In Search of Cell History

In Search of Cell History PDF Author: Franklin M. Harold
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022617431X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 318

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Book Description
This comprehensive history of cell evolution “deftly discusses the definition of life” as well as cellular organization, classification and more (San Francisco Book Review). The origin of cells remains one of the most fundamental mysteries in biology, one that has spawned a large body of research and debate over the past two decades. With In Search of Cell History, Franklin M. Harold offers a comprehensive, impartial take on that research and the controversies that keep the field in turmoil. Written in accessible language and complemented by a glossary for easy reference, this book examines the relationship between cells and genes; the central role of bioenergetics in the origin of life; the status of the universal tree of life with its three stems and viral outliers; and the controversies surrounding the last universal common ancestor. Harold also discusses the evolution of cellular organization, the origin of complex cells, and the incorporation of symbiotic organelles. In Search of Cell History shows us just how far we have come in understanding cell evolution—and the evolution of life in general—and how far we still have to go. “Wonderful…A loving distillation of connections within the incredible diversity of life in the biosphere, framing one of biology’s most important remaining questions: how did life begin?”—Nature

In Search of Cell History

In Search of Cell History PDF Author: Franklin M. Harold
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022617431X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 318

Get Book Here

Book Description
This comprehensive history of cell evolution “deftly discusses the definition of life” as well as cellular organization, classification and more (San Francisco Book Review). The origin of cells remains one of the most fundamental mysteries in biology, one that has spawned a large body of research and debate over the past two decades. With In Search of Cell History, Franklin M. Harold offers a comprehensive, impartial take on that research and the controversies that keep the field in turmoil. Written in accessible language and complemented by a glossary for easy reference, this book examines the relationship between cells and genes; the central role of bioenergetics in the origin of life; the status of the universal tree of life with its three stems and viral outliers; and the controversies surrounding the last universal common ancestor. Harold also discusses the evolution of cellular organization, the origin of complex cells, and the incorporation of symbiotic organelles. In Search of Cell History shows us just how far we have come in understanding cell evolution—and the evolution of life in general—and how far we still have to go. “Wonderful…A loving distillation of connections within the incredible diversity of life in the biosphere, framing one of biology’s most important remaining questions: how did life begin?”—Nature

The Origin and Evolution of Eukaryotes

The Origin and Evolution of Eukaryotes PDF Author: Patrick J. Keeling
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781621820284
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 416

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Book Description
All protists, fungi, animals, and plants on Earth are eukaryotes. Their cells possess membrane-bound organelles including a nucleus and mitochondria, distinct cytoskeletal features, and a unique chromosome structure that permits them to undergo mitosis or meiosis. The emergence of eukaryotic cells from prokaryotic ancestors about 2 billion years ago was a pivotal evolutionary transition in the history of life on Earth. But the change was abrupt, and few clues exist as to the nature of the intermediate stages. Written and edited by experts in the field, this collection from Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology examines evolutionary scenarios that likely led to the emergence and rapid evolution of eukaryotes. Contributors review the mechanisms, timing, and consequences of endosymbiosis, as well as molecular and biochemical characteristics of archaea and bacteria that may have contributed to the first eukaryotic lineage. They explore all of the available evidence, including clues from the fossil record and comparative genomics, and formulate ideas about the origin of genomic characteristics (e.g., chromatin and introns) and specific cellular features (e.g., the endomembrane system) in eukaryotes. Topics such as the origins of multicellularity and sex are also covered. This volume includes discussion of multiple evolutionary models that warrant serious attention, as well as lively debate on some of the most contentious topics in the field. It will thus be fascinating reading for evolutionary biologists, cell and molecular biologists, paleobiologists, and all who are interested in the history of life on Earth.

The First Cell

The First Cell PDF Author: Ulrich C. Schreiber
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030453812
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 186

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Book Description
This book introduces a fresh perspective on the conditions for the genesis of the first cell. An important possible environment of the prehistoric Earth has long been overlooked as a host to the perfect biochemical conditions for this process. The first complexes of continental crust on the early Earth must have already contained systems of interconnected cracks and cavities, which were filled with volatiles like water, carbon dioxide and nitrogen. This book offers insights into how these conditions may have provided the ideal physical and chemical setting for the formation of protocells and early stages of life. The authors support their hypothesis with a number of astonishing findings from laboratory experiments focusing on a variety of organic compounds, and on the formation of key cellular ingredients and of primitive cell-like structures. Moreover, they discuss the principles of prebiotic evolution regarding the aspects of order and complexity. Guiding readers through various stages of hypotheses and re-created evolutionary processes, the book is enriched with personal remarks and experiences throughout, reflecting the authors' personal quest to solve the mystery surrounding the first cell.

Origin of Eukaryotic Cells

Origin of Eukaryotic Cells PDF Author: Lynn Margulis
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Cells
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description


Molecular Biology of the Cell

Molecular Biology of the Cell PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780815332183
Category : Cells
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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The Search for Life's Origins

The Search for Life's Origins PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309042461
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 161

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Book Description
The field of planetary biology and chemical evolution draws together experts in astronomy, paleobiology, biochemistry, and space science who work together to understand the evolution of living systems. This field has made exciting discoveries that shed light on how organic compounds came together to form self-replicating molecules-the origin of life. This volume updates that progress and offers recommendations on research programs-including an ambitious effort centered on Mars-to advance the field over the next 10 to 15 years. The book presents a wide range of data and research results on these and other issues: The biogenic elements and their interaction in the interstellar clouds and in solar nebulae. Early planetary environments and the conditions that lead to the origin of life. The evolution of cellular and multicellular life. The search for life outside the solar system. This volume will become required reading for anyone involved in the search for life's beginnings-including exobiologists, geoscientists, planetary scientists, and U.S. space and science policymakers.

