Chemical evolution - Recent syntheses of bioorganic molecules.

Review of the important developments that have occurred in abiological biomonomer and biopolymer synthesis since about 1967, and discussion of their significance for the field of chemical evolution and the origin of life. The major portion of the review is devoted to important developments in the abiotic formation of bioorganic monomers and their condensation to biopolymers under conditions presumed to have prevailed on the primeval earth. Special attention is given to contributions shedding light on the mechanism of synthesis and selection of amino acids and on interactions of amino acids and polypeptides with nucleotides and oligonucleotides.