PLANETARY CONDITIONS AT THE HADEAN AND ARCHEAN TRANSITION: POSSIBLE SCENARIOS FOR THE ORIGIN OF LIFE -- PLANETARY CONDITIONS AT THE HADEAN AND ARCHEAN TRANSITION: POSSIBLE SCENARIOS FOR THE ORIGIN OF LIFE -- CONTENTS -- PREFACE -- INTRODUCTION -- HADEAN EARTH -- 2.1. TEMPORAL LIMITS -- 2.2. MAGMA OCEAN -- 2.3. LATE HEAVY BOMBARDMENT -- 2.4. REDOX STATE OF THE PRIMITIVE MANTLE -- 2.5. PRIMITIVE LITHOSPHERE -- 2.6. PLATE TECTONICS AND MINERAL EVOLUTION -- GEOPHYSICAL ASPECTS OF EARTH'S PRIMITIVE OUTER LAYERS -- 3.1. INTRODUCTION -- 3.2. THE YOUNG FAINT SUN PARADOX -- 3.3. THE EARTH'S EARLY MAGNETOSPHERE -- 3.4. COSMIC RAYS AND THE EARLY EARTH -- 3.5. HYDROSPHERE -- 3.6. ATMOSPHERE -- THE CHEMICAL APPROACH TO THE ORIGIN OF LIFE -- 4.1. THE HETEROTROPHIC HYPOTHESIS -- 4.2. AUTOTROPHIC HYPOTHESIS -- 4.3. ENERGY AND MATTER ON EARLY EARTH -- 4.3.1. Energy Sources of Early Earth -- UV Radiation -- Thermal Energy -- Hydrothermal Vents -- Electric Discharges -- Shock Energy -- Radiation and Radioactivity -- 4.3.2. Organic Matter Sources -- Internal Sources -- External Sources -- Comets -- Meteorites -- IDPs -- 4.4. STABILITY OF ORGANIC COMPOUNDS IN THE PRIMITIVE EARTH -- 4.5. CHEMICAL COMPONENTS IN CONTEMPORARY LIFE -- 4.6. PREBIOTIC CHEMISTRY -- 4.6.1. The Oparin-Haldane Hypothesis -- 4.6.2. Simulated Experiments -- Synthesis of Monomers -- Abiotic Synthesis of Amino Acids -- Mildly Reducing and Non-Reducing Atmospheres -- Abiotic Synthesis of Carbohydrates -- The Nucleic Acids and Their Constituents -- Nucleosides and Nucleotides -- Polymerization Reactions -- Template Polymerization -- 4.6.3. RNA World -- 4.6.4. Thioester World -- 4.6.5. Pre-Rna World -- 4.6.6. Clay Theory -- 4.6.7. Thermal Vents -- 4.7. THE OPTICAL ACTIVITY PROBLEM -- 4.8. REMARKS -- PRE-CELLULAR SYSTEMS AND FIRST ORGANISMS -- 5.1. EARLIEST FOSSILS AND PALEONTOLOGY -- DISCUSSION.

REFLECTIONS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF DIFFERENT ENERGY SOURCES -- WHEN AND WHERE LIFE ORIGINATED ON EARTH? -- REFERENCES -- INDEX.