Excerpts from

The Mystery of Life's Origin:

Reassessing Current Theories

by
Charles B. Thaxton
Walter L. Bradley
Roger L. Olsen


Contents

Foreword, V

Preface, ix

Chapter 1 Crisis in the Chemistry of Origins, page1

Chapter 2 The Theory of Biochemical Evolution, p11

Chapter 3 Simulation of Prebiotic Monomer Synthesis, p18

Chapter 4 The Myth of the Prebiotic Soup, p42

Chapter 5 Reassessing the Early Earth and its Atmosphere, p69

Chapter 6 Plausibility and Investigator Interference, p99

Chapter 7 Thermodynamics of Living Systems, p113

Chapter 8 Thermodynamics and the Origin of life, p127

Chapter 9 Specifying How Work is to be Done, p144

Chapter 10 Protocells, p167

Chapter 11 Summary and Conclusion, p182

Epilogue, p188

Appendix, p218

Selected Readings, p220

Index, p221


ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Charles B. Thaxton received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Iowa State University. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University for two years where he studied the history of science. He had a Postdoctoral appointment in the biological laboratories at Brandeis University for three years. He co-authored with Nancy Randolph Pearcey, Light Through a Prism: A World View Approach to History of Science (Crossway, 1993). He was the Academic Editor for a high school biology supplement, Of Pandas and People (Haughton, 1989). Dr. Thaxton is President of Konos Connection, a non-profit corporation in Julian, California, and has lectured within the U.S. and Europe. In January, 1992 he moved with his family to Prague, Czechoslovakia. During 1992 he held appointments at both the Slovak Technical University in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia and the Biomathematical Institute in Craiova, Romania. He holds memberships in the American Chemical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and is a Fellow of both the American Institute of Chemists and the American Scientific Affiliation.

Walter L. Bradley received his Ph.D. in Materials Science from the University of Texas. He has participated as principal or co-principal investigator on over three million dollars of contract research and has consulted for many major corporations. He has published over 90 refereed papers in technical journals and conference proceedings. He has been a Texas Engineering Experiment Station Research Fellow since 1982 and was elected as an American Society for Materials Fellow in 1991. He is currently Professor and Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A & M University.

Roger L. Olsen received his Bachelor in Science degree in Chemistry in 1972 and his Ph.D. degree in Geochemistry in 1979. Both degrees were from the Colorado School of Mines. Dr. Olsen has worked at the Colorado School of Mines as an Instructor in Chemistry/Geochemistry, at Rockwell International as a Research Chemist, and at D'Appolonia Consulting Engineers/International Technology Corporation as a Project Geochemist. Dr. Olsen has made over 40 presentations at conferences and seminars and has published over 30 papers. He is a member of the American Chemical Society, Sigma Xi and the Hazardous Materials Research Institute. Dr. Olsen is a recognized expert in the fields of geochemistry and environmental chemistry and has been an expert witness in 12 cases. He is currently a vice president in the Denver, Colorado office of Camp Dresser McKee, Inc., Consulting Engineers.



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Foundation for Thought and Ethics
% Dean Anderson, Executive Vice President
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Richardson, TX 75083-0721
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The authors have prepared this book
in conjunction with the publishing program
of the Foundation for Thought and Ethics.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Thaxton, Charles B.
The mystery of life's origin.

Bibliography: p.220
Includes index.
1. Life-Origin. 2. Chemical evolution. 3. Life-Origin-Research. 4. Chemical evolution-Research.
I. Bradley, Walter L. II. Olsen, Roger L. III. Title.
QH325.B68 1984 577 83-17463
ISBN 0-929510-02-8

©Copyright 1984 by Foundation for Thought and Ethics.
All rights reserved.

Fourth Printing September 1992.

Published by:

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Manufactured in the United States of America.


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