Living organisms origination

Biomass. Biomass is simply defined for these purposes as any organic waste material, such as agricultural residues, animal manure, forestry residues, municipal waste, and sewage, which originated from a living organism (70—74). 

People have sought to explain the origin of organisms since at least the beginning of historical times. At the time of the Renaissance most Europeans believed that living organisms devel-... 

Early students of the origin of life were misled because they believed that Earth was very young, in part because no methods were available for dating ancient events. Today, suitable methods exist for determining the age of materials that are billions of years old, and the fossil record of ancient organisms has vastly improved. The evolution of living organisms... 

Polymers are substances whose molecules are very large, formed by the combination of many small and simpler molecules usually referred to as monomers. The chemical reaction by which single and relatively small monomers react with each other to form polymers is known as polymerization (Young and Lovell 1991). Polymers may be of natural origin or, since the twentieth century, synthesized by humans. Natural polymers, usually referred to as biopolymers, are made by living organisms. Common examples of biopolymers are cellulose, a carbohydrate made only by plants (see Textbox 53) collagen, a protein made solely by animals (see Textbox 61), and the nucleic acid DNA, which is made by both plants and animals (see Textbox 64). 

Figure 2.3. Elemental enrichment factors in baterial and fungi, plotted on a log scale against the ionic potential of the elements (after Banin and Navrot, 1975. Reprinted from Science, 189, Banin A. and Navrot J., Origin of Life Clues from relations between chemical compositions of living organisms and natural environments, pp 550-551, Copyright (1975), with permission from AAAS)...

Banin A., Navrot J. Origin of Life Clues from relations between chemical compositions of living organisms and natural environments. Science 1975 189 550-551. 

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