Metal ions and the route to life / guest editors ; Wolfgang Nitschke, Simon Duval.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Nitschke, Wolfgang, editor.

Duval, Simon, editor.

Series:

Metal ions in life sciences ; volume 28.

Metal ions in life sciences ; volume 28

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Life--Origin.

Life.

Metal ions.

Physical Description:

xix, 383 pages : illustrations (some colour), charts ; 24 cm.

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Boca Raton : CRC Press, 2026.

Summary:

"Volume 28, entitle Metal Ions and the Route to Life, of the series Metal Ions in Life Sciences, advocates for the prime importance of the recognition of metal ions and metal-bearing minerals in the transition from inanimate matter to first life on our planet. Unlike the relatively unreactive organic molecules, the traditional protagonists of orthodox origin-of-life hypotheses, metals and mineral are natural catalysts, abundantly present in the majority of settings on the early Earth considered as conducive to bringing forth life. In these palaeogeochemical settings, they may have catalyzed the anabolic conversions of inorganic precursor molecules into organics and may have converted redox disequilibria between environmental reductants and oxidants into the ordering, i.e. the lowering of entropy, of first living entities. Far-fetched? Yet, this is precisely what metal ions do in life today!"

"An unlikely coalition of biology (biochemistry and bioenergetics) and physics (thermodynamics and condensed matter physics) is growingly questioning the plausibility of the orthodox hypotheses while putting metal ion and minerals centre-stage in their scenarios. In this volume, 29 internationally renowned experts from fields as diverse as microbiology, biochemistry, astrobiology, electrochemistry, ecology, mineralogy, geology and geochemistry shine light from their individual angles on this topic, bringing home metal ions primordial importance to extant life, presenting minerals with tantalizing reactivities appearing as look-alikes of life's processes and sketching out plausible, metal-ion-based scenarios for life's groundwork to interested researchers and the general public for revisiting their preconceived ideas about the origin of life and for appreciating the absolute indispensability of metal ions in life - now just as its beginnings!" -- back cover.

Contents:

The role of metal ions in the emergence of life: a call for a change in a paradigm / Wolfgang Nitschke and Simon Duval

Metal ion catalysis in the abiotic and biotic phases of the development of living organisms / Wolfgang Maret

Metals and life: an introduction / Bhanu P. Jagilinki, Florence Mus, and John W. Peters

Trace metals as redox cofactors and their role in controlling microbial diversity and evolution / Donato Giovannelli, Martina Cascone, Gabriella Gallo, Flavia Migliaccio, Bernardo Barosa, Deborah Bastoni, Jacopo Brusca, Antonio Longo, Luca Tonietti, and Angelina Cordone

Electron transfer symphony: unveiling the enigmatic role of inorganic iron oxide and sulfide nanoparticles as inorganic enzymes in early earth environments / Xiaolan Huang

Application of electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy for studies of prebiotic metals and complexes / Seneca J. Velling, Laura E. Rodriguez, Paul H. Oyala, John-Paul Jones, Laura M. Barge, and Jessica M. Weber

Unique semiconducting properties of layered Mn and Fe oxide minerals and their influence on biogeochemical process / Vidhya Chakrapani

Fe-Oxyhydroxide "Fougerite/Green Rust" minerals transformed (or proto-metabolized) CO₂ and CH₄ prior to life's emergence / Orion Farr, Nil Gaudu, Adriana Clouet, Michael J. Russell, and Chloé Truong

Fougerite: free energy converter for life's conception / Michael J. Russell

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Metal ions and the route to life.

ISBN:

9781032606156

1032606150

OCLC:

1478216363

Publisher Number:

90104344830