1. Commentary

   • James P. Ferris

   EditorialNotes Pages: 91 - 91

2. Report on the workshop: ‘Chemical evolution and neo-abiogenesis in marine hydrothermal systems’

   • Nils G. Holm

   OriginalPaper Pages: 93 - 98

3. Abiotic synthesis of amino acids and imidazole by proton irradiation of simulated primitive earth atmospheres

   • Kensei Kobayashi
   • Masahiko Tsuchiya
   • Hiroshi Yanagawa

   OriginalPaper Pages: 99 - 109

4. Selective decomposition of either enantiomer or aspartic acid irradiated with⁶⁰Co-γ-rays in the mixed aqueous solution with D- or L-alanine

   • Mitsuhiko Akaboshi
   • Kenichi Kawai
   • Yasuhiro Honda

   OriginalPaper Pages: 111 - 119

5. Possible amplification of enantiomer excesses through structural properties of liquid crystals — A model for origin of optical activity in the biosphere?

   • W. Thiemann
   • H. Teutsch

   OriginalPaper Pages: 121 - 126

6. Origins of life: An operational definition

   • Gail Raney Fleischaker

   OriginalPaper Pages: 127 - 137

7. Chemical activity of simple basic peptides

   • André Brack
   • Bernard Barbier

   OriginalPaper Pages: 139 - 144

8. Energy-rich glyceric acid oxygen esters: Implications for the origin of glycolysis

   • Arthur L. Weber
   • Victor Hsu

   OriginalPaper Pages: 145 - 150

9. Template-directed oligomerization of 5′-deoxy-5′-nucleosideacetic acid derivatives

   • Kazuo Harada
   • Leslie E. Orgel

   OriginalPaper Pages: 151 - 160

10. Phylogenetic tree of tRNAs using a simple algorithm

    • M. Angelica Soto
    • Jose Toha

    OriginalPaper Pages: 161 - 166

11. The revised genetic code

    • Jacques Ninio

    OriginalPaper Pages: 167 - 171

12. The case for the chemoautotrophic origin of life in an iron-sulfur world

    • Günter Wächtershäuser

    OriginalPaper Pages: 173 - 176

13. Different effects of eubacterial and eukaryotic DNA topoisomerase II inhibitors on chloroplasts ofEuglena gracilis

    • Juraj Krajčovič
    • Libor Ebringer

    OriginalPaper Pages: 177 - 180

14. Impact constraints on the environment for chemical evolution and the continuity of life

    • Verne R. Oberbeck
    • Guy Fogleman

    OriginalPaper Pages: 181 - 195