The Ancestor Cell

The Ancestor Cell
Author: Peter Anghelides
Publisher: BBC Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2000
Genre: Doctor Who (Fictitious character)
ISBN: 9780563538097

Compassion has finally been tracked down by the Time Lords and two TARDISes are moving in to attack and disable here. She disgorges the Doctor and Fitz in a dark, mysterious, Gallifreyan location, where they are attacked by a gigantic spider, that only the Doctor can see.

The First Cell

The First Cell
Author: Ulrich C. Schreiber
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 186
Release: 2020-06-05
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3030453812

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.

Understanding Evolution

Understanding Evolution
Author: Kostas Kampourakis
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 275
Release: 2014-04-03
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1107034914

Bringing together conceptual obstacles and core concepts of evolutionary theory, this book presents evolution as straightforward and intuitive.

The Ancestor's Tale

The Ancestor's Tale
Author: Richard Dawkins
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Total Pages: 688
Release: 2016-04-28
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1474600573

A fully updated edition of one of the most original accounts of evolution ever written, featuring new fractal diagrams, six new 'tales' and the latest scientific developments. THE ANCESTOR'S TALE is a dazzling, four-billion-year pilgrimage to the origins of life: Richard Dawkins and Yan Wong take us on an exhilarating reverse journey through evolution, from present-day humans back to the microbial beginnings of life. It is a journey happily interrupted by meetings of fellow modern animals (as well as plants, fungi and bacteria) similarly tracing their evolutionary path back through history. As each evolutionary pilgrim tells their tale, Dawkins and Wong shed light on topics such as speciation, sexual selection and extinction. Written with unparalleled wit, clarity and intelligence; taking in new scientific discoveries of the past decade; and including new 'tales', illustrations and fractal diagrams, THE ANCESTOR'S TALE shows us how remarkable we are, how astonishing our history, and how intimate our relationship with the rest of the living world.

In Search of Cell History

In Search of Cell History
Author: Franklin M. Harold
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 318
Release: 2014-10-29
Genre: Science
ISBN: 022617431X

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 Ancestor's Tale

The Ancestor's Tale
Author: Richard Dawkins
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 696
Release: 2004
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780618619160

A renowned biologist provides a sweeping chronicle of more than four billion years of life on Earth, shedding new light on evolutionary theory and history, sexual selection, speciation, extinction, and genetics.

Faction Paradox: This Town Will Never Let Us Go

Faction Paradox: This Town Will Never Let Us Go
Author: Lawrence Miles
Publisher: Mad Norwegian Press
Total Pages: 517
Release: 2003-10-13
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

Faction Paradox: A group of time-travelling ritualists, saboteurs and subterfugers -- essentially, the criminal-cult to end all criminal-cults. The Faction seeks to subvert history to its own ends, preferably by letting its rivals kill each other off, then swooping in to seize whatever's left -- presuming the Universe survives... An examination of ritual and suburban horror, This Town Will Never Let Us Go features the 19-year-old Inangela, a city-dweller who's under observation by Faction Paradox's elders and archons. Before this story's done, Inangela's going to encounter the Great Urban Horror – an unidentified force seeking to tunnel its way out of the ground and feed on the surface world.

Life from an RNA World

Life from an RNA World
Author: Michael Yarus
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 212
Release: 2010
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780674050754

A majority of evolutionary biologists believe that we now can envision our biological predecessors--not the first, but nearly the first, living beings on Earth. This book is about these vanished forebears. The era between the first rudimentary life on Earth and the appearance of more complex beings is called the RNA world. It is RNA (ribonucleic acid) long believed to be a mere biologic copier and messenger, that offers a glimpse into our ancient predecessors. To describe early RNA creatures, here called "ribocytes" or RNA cells, the author uses basics of molecular biology. He reviews our current understanding of the tree of life, examines the structure of RNA itself, explains the operation of the genetic code, and more. Courting controversy among those who question the role of ribocytes -- citing the chemical fragility of RNA and the uncertainty about the origin of an RNA synthetic apparatus -- he offers a vision of early life on Earth.

The Way of the Cell

The Way of the Cell
Author: Franklin M. Harold
Publisher:
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2003
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0195163389

Schrodinger's riddle -- The quality of life -- Cells in nature and in theory -- Molecular logic -- A (almost) comprehensible cell -- It takes a cell to make a cell -- Morphogenesis: where form and function meet -- The advance of the microbes -- By descent with modification -- So what is life? -- Searching for the beginning.