The origin and early evolution of life

Author(s)

Bibliographic Information

The origin and early evolution of life

Tom Fenchel

Oxford University Press, c2002

  • : pbk

Other Title

Origin & early evolution of life

Available at  / 6 libraries

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Note

"Oxford biology."--Cover

Description and Table of Contents

Description

Origin and Early Evolution of Life draws on evidence from molecular genetics, the structure and function of extant organisms, and geology. It covers the period from about 4 billion years ago, when life is thought to have originated, to about 600 million years ago when multicellular organisms first arose. There are significant gaps in our understanding of the earliest evolution of life forms, but an insight into the topic leads to a more profound understanding of life itself. Particular emphasis is placed on the fact that although life arose very soon after the origin of the Earth, it was represented only by simple microbial life forms for approximately 85% since this time. Increase in complexity beyond the microbial level took place only very late in the history of life.

Table of Contents

1: Introduction. 2: The Geological Time Frame. 3: Early Ideas on the Origin of Life. 4: What is Life?. 5: Origin of Life. 6: From the RNA-World to the First Cell. 7: The Evolution of Metabolism. 8: The Eukaryotic Cell. 9: Multicellular Organisms - Origins as Cell Colonies. 10: Sex, Species Concepts, and Evolution. 11: Our Anaerobic Inheritance. 12: The Molecular Tree. 13: Evidence from Geology. 14: Transitions During the Evolution of Life

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Details

  • NCID
    BA60825429
  • ISBN
    • 0198525338
  • Country Code
    uk
  • Title Language Code
    eng
  • Text Language Code
    eng
  • Place of Publication
    Oxford
  • Pages/Volumes
    viii, 171 p., [8] p. of plates
  • Size
    24 cm
  • Classification
  • Subject Headings
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