<\ 

 Fox & Yuyama : Abiotic Production of Primitive Protein 493 



In the context of the orighi of livhig units, one inference is that nature had 

 almost endless opportunities to experiment with precellular forms until the 

 necessary apparatus for repHcation was included by chance. 



In the context of the present conference, the presumed protobionta observed 

 in fossils and meteorites may actually be prebionta. If they are, they would be V 

 in one sense more significant than if they are protobionta. A third possibility ^ 

 is that they are meaningless artifacts, easy for nature to come by because of the 

 simpUcity of the processes leading to their formation. This point of view has^x 

 a semantic flavor, because of the position that no natural experiment is truly 

 without meaning. Also of interest is the fact that Dr. Philip Morrison inde- J) 

 pendent ly reached the same conclusion from data presented at the Denver 

 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.^" In 

 essence, however, and either with or without regard to the difficult questions 

 of terrestrial contamination of meteorites, the conclusion at present is that 

 there cannot yet be a conclusion on the cjuestion of whether the inclusions in 

 meteorites are protobionta. 



References 



1. Fox, S. W. 1960. How did life begin? Science. 132: 200-208. 



2. Fox, S. W. & K. Harada. In press. Experiments related to the chemical origins of 



protein. G. Bourne, Ed. Space Flight. : 261-270. Academic Press. New York. 



3. Harada, K. 1961. On the formation of primordial protein and the thermal theory 



(Title transl.). Proteins, Nucleic Acids, Enzj-mes (Tokyo). 6: 65-75. 



4. Fox, S. W., K. Harada & A. Vegotsky. 1959. Thermal polymerization of amino 



acids and a theory of biochemical origins. Exjjerientia. 15: 81-84. 



5. Fox, S. \V. 1956. Evolution of protein molecules and thermal synthesis of biochemical 



substances. Am. Scientist. 44: 347-359. 



6. Fox, S. W. & K. Har.ada. 1958. Thermal copolymerization of amino acids to a product 



resembling protein. Science. 128: 1214. 



7. Fox, S. \V. & K. Harada. 1960. The thermal copolymerization of amino acids com- 



mon to protein. J. .\m. Chem. Soc. 82: 3745-3751. 



8. Altman, R. L. & S. W. Benson. 1960. The etYect of water upon the rate of heat de- 



naturation of egg albumin. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 82: 3852-3857. 



9. Barker, H. A. 1933. The effect of water content upon the rate of heat denaturation 



of crj'Stallizable egg albumin. J. Gen. Physiol. 17: 21-34. 



10. Dixon, M. & E. C. Webb. 1958. Enzymes. : 153. Academic Press. New York. 



11. Fruton, J. S. & S. SiMMONDS. 1958. General biochemistry. : 16. John Wiley and 



Sons. New York. 



12. Mitchell, P. H. 1948. A textbook of general physiology. : 245. McGraw-Hill Book 



Co. New York. 



13. Fox, S. W. & K. H.AR.A^DA. 1960. Thermal copolymerization of amino acids in the 



presence of phosphoric acid. .\rch. Biochem. Biophys. 86: 281-285. 



14. Vegotsky, A. & S. W. Fox. 1959. Pyropolymerization of amino acids to proteinoids 



with phosphoric acid or polyphosphoric acid. Federation Proc. 18: 343. 



15. Vegotsky, .4. 1961. Thermal copolymers of amino acids. Ph.D. dissertation. Florida 



State University. 



16. Harada, K. & S. W. Fox. 1960. Thermal copolymerization of amino acids at tem- 



peratures below 100°. : 28C-29C. .\merican Chemical Society meeting, Cleveland. 

 Ohio. Abstracts. 



17. Genaux, C. & S. W. Fox. Unpubhshed experiments. 



18. Fox, S. W. & K. H.ARADA. 1961. Synthesis of uracil under conditions of a thermal 



model of prebiological chemistry. Science. 133: 1923-1924. 



19. Schramm, G. 1962. Nicht-enzymatische s}nthese von polysacchariden, nucleosiden 



und nucleinsauren. .\ngew. Chem. 74: 53-59. 



20. Fox, S. W., K. Harada & D. L. Rohlfing. 1962. The thermal copolymerization of 



a-amino acids. : 47-54. M. Stahmann, Ed. Polyamino Acids, Polypeptides and 

 Proteins. Univ. of Wisconsin Press. Madison. 



21. Bender, M. L. 1960. Mechanisms of catalysis of nucleophilic reactions of carboxylic 



acid derivatives. Chem. Revs. 60: 53 113. 



