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Cradle of Life : The Discovery of Earth's Earliest Fossils
Cradle of Life : The Discovery of Earth's Earliest Fossils
Author: Schopf, J. William
Edition/Copyright: 1999
ISBN: 0-691-08864-0
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Type: Paperback
Used Print:  $36.00
Other Product Information
Author Bio
Review
Summary
Table of Contents
 
  Author Bio

Schopf, J. William : University of California, Los Angeles

J. William Schopf, a member of the Department of Earth and Space Sciences, the Molecular Biology Institute, and the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics (IGPP) at the University of California, Los Angeles, is Professor of Paleobiology and Director of the IGPP Center for the Study of Evolution and the Origin of Life. A Member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, he is the recipient of medals from the National Science Board, the National Academy of Sciences, and the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life. He has also been awarded national book prizes for two edited volumes on life's earliest evolution, an Alexander von Humboldt Senior Research Prize, and two Guggenheim Fellowships.

 
  Review

"A book that bears out [Schopf's] assertion that science is enormously good fun!"

--Scientific American


"What were your very earliest ancestors like? I do not mean your great-great-great-grandparents. I mean the earliest life on the planet. In principle we all have a unique lineage of ancestors that runs all the way back to the origin of life. What was life like then--and is the supposed life on Mars our cousin? These are the problems palaeontologist Bill Schopf faces. . . . It has been a while since I read a book with so much good sense, put over in so amicable a style. If I ever were to discover my great-great-great grandparents I hope they turn out to be as wise as Schopf."

--Laurence Hurst, New Scientist


"In the well-written Cradle of Life, Schopf tells his own story of how Earth's early microbial biosphere was discovered."

--Stefan Bengtson, Nature


"A very clear introduction to the first living things. . . . Schopf . . . adopts an unusually informal first-person style for this rangy exploration of how Pre-cambrian fossils came to light and what they've taught us."

--Publishers Weekly


"An exceptional description of the field that is accessible to any educated lay reader."

--Library Journal (starred review)


"Schopf combines his often entertaining personal story with an introduction to the discipline of paleobiology, with asides on the chemical makeup of life. . . . A good introduction to the history of a science on the cutting edge."

--Kirkus Reviews


"A good introduction to a quickly evolving topic. . . . Schopf also offers a number of insider nuggets."

--Choice


"Schopf's subject, the origin of life, is fascinating, and as significant as any question that has ever been asked in academia. His explanation of the science behind his conclusions is clear, his approach is well organized. . . . This is a marvelous, magnificent, scientific adventure."

--John R. Alden, Cleveland Plain Dealer


Princeton University Press Web Site, June, 2002

 
  Summary

One of the greatest mysteries in reconstructing the history of life on Earth has been the apparent absence of fossils dating back more than 550 million years. We have long known that fossils of sophisticated marine life-forms existed at the dawn of the Cambrian Period, but until recently scientists had found no traces of Precambrian fossils. The quest to find such traces began in earnest in the mid-1960s and culminated in one dramatic moment in 1993 when William Schopf identified fossilized microorganisms three and a half billion years old. This startling find opened up a vast period of time--some eighty-five percent of Earth's history--to new research and new ideas about life's beginnings. In this book, William Schopf, a pioneer of modern paleobiology, tells for the first time the exciting and fascinating story of the origins and earliest evolution of life and how that story has been unearthed.

Gracefully blending his personal story of discovery with the basics needed to understand the astonishing science he describes, Schopf has produced an introduction to paleobiology for the interested reader as well as a primer for beginning students in the field. He considers such questions as how did primitive bacteria, pond scum, evolve into the complex life-forms found at the beginning of the Cambrian Period? How do scientists identify ancient microbes and what do these tiny creatures tell us about the environment of the early Earth? (And, in a related chapter, Schopf discusses his role in the controversy that swirls around recent claims of fossils in the famed meteorite from Mars.) Like all great teachers, Schopf teaches the non-specialist enough about his subject along the way that we can easily follow his descriptions of the geology, biology, and chemistry behind these discoveries. Anyone interested in the intriguing questions of the origins of life on Earth and how those origins have been discovered will find this story the best place to start.

 
  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 Universals 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
Extraordianary Claims!
Extraordinary Evidence?

Chapter 11. Fossils, Foibles, and Frauds

The Goal Is to "Get It Right"
"Man, a Witness of the Deluge"
Beringer's Lying Stones
Theories on the Nature of Fossils
Unearthing a Rosetta Stone

Chapter 12. The Hunt for Life on Mars

Hints of Ancient Martian Life?
NASA Stages a Press Conference
Meteorites from Mars
Search for the Smoking Gun
Lessons from the Hunt

Glossary
Further Reading
Index of Geologic Units and Genera and Species
Subject Index

 

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