Cradle of life : the discovery of earth's earliest fossils /
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| Author / Creator: | Schopf, J. William, 1941- |
|---|---|
| Imprint: | Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, c1999. |
| Description: | xiv, 367 p., [8] p. of plates : ill. (some col.) ; 24 cm. |
| Language: | English |
| Subject: | |
| Format: | Print Book |
| URL for this record: | http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/3806533 |
Table of Contents:
- Prologue
- Acknowledgments
- Chapter 1.. Darwin's Dilemma
- Breakthrough to the Ancient Past
- The Nature of Geologic Time
- The "Schoolbook" History of Life
- Darwin's Dilemma
- Denouement
- Chapter 2.. Birth of a New Field of Science
- The Floodgates Crack Open
- Famous Figures Enter the Field
- A Youngster Joins the Fray
- The Floodgates Open Full Bore
- Chapter 3.. The Oldest Fossils and What They Mean
- "Trust but Verify"
- "Real World Problems" in the Search for Early Life
- Questions and Answers about the Oldest Records of Life
- The Oldest Fossils Known
- Chapter 4.. How Did Life Begin?
- The Basics of Biology
- The Universal of Life
- How Did Monomers of CHON Arise on the Lifeless Earth?
- Organic Monomers beyond the Earth
- How Did Monomers Become Linked into Polymers?
- From Monomers to Polymers toward Life
- Chapter 5.. Metabolic Memories of the Earliest Cells
- How Did Cells Begin?
- The Essentials of Life
- Life's Earliest Way to Make a Living
- Air and Light: A New Source of Glucose
- Why Do We Breathe Oxygen?
- The Four-Stage Development of Modern Metabolism
- Chapter 6.. So Far, So Fast, So Early?
- How Old Is the Modern Ecosystem?
- When Did Life Begin?
- How Did Evolution Proceed So Far, So Fast, So Early?
- Paleobiology: Fossils, Geology, and Geochemistry
- Isotopic Evidence of Ancient Metabolisms
- Paleobiology: Direct Evidence of Early Evolution
- Chapter 7.. Stromatolites: Earth's First High-Rise Condos
- Nature Is Not Compartmentalized
- Stromatolites: Earth's First High-Rise Condos
- Stromatolites of the Geologic Past
- What Are Stromatolites Good For?
- Chapter 8.. Cyanobacteria: Earth's Oldest "Living Fossils"
- Modes and Tempos in the Evolution of Life
- The Status Quo Evolution of Cyanobacteria
- Evolution's Most Successful Ecologic Generalists
- Chapter 9.. Cells Like Ours Arise at Last
- Life Like Us Has Cells Like Ours
- DNA and Development: Keys to Eukaryotic Success
- How Old Are the Eukaryotes?
- Eukaryotes Perfect the Art of Cloning
- Sex: A New Lifestyle Brings Major Change
- The Wax and Wane of Precambrian Acritarchs
- Prelude to the Phanerozoic
- Chapter 10.. Solution to Darwin's Dilemma
- The Adventure of Science
- Take-Home Lessons
- Solution to Darwin's Dilemma
- Epilogue. Extraordinary Claims! Extraordinary Evidence?
- Chapter 11.. Fossils, Foibles, and Frauds
- Chapter 12.. The Hunt for Life on Mars
- Glossary
- Further Reading
- Index of Geologic Units and Genera and Species
- Subject Index
