The Origins of Life and the Universe

The Origins of Life and the Universe. Paul F. Lurquin. 2003. Columbia University Press, New York, NY. 217 pp. ISBN 0231126557. Origins is about the beginning of the universe, matter, stars, planets, and life. Examines principles of modern physics, stressing the relationship between energy and mass. Describes the Big Bang model of creation. Explains life’s beginnings from a molecular genetics’ viewpoint. Extrapolates on the origin of complex molecules that could have been precursors to life on Earth. Presents hypotheses governing the appearance of the first bacterial and eukaryotic cells. Discusses the possibility that life arose from extra-planetary sources. Explores the probability of life existing elsewhere in the universe. Contains numerous diagrams, appendices, and notes. For readers with an interest in the astronomical and physical sciences and the origination of life. B.F.

Copyright Northeastern Naturalist 2004