Echoes of Life Fossil Molec Earth Hist C: What Fossil Molecules Reveal about Earth History

In 1936 a German chemist identified certain organic molecules that he had extracted from ancient rocks and oils as the fossil remains of chlorophyll--presumably from plants that had lived and died millions of years in the past. It was another twenty-five years before this insight was developed and the term "biomarker" coined to describe fossil molecules whose molecular structures could reveal the presence of otherwise elusive organisms and processes. Echoes of Life is the story of these molecules and how they are illuminating the history of the earth and its life. It is also the story of how a few maverick organic chemists and geologists defied the dictates of their disciplines and--at a time when the natural sciences were fragmenting into ever-more-specialized sub-disciplines--reunited chemistry, biology and geology in a common endeavor. The rare combination of rigorous science and literary style--woven into a historic narrative that moves naturally from the simple to the complex--make Echoes of Life a book to be read for pleasure and contemplation, as well as education. In 1936 A German Chemist Identified Certain Organic Molecules That He Had Extracted From Ancient Rocks And Oils As The Fossil Remains Of Chlorophyll - Presumably From Plants That Had Lived And Died Millions Of Years In The Past. It Was Another Twenty-five Years Before This Insight Was Developed And The Term Biomarker Coined To Describe Fossil Molecules Whose Molecular Structures Could Reveal The Presence Of Otherwise Elusive Organisms And Processes. Echoes Of Life Is The Story Of These Molecules And How They Are Illuminating The History Of The Earth And Its Life. It Is Also The Story Of How A Few Maverick Organic Chemists And Geologists Defied The Dictates Of Their Disciplines And - At A Time When The Natural Sciences Were Fragmenting Into Ever More Specialized Subdisciplines - Reunited Chemistry, Biology, And Geology In A Common Endeavor. The Rare Combination Of Rigorous Science And Literary Style, And A Historic Narrative That Moves Naturally From The Simple To The Complex, Make Echoes Of Life A Book To Be Read For Pleasure And Contemplation, As Well As Education.--jacket. Molecular Informants: A Changing Perspective Of Organic Chemistry -- Looking To The Rocks: Immortal Molecules And Life's First Vestiges -- From The Moon To Mars: The Search For Extraterrestrial Life -- Black Gold: An Alchemist's Guide To Petroleum -- Deep Sea Mud: Biomarker Clues To Climate History -- More Molecules, More Mud And The Isotopic Dimension: Ancient Environments -- Revealed -- Microbiologists (finally) Climb On Board -- Weird Molecules, Inconceivable Microbes, And Unlikely Proxies: Marine Ecology -- Revised -- Molecular Paleontology And Biochemical Evolution -- Early Life Revisited -- Thinking Molecularly, Anything Goes: From Mummies To Oil Spills, Doubts To New -- Directions. Susan M. Gaines, Geoffrey Eglinton, Jurgen Rullkotter ; Scientific Illustrations By Florian Rommerskirchen. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 315-339) And Index. For many commentators, September 11 inaugurated a new era of fear. But as Corey Robin shows in his unsettling tour of the Western imagination--the first intellectual history of its kind--fear has shaped our politics and culture since time immemorial. From the Garden of Eden to the Gulag Archipelago to today's headlines, Robin traces our growing fascination with political danger and disaster. As our faith in positive political principles recedes, he argues, we turn to fear as the justifying language of public life. We may not know the good, but we do know the bad. So we cling to fear, abandoning the quest for justice, equality, and freedom. But as fear becomes our intimate, we understand it less. In a startling reexamination of fear's greatest modern interpreters--Hobbes, Montesquieu, Tocqueville, and Arendt--Robin finds that writers since the eighteenth century have systematically obscured fear's political dimensions, diverting attention from the public and private authorities who sponsor and benefit from it. For fear, Robin insists, is an exemplary instrument of repression--in the public and private sector. Nowhere is this politically repressive fear--and its evasion--more evident than in contemporary America. In his final chapters, Robin accuses our leading scholars and critics of ignoring "Fear, American Style," which, as he shows, is the fruit of our most prized inheritances--the Constitution and the free market. With danger playing an increasing role in our daily lives and justifying a growing number of government policies, Robin's Fear offers a bracing, and necessary, antidote to our contemporary culture of fear. In 1936 a German chemist identified certain organic molecules in ancient rocks and oils as the fossil remains of chlorophyll, presumably from plants that had lived millions of years in the past. Many years later this insight was revisited and the term “biomarker” coined to describe fossil molecules whose molecular structures could reveal the presence of otherwise elusive organisms and processes—and then, the hunt was on. Echoes of Life is the story of those molecules and how they illuminate the history of the earth and its life. It is also the story of how a few maverick organic chemists and geologists defied the dictates of their disciplines and, at a time when the natural sciences were fragmenting into ever-more-specialized sub-disciplines, reunited chemistry, biology and geology in a common endeavor. In 1936 a German chemist identified certain organic molecules in ancient rocks and oils as the fossil remains of chlorophyll, presumably from plants that had lived millions of years in the past. Many years later this insight was revisited and the term biomarker coined to describe fossil molecules whose molecular structures could reveal the presence of otherwise elusive organisms and processesand then, the hunt was on. Echoes of Life is the story of those molecules and how they illuminate the history of the earth and its life. It is also the story of how a few maverick organic chemists and geologists defied the dictates of their disciplines and, at a time when the natural sciences were fragmenting into ever-more-specialised sub-disciplines, reunited chemistry, biology and geology in a common endeavor Molecular informants: a changing perspective of organic chemistry Looking to the Rocks: Molecular Clues to the Origin of Life From the moon to mars: the search for extraterrestrial life Black gold: an alchemist's guide to petroleum Deep sea mud: biomarker clues to climate history More molecules, More Mud and the Isotopic Dimension: Ancient Environments Revealed Microbiologists (finally) climb on board Weird Molecules, Inconceivable Microbes, and Unlikely Proxies: Marine Ecology Revised Molecular paleontology and biochemical evolution Early life revisited Thinking Molecularly, Anything Goes: From Mummies to Oil Spills, Doubts to New Directions Appendix: Biomarkers at a Glance Glossary Figure List Selected Bibliography Index A Biomarker-centric Tree of Life Fossil Molecules in Geologic Time. 1. Molecular Informants: a changing perspective of organic chemistry. 2. Looking to the Rocks: immortal molecules and life's first vestiges. 3. From the Moon to Mars: the search for extraterrestrial life. 4. Black Gold: an alchemist's guide to petroleum. 5. Deep Sea Mud: biomarker clues to climate history. 6. More Molecules, More Mud and the Isotopic Dimension: ancient environments revealed. 7. Microbiologists (finally) Climb on Board. 8. Weird Molecules, Inconceivable Microbes, and Unlikely Proxies: marine ecology revised. 9. Molecular Paleontology and Bioch Lodged in the earth’s outermost layer, ephemeral scratch on a mineral skin, life plays cards with a handful of elements—builds molecular extravaganzas of carbon and hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, or precious phosphorus, and forms the pieces to the parts that, assembled, define it. When the game is over, the cards reshu! ed, the parts dismantled—membranes ruptured, shells dissolved, bones ground to dust—a few of those organic molecules remain in the sediments and rocks, bearing witness to the distant moments of their creation.