Evolution of Bioenergetics from Elements to Life

This book begins with the creation of the elements used in life and how these elements, as atoms, bound together into organic compounds and polymerized into lipids, peptides, and nucleotides. The text stresses the role and importance of the elements C, H, O, N, P, S, the univalent and multivalent ions, and the requirement of liquid water to foster prebiotic life. Expert author Dr. David Stowe explains the role of early molecular interactions in developing the first living prokaryote bacteria and their eventual engulfment as organelles to make eukaryotes that allowed their sophistication into specialized cells and large multicellular organisms. The book uniquely traces the genesis of bioenergetics and uses cardiac cell mitochondia as an evolutionary example for modern bioenergetic function. This book is geared toward graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and other academics interested in evolutionary biochemistry with an emphasis on the early development of bioenergetics leading to modern, high energy mitochondria.