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H. BALTSCHEFFSKYChairman Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Arrhenius Laboratories, Stockholm University, S-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden. Professor Stanley Miller, Professor K. R. Srinivasan, Organizers and Sponsors of this Conference, Ladies and Gentlemen; WearegettingreadyfortheAbdusSalamLecture,honoringtwomostdistinguishedsci- tists. Bothhaveverysigni?cantlycontributedtotherapidgrowthofthesphereoffun- mentalknowledgeinthesecondhalfofthetwentiethcentury. Abdus Salam,theoreticalphysicist,NobelPrizewinner,creatorandlongtimeleader of The Abdus Salam Center of Theoretical Physics. With his active interest in the origin oflifeheplayedaleadingroleininstigatingtheseconferencesonChemicalEvolutionand theOriginofLifehereinTrieste,whichstillareofsuchprimaryimportanceinthis?eld. Heleftthisworldin1996. And Stanley Miller,whomostgenerously,astheAbdusSalamLecturer,isgoingto giveushis Recollectionsofthebeginningofchemicalevolutionexperiments : DearStanley,itisagreatprivilege,andindeedapleasuretointroduceyou. Thisisina wayaquiteeasytask,becauseweallalreadyknowthat theMillerexperiment ,whichis mostappropriatelyplacedinthetitleofthisconference,in1953,exactly50yearsago,was amajorbreakthrough,openingupanewresearch?eldwith,andfor,rationalandadvanced chemicalexperimentationonthemolecularoriginoflife. Itwouldtaketoomuchtimetotrytodescribehereyourscienti?ccarrier,yourprices, yourPresidencyofISSOLandyourmanyothersuccesses. SoIratherwillendthisint- ductionwithacoupleofpersonalrecollections. First I would like to combine something of Abdus Salam and Stanley Miller. Abdus Salamgavethevery?rstinvitedlectureoftheUniversityofStockholmInternationalL- turesonHuman,GlobalandUniversalProblems,in1975. And10yearslater,atLidingo closetoStockholm,StanleyMillergavetheopeninglectureofaconferenceontheMol- ularEvolutionofLife. OnapictureItook,asaco-arrangeroftheseevents,Stanleyisseen approachinginhisusual,modestway,morefocussedonscienti?cdiscussionthanonthe camera. Last but not least, I shall tell you the true story about when we learned that Stanley isanenthusiasticenvironmentalist,inthebestsenseoftheword. About25yearsago,in Stockholm, Stanley, my wife and I strolled in the King s Garden. Its elmtrees were full 7 J. Seckbach et al. (eds. ), Life in the Universe,7 8. C 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. 8 of young people who, some even spending nights in the trees, prevented the authorities from removing the elmtrees, by ax and saw. Also Stanley signed a petition to save the elmtrees andtheyweresaved! Stanley, I believe that your greatness as a scientist and as a friend must be linked to the many facets of your wonderful personality. We much look forward to your lecture. THE BEGINNING OF CHEMICAL EVOLUTION EXPERIMENTS Recollections and Perspectives 1 2 3 S. L. MILLER , J. L. BADA , and A.
List of contents
Dedication.- Biodata of editors.- Preface by the editors.- Acknowledgements.- Group photograph and List of Attendees.- I. Opening.- II. Where did the Chemical Elements Come From and When did Life Begin?- III. Physical Constraints on the Origin of Life.- IV. From the Miller Experiment to Chemical and Biological Evolution.- V. Alternative Scenarios for the Origin and Evolution of Life.- VI. Cosmological and Other Space Science Aspects of Astrobiology.- VII. Planetary Exploration in our Solar System: The Interstellar Medium, Micro-Meteorites.- and Comets.- VIII. Earth Analogues of Extraterrestrial Ecosystems.- IX. On the Question of Life on Mars and on the Early Earth.- X. Searching for Extraterrestrial Life, Europa, Titan and Extrasolar Planets.- XI. The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI).- XII. The Search for Evolution of Intelligent Behavior and Density of Life.- XIII. Epistemological and Historical Aspects of Astrobiology.- List of Participants.- Index.
Summary
The year 2003 was the 50th anniversary of the seminal experiment of Stanley Miller. This title highlights the interest in this most interdisciplinary subject.
