Handbook of astrobiology

867 Pages·2019·20.15 MB·English

by  Vera M

Handbook of Astrobiology

Handbook of Astrobiology

Edited by
Vera M. Kolb
University of Wisconsin-Parkside, USA
CRC Press
Taylor & Francis Group
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Library of Congress Cataloging‑in‑Publication Data
Names: Kolb, Vera M., editor.
Title: Handbook of astrobiology / edited by Vera M. Kolb.
Description: Boca Raton, Florida : CRC Press, [2019] | Includes
bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018021898 (print) | LCCN 2018047932 (ebook) | ISBN
9781315159966 (eBook General) | ISBN 9781351661119 (eBook Adobe Reader) |
ISBN 9781351661102 (eBook ePub) | ISBN 9781351661096 (eBook Mobipocket) |
ISBN 9781138065123 (hardback : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Exobiology--Handbooks, manuals, etc.
Classification: LCC QH326 (ebook) | LCC QH326 .H36 2019 (print) | DDC
576.8/39--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018021898
Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at
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and the CRC Press Web site at
http://www.crcpress.com
Contents
Preface..........................................................................................................................................................................................xi
Editor .........................................................................................................................................................................................xiii
Contributors ................................................................................................................................................................................xv
Section i Astrobiology: Definition, Scope, and education
Chapter 1.1 Astrobiology: Definition, Scope, and a Brief Overview .......................................................................................3
Vera M. Kolb
Chapter 1.2 Astrobiology Goals: NASA Strategy and European Roadmap ..........................................................................15
David J. Des Marais
Chapter 1.3 Online, Classroom and Wilderness Teaching Environments: Reaching Astrobiology Learners of All
Ages Around the World ......................................................................................................................................27
Bruce W. Fouke, Kyle W. Fouke, Tom Murphy, Colleen N. Cook, Bruce F. Michelson, Joseph L. Cross,
Lizanne DeStefano, Glenn A. Fried, Killivalavan Solai, Jacalyn Wittmer Malinowsky, Susan B. Kelly,
Claudia C. Lutz, Erin Louer, Courtney C. Fenlon, Nicholas P. Vasi, Adrienne M. Gulley, and Mayandi
Sivaguru
Chapter 1.4 Astrobiology as a Medium of Science Education ...............................................................................................45
Sun Kwok
Chapter 1.5 Astrobiology-as-Origins-Story: Education and Inspiration across Cultures ......................................................49
Daniella Scalice
Section ii Definition and nature of Life
Chapter 2.1 Defining Life: Multiple Perspectives ..................................................................................................................57
Vera M. Kolb
Chapter 2.2 A Generalized and Universalized Definition of Life Applicable to Extraterrestrial Environments ..................65
Benton C. Clark
Chapter 2.3 Synthetic Cells and Minimal Life.......................................................................................................................75
Daniel G. Gibson, Clyde A. Hutchison III, Hamilton O. Smith, and J. Craig Venter
Chapter 2.4 Communication as the Main Characteristic of Life ...........................................................................................91
Guenther Witzany
v
vi Contents
Section iii origin of Life: History, Philosophical
Aspects, and Major Developments
Chapter 3.1 Philosophical Aspects of the Origin-of-Life Problem: Neither by Chance Nor by Design .............................109
Iris Fry
Chapter 3.2 Charles Darwin and the Plurality of Worlds: Are We Alone? ..........................................................................125
Michael Ruse
Chapter 3.3 An Early History from Buffon to Oparin .........................................................................................................137
Stéphane Tirard
Section iV chemical origins of Life: chemicals in the
Universe and their Delivery on the early earth;
Geology and Atmosphere on the early earth
Chapter 4.1 Interstellar Molecules and Their Prebiotic Potential .........................................................................................147
Lucy M. Ziurys
Chapter 4.2 Formation and Delivery of Complex Organic Molecules to the Solar System and Early Earth ......................165
Sun Kwok
Chapter 4.3 Organic Molecules in Meteorites and Their Astrobiological Significance ......................................................177
Zita Martins
Chapter 4.4 Ancient Life and Plate Tectonics ......................................................................................................................195
Clark M. Johnson and Martin J. Van Kranendonk
Chapter 4.5 Atmosphere on Early Earth and Its Evolution as It Impacted Life ...................................................................207
James F. Kasting
Section V chemical origin of Life: Prebiotic chemistry
Chapter 5.1 Prebiotic Chemistry That Led to Life ................................................................................................................219
Juli Peretó
Chapter 5.2 Prebiotic Chemical Pathways to RNA and the Importance of Its Compartmentation .....................................235
Peter Strazewski
Chapter 5.3 The Hydrothermal Impact Crater Lakes: The Crucibles of Life’s Origin ........................................................265
Sankar Chatterjee
Contents vii
Chapter 5.4 Prebiotic Chemistry in Hydrothermal Vent Systems ........................................................................................297
María Colín-García, Saúl Villafañe-Barajas, Antoni Camprubí, Fernando Ortega-Gutiérrez,
Vanessa Colás, and Alicia Negrón-Mendoza
Chapter 5.5 Prebiotic Reactions in Water, “On Water,” in Superheated Water, Solventless, and in the Solid State ............331
Vera M. Kolb
Chapter 5.6 The Origin and Amplification of Chirality Leading to Biological Homochirality ..........................................341
Kenso Soai, Arimasa Matsumoto, and Tsuneomi Kawasaki
