. Opening
Introduction to Life in the Universe; T. Johnson
The Abdus Salam Lecture; H. Baltscheffsky
The Beginning of Chemical Evolution Experiments; S. Miller, J.L. Bada and A. Lazcano
An Overview of Cosmic Evolution; George V. Coyne
Physical Phenomena underlying the Origin of Life; Juan Pérez-Mercader

II. Where did the Chemical Elements Come From and When did Life Begin?
The Origin of Biogenic Elements; F. Matteucci and C. Chiappini
Thermochemistry of the Dark Age; D. Puy
Searching for Oldest Life on Earth: A Progress Report; S. Moorbath and B.S. Kamber
The European Exo/Astrobiology Network Association; Andre Brack

III. Physical Constraints on the Origin of Life
The Origin of Biomolecular Chirality Salam Hypothesis and The Role af Phase Transition in Amino Acids; W. Wang, N. Yao, Y. Chen and P. Lai
A Mechanism for the Prebiotic Emergence of Proteins; H.P. De Vladar, R. Cipriani, B. Scharifker and J. Bubis
Functional, Self-Referential Genetic Coding; R.C. Guimarães and C.H.C. Moreira
Importance of Biased Synthesis in Chemical Evolution Studies; A. Negron-Mendoza, S. Ramos-Bernal and F.G. Mosqueira
When Did Information First Appear in the Universe; J.G. Roederer

IV. From the Miller Experiment to Chemical and Biological Evolution
Prebiotic Organic Synthesis and the Emergence of Life; L. Delaye, A. Becerra, A.M. Velasco, S. Islas and A. Lazcano
Origin and Evolution of Very Early Sequence Motifs in Enzymes; H. Baltscheffsky, B. Persson, A. Schultz, J.R. Pérez-Castiñeira and M. Baltscheffsky
The Lipid World: From Catalytic and Informational Headgroups to Micelle Replication and Evolution without Nucleic Acids; A. Bar-Even, B. Shenhav, R. Kafri and D. Lancet
Coenzymes in Evolution of the Rna World; M.S. Kritsky, T.A. Telegina, T.A. Lyudnikova and Yu.L. Zemskova
The Role of Heat in the Origin of Life; P.R. Bahn, A. Pappelis and R. Grubbs
A Possible Pathway for the Transfer of Chiral Bias from Extraterrestrial C_
Tetrasubstituted _-Amino Acids to Proteinogenic Amino Acids; M. Crisma, A. Moretto, F. Formaggio, B. Kaptein, Q.B. Broxterman and C. Toniolo
Prebiotic Polymerization of Amino Acids. A Makov Chain Approach; F.G. Mosqueira, S. Ramos-Bernal and A. Negron-Mendoza
The Electrochemical Reduction of Co2 to Formate in Hydrothermal Sulfide Ore Deposit as a Novel Source of Organic Matter; M.G. Vladimirov, Yu.F. Ryzhkov, V.A. Alekseev, V.A. Bogdanovskaya, V.A. Otroshchenko and M.S. Kritsky
Towards a Chronological Order of the Amino Acids; W.J.M.F. Collis
Origin and Evolution of Metabolic Pathways; M. Brilli and R. Fani
Conserved Oligopeptides in the Rubisco Large Chains; P.B. Vidyasagar, P. Shil and S. Thomas
On The Question of Convergent Evolution in Biochemistry; A.A. Akindahunsi and J. Chela-Flores
Diversity of Microbial Life on Earth and Beyond; J. Seckbach

V. Alternative Scenarios for the Origin and Evolution of Life
Mineral Surfaces as a Cradle of Primordial Genetic Material; E. Gallori, E. Biondi and M. Franchi
Adsorption and Self-Organization of Small Molecules on Inorganic Surfaces; D.G. Fraser
Studies on Copper Chromicyanide as Prebiotic Catalyst; Kamaluddin and S.R. Ali
Phosphate Immobilization by Primitive Condensers; F. De Souza-Barros, M.B.M. Monte, A.C.P. Duarte, J.A.P. Bonapace, M.R.D. Amaral Jr., R.B. Levigard, Y.A. Ching-San Jr., C.S. Costa and A. Vieyra
Adsorption and Catalysis of Nucleotide Hydrolysis by Pyrite in Media Simulating Primeval Aqueous Environments; A. Vieyra, A.C. Tessis, M. Pontes-Buarque, J.A.P. Bonapace, M. Monte, H.S. De Amorim and F. De Souza-Barros

VI. Cosmological and Other Space Science Aspects of Astrobiology
Dust and Planet Formation in the Early Universe; G. Vladilo
Quasar Absorption-Line Systems and Astrobiology; G. Vladilo
A New Search for Dyson Spheres in the Milky Way; D. Minniti, F. Capponi, A. Valcarce and J. Gallardo
Space Weather and Space Climate; M. Messerotti

