Planetary systems and the origin of life

Several major breakthroughs have helped contribute to the emerging field of astrobiology. Focusing on these developments, this fascinating book explores some of the most important problems in this field. It examines how planetary systems formed, and how water and the biomolecules necessary for life were produced. It then focuses on how life may have originated and evolved on Earth. Building on these two themes, the final section takes the reader on a search for life elsewhere in the Solar System. It presents the latest results of missions to Mars and Titan, and explores the possibilities of life in the ice-covered ocean of Europa. This interdisciplinary book is an enjoyable overview of this exciting field for students and researchers in astrophysics, planetary science, geosciences, biochemistry, and evolutionary biology. Colour versions of some of the figures are available at www.cambridge.org/9780521875486.

Author Notes

Ralph Pudritz is Director of the Origins Institute and a Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at McMaster University
Paul Higgs is Canada Research Chair in Biophysics and a Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at McMaster University
Jonathon Stone is Associate Director of the Origins Institute and SharcNet Chair in Computational Biology in the Department of Biology at McMaster University

Shay ZuckerL. Jeremy Richardson and Sara SeagerEdward W. ThommesPaul G. Higgs and Ralph E. PudritzDavid DeamerLynn RothschildKarl O. StetterHenner Brinkmann and Denis Baurain and Herve PhilippeOlga Zhaxybayeva and J. Peter GogartenAdolf SeilacherAlexandra Pontefract and Jonathon StoneChris P. McKayEors Szathmary and Tibor Ganti and Tamas Pocs and Andras Horvath and Akos Kereszturi and Szaniszlo Berczi and Andras SikFrancois RaulinRichard Greenberg