Chapter 5.7 Phosphorus in Prebiotic Chemistry—An Update and a Note on Plausibility ..................................................355
Alan W. Schwartz
Chapter 5.8 Phosphorylation on the Early Earth: The Role of Phosphorus in Biochemistry and Its Bioavailability ..........361
Carolyn Lang, Jennifer Lago, and Matthew A. Pasek
Chapter 5.9 Silicon and Life .................................................................................................................................................371
Joseph B. Lambert
Section Vi RnA and RnA World: complexity of Life’s origins
Chapter 6.1 Transitions: RNA and Ribozymes in the Development of Life ........................................................................379
Eric J. Hayden, Niles Lehman, and Peter J. Unrau
Chapter 6.2 Three Ways to Make an RNA Sequence: Steps from Chemistry to the RNA World ......................................395
Paul G. Higgs
Chapter 6.3 Coevolution of RNA and Peptides ....................................................................................................................409
Peter Strazewski
Chapter 6.4 Role of Cations in RNA Folding and Function .................................................................................................421
Jessica C. Bowman, Anton S. Petrov, and Loren Dean Williams
Chapter 6.5 The Origin of Life as an Evolutionary Process: Representative Case Studies .................................................437
Iris Fry
Chapter 6.6 The Complexity of Life’s Origins: A Physicochemical View ...........................................................................463
Jan J. Spitzer
viii Contents
Section Vii origin of Life: early compartmentalization—coacervates
and Protocells
Chapter 7.1 Oparin’s Coacervates ........................................................................................................................................483
Vera M. Kolb
Chapter 7.2 Protocell Emergence and Evolution ..................................................................................................................491
Punam Dalai and Nita Sahai
Section Viii origin of Life and its Diversification. Universal tree
of Life. early Primitive Life on earth. Fossils of Ancient
Microorganisms. Biomarkers and Detection of Life
Chapter 8.1 The Progenote, Last Universal Common Ancestor, and the Root of the Cellular Tree of Life .......................521
Johann Peter Gogarten
Chapter 8.2 Horizontal Gene Transfer in Microbial Evolution ............................................................................................527
Johann Peter Gogarten and R. Thane Papke
Chapter 8.3 Viruses in the Origin of Life and Its Subsequent Diversification .....................................................................535
Luis P. Villarreal and Frank Ryan
Chapter 8.4 Carl R. Woese and the Journey toward a Universal Tree of Life .....................................................................555
Bruce W. Fouke, Killivalavan Solai, Shelby L. Jones, Elizabeth M. Smith, Kyle W. Fouke,
Kaitlyn E. Fouke, Claudia C. Lutz, Mayandi Sivaguru, and Glenn A. Fried
Chapter 8.5 Fossils of Ancient Microorganisms ..................................................................................................................567
Kenichiro Sugitani
Chapter 8.6 Biomarkers and Their Raman Spectral Signatures: An Analytical Challenge in Astrobiology ......................597
Howell G.M. Edwards
Chapter 8.7 Fossilization of Bacteria and Implications for the Search for Early Life on Earth and Astrobiology
Missions to Mars ...............................................................................................................................................609
Frances Westall and Keyron Hickman-Lewis
Section iX Life under extreme conditions—Microbes in Space
Chapter 9.1 Extremophiles and Their Natural Niches on Earth ..........................................................................................635
Aharon Oren
Chapter 9.2 Microbes in Space .............................................................................................................................................661
Kasthuri Venkateswaran
Contents ix
Chapter 9.3 Virus Evolution and Ecology: Role of Viruses in Adaptation of Life to Extreme Environments .................677
Marilyn J. Roossinck
Section X Habitability: characteristics of Habitable Planets
Chapter 10.1 The Evolution of Habitability: Characteristics of Habitable Planets ..............................................................685
Charles H. Lineweaver, Aditya Chopra, and Sarah R. N. McIntyre
Section Xi intelligent Life in Space: History, Philosophy, and
Seti (Search for extraterrestrial intelligence)
Chapter 11.1 Mind in Universe: On the Origin, Evolution, and Distribution of Intelligent Life in Space ..........................701
David Dunér
Chapter 11.2 Where Are They? Implications of the Drake Equation and the Fermi Paradox .............................................717
Nikos Prantzos
Chapter 11.3 SETI: Its Goals and Accomplishments ..........................................................................................................727
Eric J. Korpela
Chapter 11.4 Humanistic Implications of Discovering Life Beyond Earth ..........................................................................741
Steven J. Dick
Section Xii exoplanets, exploration of Solar System, the Search for
extraterrestrial Life in our Solar System, and Planetary Protection
Chapter 12.1 Exoplanets: Methods for Their Detection and Their Habitability Potential ..................................................759
Ken Rice
Chapter 12.2 Solar System Exploration: Small Bodies and Their Chemical and Physical Conditions ...............................775
Hikaru Yabuta
Chapter 12.3 Solar System Exploration: Icy Moons and Their Habitability .......................................................................787
Steven D. Vance
Chapter 12.4 Searching for Extraterrestrial Life in Our Solar System ................................................................................801
Benton C. Clark
Chapter 12.5 Planetary Protection ........................................................................................................................................819
Catharine A. Conley
Index .........................................................................................................................................................................................835