Definition
Thomas Huxley used the term abiogenesis in an important text published in 1870. He strictly made the difference between spontaneous generation, which he did not accept, and the possibility of the evolution of matter from inert to living, without any influence of life.
Since the end of the nineteenth century, evolutive abiogenesis means increasing complexity and evolution of matter from inert to living state in the abiotic context of evolution of primitive Earth.
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© 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Tirard, S. (2011). Abiogenesis. In: Gargaud, M., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-11274-4_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-11274-4_2
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-11271-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-11274-4
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