VII. Planetary Exploration in our Solar System: The Interstellar Medium, Micro-Meteorites and Comets
Spontaneous Generation of Amino Acid Structures in the Interstellar Medium; U.J. Meierhenrich
Experimental Study of the Degradation of Complex Organic Molecules. Application to the Origin of Extended Sources in Cometary Atmospheres; N. Fray, Y. Benilan, H. Cottin, M.-C. Gazeau and F. Raulin
Fate of Glycine During Collapse of Interstellar Clouds and Star Formation; S.K. Chakrabarti, S. Chakrabarti and K. Acharyya
Formation of Simplest Bio-Molecules during Collapse of an Interstellar Cloud; K. Acharya, S. K. Chakrabarti and S. Chakrabarti
Chemical Abundances of Cometary Meteoroids from Meteor Spectroscopy; J.M. Trigo-Rodríguez, J. Llorca and J. Oró

VIII. Earth Analogues of Extraterrestrial Ecosystems
Viable Halobacteria from Ancient Oceans; H. Stan-Lotter, C. Radax, S. Leuko, A. Legat, C. Gruber, M. Pfaffernhuemer, H. Wieland and G. Weidler
Mars-Like Soils in the Yungay Area, the Driest Core of the Atacama Desert in Northern Chile; R. Navarro-González, F.A. Rainey, P. Molina, D.R. Bagaley, B.J. Hollen, J. De La Rosa, A.M. Small, R.C. Quinn, F.J. Grunthaner, L. Cáceres, B. Gomez-Silva, A. Buch, R. Sternberg, P. Coll, F. Raulin and Ch.P. McKay
The Discovery of Organics in Sub-Basement Fossil Soils Drilled in the North Pacific (Odp Leg 197): Their Model Formation and Implications for Astrobiology Research; R. Bonaccorsi and R.L. Mancinelli
Silica-Carbonate Biomorphs and the Implications for Identification of Microfossils; A.M. Carnerup, S.T. Hyde, A-K. Larsson, A.G. Christy and J.M. Gracía-Ruiz
Some Statistical Aspects Related to the Study of Treeline in Pico De Orizaba; L. Cruz
Kuri, C.P. McKay and R. Navarro-Gonzalez

IX. On the Question of Life on Mars and on the Early Earth
The Beagle 2 Lander and the Search for Traces of Life on Mars; A. Brack, C.T. Pillinger and M.R. Sims
Minimal Unit of Terraforming an Alternative for Remodelling Mars; H.O. Pensado Díaz
Early Archaean Life; F. Westall
Extraterrestrial Impacts on Earth and Extinction of Life in the Himalaya; V.C. Tewari
Palaeobiology and Biosedimentology of the Stromatolitic Buxa Dolomite, Ranjit
Window, Sikkim, Ne Lesser Himalaya, India; V.C. Tewari

X. Searching for Extraterrestrial Life, Europa, Titan and Extrasolar Planets
Searching for Extraterrestrial Life; T. Owen
Search for Bacterial Waste as a Possible Signature of Life on Europa; A.B. Bhattacherjee and J. Chela-Flores
Sulfate Volumes and the Fitness of Supcrt92 for Calculating Deep Ocean Chemistry; S. Vance, E. Shock and T. Spohn
The Case for Life Existing Outside of our Biosphere; R.S. Gatta
Application of Molecular Biology Techniques to Astrobiology; R.S. Gatta and J. Chela-Flores
Titan; F. Raulin, J-P. Lebreton and T. Owen
Chemical Characterization of Aerosols in Simulated Planetary Atmospheres; S.I. Ramirez, R. Navarro-Gonzalez, P. Coll and F. Raulin
Observation, Modeling and Experimental Simulation: Understanding Titan’s
Atmospheric Chemistry Using These Three Tools; J.-M. Bernard, P. Coll, C.D. Pintassilgo, Y. Benilan, A. Jolly, G. Cernogora and F. Raulin
Exobiology of Titan; M. Simakov

XI. The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI)
Seti-Italia; S. Montebugnoli, J. Monari, C. Bortolotti, A. Cattani, A. Maccaferri, M. Poloni, A. Orlati, S. Righini, S. Poppi, M. Roma, M. Teodorani, C. Maccone, C. B.
Cosmovici and N. D’Amico
Seti on the Moon; C. Maccone
Proposing a United Nations Secretary General Seti International; Advisory Board: G. Picco, G. Genta, P. Galeotti and D. Noventa
Some Engineering Considerations on the Controversial Issue of Humanoids; G. Genta

XII. The Search for Evolution of Intelligent Behavior and Density of Life
The New Universe, Destiny of Life, and the Cultural Implications; S.J. Dick
Evolution of Intelligent Behavior; J. Chela-Flores
Evolution of Language as Innate Mental Faculty; K.T. Shah
How Advanced is Et? P. Musso

XIII. Epistemological and Historical Aspects of Astrobiology
Chance or Design in the Origin of Living Beings; R. Vicuña and A. Serani-Merlo
Astrobiology and Biocentrism; R. Aretxaga
Analysis of the Works of the German Naturalist Ernst Haeckel (1834–1919) on the Origin of Life; F. Raulin-Cerceau
A Reexamination of Alfonso Herrera’s Sulfocyanic Theory on the Origin of Life ; E. Silva, L. Perezgasga, A. Lazcano and A. Negrón-Mendoza
Determinism and the Proteinoid Theory; A. Pappelis and P.R. Bahn
Glimpses of Trieste Conferences on Chemical Evolution and Origin of Life; M.S. Chadha

List of Participants

Index