The Revolutionary Origins of Life and Death

The Revolutionary Origins of Life and Death PDF Author: Pierre M. Durand
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022674793X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 236

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Book Description
The question of why an individual would actively kill itself has long been an evolutionary mystery. Pierre M. Durand’s ambitious book answers this question through close inspection of life and death in the earliest cellular life. As Durand shows us, cell death is a fascinating lens through which to examine the interconnectedness, in evolutionary terms, of life and death. It is a truism to note that one does not exist without the other, but just how does this play out in evolutionary history? These two processes have been studied from philosophical, theoretical, experimental, and genomic angles, but no one has yet integrated the information from these various disciplines. In this work, Durand synthesizes cellular studies of life and death looking at the origin of life and the evolutionary significance of programmed cellular death. The exciting and unexpected outcome of Durand’s analysis is the realization that life and death exhibit features of coevolution. The evolution of more complex cellular life depended on the coadaptation between traits that promote life and those that promote death. In an ironic twist, it becomes clear that, in many circumstances, programmed cell death is essential for sustaining life.

Concepts in Cell Biology

Concepts in Cell Biology PDF Author: Vaidurya Pratap Sahi
Publisher:
ISBN: 9783319699455
Category : Biology
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
This book discusses central concepts and theories in cell biology from the ancient past to the 21st century, based on the premise that understanding the works of scientists like Hooke, Hofmeister, Caspary, Strasburger, Sachs, Schleiden, Schwann, Mendel, Nemec, McClintock, etc. in the context of the latest advances in plant cell biology will help provide valuable new insights. Plants have been an object of study since the roots of the Greek, Chinese and Indian cultures. Since the term "cell" was first coined by Robert Hooke, 350 years ago in Micrographia, the study of plant cell biology has moved ahead at a tremendous pace. The field of cell biology owes its genesis to physics, which through microscopy has been a vital source for piquing scientists' interest in the biology of the cell. Today, with the technical advances we have made in the field of optics, it is even possible to observe life on a nanoscale. From Hooke's observations of cells and his inadvertent discovery of the cell wall, we have since moved forward to engineering plants with modified cell walls. Studies on the chloroplast have also gone from Julius von Sachs' experiments with chloroplast, to using chloroplast engineering to deliver higher crop yields. Similarly, advances in fluorescent microscopy have made it far easier to observe organelles like chloroplast (once studied by Sachs) or actin (observed by Bohumil Nemec). If physics in the form of cell biology has been responsible for one half of this historical development, biochemistry has surely been the other.

The Origins of Order

The Origins of Order PDF Author: Stuart A. Kauffman
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199826676
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 958

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Book Description
Stuart Kauffman here presents a brilliant new paradigm for evolutionary biology, one that extends the basic concepts of Darwinian evolution to accommodate recent findings and perspectives from the fields of biology, physics, chemistry and mathematics. The book drives to the heart of the exciting debate on the origins of life and maintenance of order in complex biological systems. It focuses on the concept of self-organization: the spontaneous emergence of order that is widely observed throughout nature Kauffman argues that self-organization plays an important role in the Darwinian process of natural selection. Yet until now no systematic effort has been made to incorporate the concept of self-organization into evolutionary theory. The construction requirements which permit complex systems to adapt are poorly understood, as is the extent to which selection itself can yield systems able to adapt more successfully. This book explores these themes. It shows how complex systems, contrary to expectations, can spontaneously exhibit stunning degrees of order, and how this order, in turn, is essential for understanding the emergence and development of life on Earth. Topics include the new biotechnology of applied molecular evolution, with its important implications for developing new drugs and vaccines; the balance between order and chaos observed in many naturally occurring systems; new insights concerning the predictive power of statistical mechanics in biology; and other major issues. Indeed, the approaches investigated here may prove to be the new center around which biological science itself will evolve. The work is written for all those interested in the cutting edge of research in the life sciences.

The Origins of Life

The Origins of Life PDF Author: David W. Deamer
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781936113040
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Life arose on Earth more than three billion years ago. How the first self-replicating systems emerged from prebiotic chemistry and evolved into primitive cell-like entities is an area of intense research, spanning molecular and cellular biology, organic chemistry, cosmology, geology, and atmospheric science. Written and edited by experts in the field, this collection from Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology provides a comprehensive account of the environment of the early Earth and the mechanisms by which the organic molecules present may have self-assembled to form replicating material such as RNA and other polymers. The contributors examine the energetic requirements for this process and focus in particular on the essential role of semi-permeable compartments in containment of primitive genetic systems. Also covered in the book are new synthetic approaches for fabricating cellular systems, the potentially extraterrestrial origin of life's building blocks, and the possibility that life once existed on Mars. Comprising five sections Setting the Stage, Components of First Life, Primitive Systems, First Polymers, and Transition to a Microbial World it is a vital reference for all scientists interested in the origin of life on Earth and the likelihood that it has arisen on other planets