How life originated from an inanimate mixture of organic and inorganic compounds on the primordial Earth remains one of the great unknowns in science. This origin of life, or abiogenesis, continues to be examined theoretically and experimentally in the context of 'prebiotic' conditions. Speculations have been made of the favourable conditions for the formation of prebiotic molecules following the formation of the young universe. How did those molecules assemble to form bio-polymers? How did the capacity of those polymers to replicate emerge, and what were the predominant geochemical conditions of our solar system, or others planetary systems? The answer to those questions could answer how life emerged.
This book provides a broad but in-depth analysis of the latest discoveries in prebiotic chemistry from the microscopic to the macroscopic scale, utilising experimental insight to provide a bottom up approach to provide a plausible explanation as to how life arose. With contributions from global leaders, this book is a reference for postgraduate students and a single source of comprehensive information on the latest technical and theoretical advancements for researchers in a variety of fields from astrophysics, astrochemistry and astrobiologist to organic chemistry and evolution.