Cosmochemical Evolution and the Origins of Life Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on the Origin of Life and the First Meeting of the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life, Barcelona, June 25–28, 1973 Volume II: Contributed Papers

I Organic Cosmochemistry.- Amino Acids in Carbonaceous Chondrites.- Remarks on the Chemical Conditions on the Surface of the Primitive Earth and the Probability of the Evolution of life.- Molten Earth and the Origin of Prebiological Molecules.- Soil and Water and Its Relationship to the Origin of Life.- Microbial Contributions to the Evolution of the ‘Steady State’ Carbon Dioxide System.- Structure of Biogenic Origin from Early Precambriam Rocks of Euro-Asia.- II Abiotic Organic Synthesis.- Photochemical Synthesis of Simple Organic Free Radicals on Simulated Planetary Surfaces - an ESR Study.- High Frequency Discharge Experiment.- Formation of Prebiochemical Compounds in Models of the Primitive Earth’s Atmosphere. I: CH4—NH3 and CH4—N2 Atmospheres.- Formation of Prebiochemical Compounds in Models of the Primitive Earth’s Atmosphere. II:CH4—H2S Atmospheres.- Organic Synthesis by Quench Reactions.- Shock Synthesis of Amino Acids II.- Quantum Chemical Study of the Thermodynamics, Kinetics of Formation and Bonding of H2CN: Relevance to Prebiotic Chemistry.- Aminonitriles: Possible Role in Chemical Evolution.- III Abiotic Organic Synthesis and Interactions: Polymers.- Macromolecules and the Origin of Life.- NMR Studies of Prebiotic Polypeptides.- The Origin of Proteins: Heteropolypeptides from Hydrogen Cyanide and Water.- Prebiotic Nucleotide Synthesis-Demonstration of a Geologically Plausible Pathway.- Models of Prebiological Phosphorylation.- Conditions of Occurrence for Primeval Processes of Transphosphorylations.- IV Structural and Thermodynamic Considerations on the Origin of Life.- Experiments on the Origins of Optical Activity.- A Technique for the Determination of Enantiomeric Amino Acids in Biological Samples.- Coacervate-Like Microspheres fromLysine-Rich Proteinoid.- Evolution in Bioids: Hypercompetitivity as a Source of Bistability and a Possible Role of Metal Complexes as Prenucleoprotic Mediators of Molecular Asymmetry.- Entropy of the Genetic Information and Evolution.- Physical Foundations of the Probability of Biogenesis.- Some Physical Parameters Controlling Cell Size During the Evolution of the Procaryons.- V Early Biochemical Evolution.- The Beginning of Photosynthesis.- Evolution of Photosystems of Photosynthetic Organisms.- Evolution of Oxygen by Plants in Relation to Biosphere Evolution.- Ambiguity in the Interpretation of Abiotic Syntheses.- On the Question of the Origin and Evolution of the Genetic System.- A Model for the Coevolution of the Genetic Code and the Process of Protein Synthesis: Review and Assessment.- VI Miscellaneous papers.- Hot Hydrogen Atoms: Initiators of Reactions of Interest in Interstellar Chemistry and Evolution.- Role of Weak Bases on the Prebiotic Formation of Heterocyclic Compounds.- The Prebiotic Synthesis of Deoxythymidine Oligonucleotides.- A Possible Step in the Origin of the Genetic Code.- The Emergence of Carcinogens During the Evolution of Living Systems.- Index of Subjects.