LEADER 04000nam 22005895 450 001 9911021967103321 005 20250828130153.0 010 $a3-031-91763-4 024 7 $a10.1007/978-3-031-91763-9 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC32274353 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL32274353 035 $a(CKB)40630391200041 035 $a(DE-He213)978-3-031-91763-9 035 $a(OCoLC)1535977743 035 $a(EXLCZ)9940630391200041 100 $a20250828d2025 u| 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aurcnu|||||||| 181 $ctxt$2rdacontent 182 $cc$2rdamedia 183 $acr$2rdacarrier 200 10$aProtocells and the Origin of Life /$fby Roberto Serra, Marco Villani 205 $a1st ed. 2025. 210 1$aCham :$cSpringer Nature Switzerland :$cImprint: Springer,$d2025. 215 $a1 online resource (274 pages) 225 1 $aThe Frontiers Collection,$x2197-6619 311 08$a3-031-91762-6 327 $aSetting the stage -- An overview of our main conceptual tool -- A bird?s eye view on cells -- Origins -- Spontaneous organization -- Self-organization in chemical reactions -- Collective self-replication in chemical reactions -- Protocells and synchronization -- Polymers in protocells -- Conclusions. 330 $aHow life can emerge in a lifeless environment is one of the major open scientific challenges. This book pays particular attention to self-organization phenomena that might have led to the appearance of the first protocells, i.e. cell-like structures, much simpler than present-day cells, endowed with some primitive kinds of metabolism and heredity. After a brief description of the known facts and main hypotheses, mathematical and computational models of protocells are discussed: they should complement laboratory experiments, allowing rapid explorations of the dynamical properties of several alternative types of protocell architectures. Given the great uncertainties about the actual origin of life, it seems impossible to provide a detailed and complete reconstruction of the first life forms. It is therefore necessary to identify plausible pathways, highlighting the main physical and chemical processes ?towards life? that can take place. Generic models, which are abstract enough to encompass different specific hypotheses, are particularly relevant, as they allow one to identify properties which are common to several different detailed scenarios. They are widely discussed, and a particular case is described in detail, namely that of synchronization between the rate of molecular replication and that of reproduction of the whole protocell, which is a necessary condition for sustainable growth of a population and a prerequisite for further evolution. Using generic models, it is shown that such synchronization spontaneously emerges in successive generations, under very general assumptions. The book also contains extensive descriptions of the emergence of long polymers, of autocatalytic sets and of the interactions between protocells and their environments. The book is not meant only for specialists, but also for scientists working in different fields, as well as for laymen with an interest in science. It requires a basic knowledge of chemistry and biology, and an interest in simulation models. 410 0$aThe Frontiers Collection,$x2197-6619 606 $aSystem theory 606 $aEvolution (Biology) 606 $aBiophysics 606 $aComplex Systems 606 $aEvolutionary Biology 606 $aBiophysics 615 0$aSystem theory. 615 0$aEvolution (Biology) 615 0$aBiophysics. 615 14$aComplex Systems. 615 24$aEvolutionary Biology. 615 24$aBiophysics. 676 $a530.1 700 $aSerra$b Roberto$027458 701 $aVillani$b Marco$0121247 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9911021967103321 996 $aProtocells and the Origin of Life$94429550 997 $aUNINA