List of contributors	p. xi
Preface	p. xv
Part I Planetary systems and the origins of life	p. 1
1 Observations of extrasolar planetary systems	p. 3
1.1 Introduction	p. 3
1.2 RV detections	p. 4
1.3 Transit detections	p. 7
1.4 Properties of the extrasolar planets	p. 10
1.5 Other methods of detection	p. 14
1.6 Future prospects for space missions	p. 16
Acknowledgements	p. 17
References	p. 17
2 The atmospheres of extrasolar planets	p. 21
2.1 Introduction	p. 21
2.2 The primary eclipse	p. 21
2.3 The secondary eclipse	p. 23
2.4 Characteristics of known transiting planets	p. 25
2.5 Spectroscopy	p. 27
2.6 Model atmospheres	p. 30
2.7 Observations	p. 32
2.8 Future missions	p. 35
2.9 Summary	p. 37
References	p. 38
3 Terrestrial planet formation	p. 41
3.1 Introduction	p. 41
3.2 The formation of planetesimals	p. 42
3.3 The growth of protoplanets	p. 43
3.4 The growth of planets	p. 47
3.5 The origin of the Earth-Moon system	p. 52
3.6 Terrestrial planets and life	p. 52
3.7 Summary	p. 56
Acknowledgements	p. 57
References	p. 57
4 From protoplanetary disks to prebiotic amino acids and the origin of the genetic code	p. 62
4.1 Introduction	p. 62
4.2 Protoplanetary disks and the formation of planet systems	p. 63
4.3 Protoplanetary disks and the formation of biomolecules	p. 68
4.4 Measurements and experiments on amino acid synthesis	p. 71
4.5 A role for thermodynamics	p. 73
4.6 The RNA world and the origin of the genetic code	p. 76
4.7 How was the genetic code optimized?	p. 80
4.8 Protein evolution	p. 82
4.9 Summary	p. 84
Acknowledgements	p. 84
References	p. 84
5 Emergent phenomena in biology: the origin of cellular life	p. 89
5.1 Introduction	p. 89
5.2 Defining emergence	p. 89
5.3 Emergence of life: a very brief history	p. 90
5.4 The first emergent phenomena: self-assembly processes on the early Earth	p. 91
5.5 Sources of amphiphilic molecules	p. 92
5.6 The emergence of primitive cells	p. 95
5.7 Self-assembly processes in prebiotic organic mixtures	p. 100
5.8 Emergence of membrane functions	p. 101
5.9 Emergence of growth processes in primitive cells	p. 103
5.10 Environmental constraints on the first forms of life	p. 105
Acknowledgements	p. 106
References	p. 106
Part II Life on Earth	p. 111
6 Extremophiles: defining the envelope for the search for life in the universe	p. 113
6.1 Introduction	p. 113
6.2 What is an extremophile?	p. 114
6.3 Categories of extremophiles	p. 115
6.4 Environmental extremes	p. 115
6.5 How do they do it?	p. 123
6.6 Examples of extreme ecosystems	p. 125
6.7 Space: new categories of extreme environments	p. 126
6.8 Life in the Solar System?	p. 127
6.9 Conclusions	p. 130
Acknowledgements	p. 131
References	p. 131
7 Hyperthermophilic life on Earth - and on Mars?	p. 135
7.1 Introduction	p. 135
7.2 Biotopes	p. 136
7.3 Sampling and cultivation	p. 138
7.4 Phylogenetic implications	p. 139
7.5 Physiologic properties	p. 141
7.6 Examples of recent HT organisms	p. 143
References	p. 147
8 Phylogenomics: how far back in the past can we go?	p. 149
8.1 Introduction	p. 149
8.2 The principles of phylogenetic inference	p. 149
8.3 Artefacts affecting phylogenetic reconstruction	p. 152
8.4 Strengths and limitations of phylogenomics	p. 155
8.5 The importance of secondary simplification	p. 160
8.6 The tree of life	p. 164
8.7 Frequent strong claims made with weak evidence in their favour	p. 167
8.8 Conclusions	p. 171
Acknowledgements	p. 171
References	p. 172
9 Horizontal gene transfer, gene histories, and the root of the tree of life	p. 178
9.1 Introduction	p. 178
9.2 How to analyse multigene data?	p. 179
9.3 What does the plurality consensus represent? Example of small marine cyanobacteria	p. 182
9.4 Where is the root of the 'tree of life'?	p. 183
9.5 Use of higher order characters: example of ATPases	p. 185
9.6 Conclusions	p. 188
Acknowledgements	p. 188
References	p. 188
10 Evolutionary innovation versus ecological incumbency	p. 193
10.1 The Ediacaran world	p. 193
10.2 Preservational context	p. 194
10.3 Vendobionts as giant protozoans	p. 195
10.4 Kimberella as a stem-group mollusc	p. 198
10.5 Worm burrows	p. 202
10.6 Stability of ecosystems	p. 203
10.7 The parasite connection	p. 204
10.8 Conclusions	p. 207
Acknowledgements	p. 208
References	p. 208
11 Gradual origin for the metazoans	p. 210
11.1 Introduction	p. 210
11.2 Collagen as a trait tying together metazoans	p. 211
11.3 The critical oxygen concentration criterion	p. 212
11.4 The Burgess Shale fauna: a radiation on rocky ground	p. 213
11.5 Accumulating evidence about snowball Earth	p. 215
11.6 North of 80[degree]	p. 216
11.7 Conclusion	p. 219
Acknowledgements	p. 219
References	p. 219
Part III Life in the Solar System?	p. 223
12 The search for life on Mars	p. 225
12.1 Introduction	p. 225
12.2 Mars today and the Viking search for life	p. 227
12.3 Search for second genesis	p. 229
12.4 Detecting a second genesis on Mars	p. 235
12.5 Conclusions	p. 238
References	p. 238
13 Life in the dark dune spots of Mars: a testable hypothesis	p. 241
13.1 Introduction	p. 241
13.2 History	p. 241
13.3 Basic facts and considerations about DDSs	p. 243
13.4 Challenges and answers	p. 250
13.5 Partial analogues on Earth	p. 255
13.6 Discussion and outlook	p. 257
Acknowledgements	p. 258
References	p. 258
14 Titan: a new astrobiological vision from the Cassini-Huygens data	p. 263
14.1 Introduction	p. 263
14.2 Analogies between Titan and the Earth	p. 264
14.3 A complex prebiotic-like chemistry	p. 271
14.4 Life on Titan?	p. 278
14.5 Conclusions	p. 280
Acknowledgements	p. 281
References	p. 282
15 Europa, the ocean moon: tides, permeable ice, and life	p. 285
15.1 Introduction: life beyond the habitable zone	p. 285
15.2 The surface of Europa	p. 286
15.3 Tides	p. 295
15.4 The permeable crust: conditions for a European biosphere	p. 305
Acknowledgements	p. 309
References	p. 309
Index	p. 313

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