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The Origin of Life on the Earth covers the proceedings of the First International Symposium of The Origin of Life on the Earth, held at Moscow on August 19-24, 1957. This symposium brings together numerous scientific studies on the evolutionary principles and the different stages in the evolutionary development of matter. This book is organized into seven parts encompassing 60 chapters. The first parts discuss evidence that on the formation of hydrocarbons and their derivatives on the surface of the Earth even before the emergence of life. The subsequent parts are devoted to the many asymmetrical syntheses under the influence of circularly-polarized ultraviolet light, by catalytic reactions occurring on the surface of quartz crystals, and spontaneously by slow crystallization from solutions. These topics are followed by reviews on the possible means of abiogenic formation of amino acids, porphyrins, protein-like polymers, polynucleotides and other high-molecular organic compounds. Considerable chapters explore the complete possibility of the primary formation of these compounds on the surface of the Earth even before life was present on it. Other general topics covered include nucleic acids, nucleoproteins and viruses. The last part considers general biochemical problems connected with the further development of metabolism. This book will be of value to astronomers, physicists, geologists, chemists, and biologists.

CONTENTS We're All in the Same Boat! Who Cares and Why? How can You Tell? From Mine to Moon Relax and Enjoy It Reading List

Psychoanalyst, political theorist, pioneer of body therapies, prophet of the sexual revolution—all fitting titles, but Wilhelm Reich has never been recognized as a serious laboratory scientist, despite his experimentation with bioelectricity and unicellular organisms. Wilhelm Reich, Biologist is an eye-opening reappraisal of one of twentieth-century science’s most controversial figures—perhaps the only writer whose scientific works were burned by both the Nazis and the U.S. government. Refuting allegations of “pseudoscience” that have long dogged Reich’s research, James Strick argues that Reich’s lab experiments in the mid-1930s represented the cutting edge of light microscopy and time-lapse micro-cinematography and deserve to be taken seriously as legitimate scientific contributions. Trained in medicine and a student of Sigmund Freud, Reich took to the laboratory to determine if Freud’s concept of libido was quantitatively measurable. His electrophysiological experiments led to his “discovery” of microscopic vesicles (he called them “bions”), which Reich hypothesized were instrumental in originating life from nonliving matter. Studying Reich’s laboratory notes from recently opened archives, Strick presents a detailed account of the bion experiments, tracing how Reich eventually concluded he had discovered an unknown type of biological radiation he called “orgone.” The bion experiments were foundational to Reich’s theory of cancer and later investigations of orgone energy. Reich’s experimental findings and interpretations were considered discredited, but not because of shoddy lab technique, as has often been claimed. Scientific opposition to Reich’s experiments, Strick contends, grew out of resistance to his unorthodox sexual theories and his Marxist political leanings.

This book addresses the phenomenon of biological autoluminescence (also known as ultraweak photon emission, UPE, biochemiluminescence, or biophotons) and deals with a very broad spectrum of subjects, ranging from basic observational studies to molecular mechanisms, free-radical processes, physics of electron excitation and photon emission, as well as detection techniques. The chapter topics include UPE in plants, animals, and the human body; microorganisms and subcellular structures; and model systems, illustrating its high prevalence. Several sections of the book provide some backstory, with emphasis on methodology, unresolved questions, and existing controversies. The authors raise and discuss complex, potentially divisive aspects: Are there any reasons to assume the existence of non-chemical interaction in biological systems? Can research results in the field of mitogenetic radiation, delayed luminescence, and oxychemiluminescence of model systems, be correctly interpreted? What does the future hold for this area of research? Altogether, this publication gives the reader a thorough overview of biological autoluminescence (UPE, biophotonics) research, making it ideal for students and researchers who are new to the area as well as those who are specializing in it.