INDEX
abiological processes, 113 Acasta gneiss, 144 accretion, 43, 44, 46–52 acidophiles, 184 – 86 adenine, 64, 73, 74 adenosine diphosphate (ADP), 85 aerobic metabolism: mitochondria, 160; origins, 158–59 AFP, 180 Akilia rock, 144 alanine, 63, 72, 83 aldehydes, 70–72, 76 aldol condensation, 79 aldotetrose, 78 algae, 152; lichen-forming, 181 ALH84001 (meteorite), 233–38; carbonate globules, 236; magnetite, 236–37; nanofossils, 236–37; organic molecules, 235–37 alkaliphiles, 184–86 alkenes, 80 alkynes, 80 Allen, Paul, 247–48 Allen Telescope Array, 247–48 alpha helix, 120 alpha-particle and x-ray spectrometer. See APXS Alpher, Ralph, 15, 36 Altman, Sidney, 106 Alvin (submarine), 171, 174; diving range, 187 amino acids, 62–65, 68–76, 82–84, 97, 112–14 ammonia (NH3): amino acids, 65, 70– 73, 76; condensation processes, 43, 47; extraterrestrial sources, 81; primordial planetary conditions, 61–63; properties, 11; radical reactions, 70, 80; reducing environments, 97; volatile inventory, 66 ammonium cyanide, 75
animals: origins, 165 –66 anisotropy, 20, 24 –25 Antarctica, 181, 188 anthropic principle, 28, 29 – 31, 114 antifreeze, 180 anti-freeze proteins. See AFP Apollo missions, 48, 50, 52, 192– 93, 217 APXS, 201 Aquifex pyrophilus, 178 –79 archaea, 130; discovery of new domain, 142–43; halophilic, 184; membranes, 139 Archaean Era, 144 – 45 archaebacteria. See archaea argon (Ar), 48 – 49 Armstrong, Neil, 192 aromatic amino acids, 70 –71 Arrhenius, Svante, 93 –94 asparagine, 71 aspartic acid, 63, 72, 83 asteroids, 38, 45–46, 81 Athiorhodaceae, 154 atmospheric conditions, 58 – 59, 61– 62, 66–69 atomic chemistry, 5 –7, 17–18 ATP, 122, 126; produced in Krebs cycle, 159; produced in photosynthesis, 155–56 ATPase, 186 axial tilt, 54–55 -Pictoris, 52 bacteriorhodopsin, 154 bacterium: membrane, 139; phylogeny, 142–43 Bada, Jeffrey, 83 Banavar, Jayanth, 120 banded iron formations, 150 Barnard’s star, 34 Bartel, David, 108 –9, 110, 111 baryonic matter, 20 –21