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ONE OF THE MAJOR "ORIGIN OF LIFE" RESEARCHERS SUMMARIZES (CIRCA 1969)
Melvin Calvin (1911-1997) was an American chemist, who won the 1961 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

He states in the Preface to this 1969 book, "A realm of thought that had only recently been largely speculative, or philosophical, has now become one of scientific investigation and the chief occupation of a large number of experimental and observational scientists. The study of chemical evolution is based upon the assumption that life appeared on the surface of the earth as a result of the normal operation of the laws of physics and chemistry. This implies that there must have been a period of time in the earth's history that encompassed the transition between a non-living molecular population on its surface and a population of molecular aggregates that we would call living. The two approaches used in this book to try to determine the nature of that transition and interface are those of molecular paleontology--that is, to look backwards in the historical record--and the construction of hypothetical chemical systems that could give rise to living organisms."

Before his chapter on "Generation of Membrane Structures," he states, "we shall examine this, the most difficult process and perhaps the least founded on experiment. We shall determine how far we can get, which natural processes that have an experimental basis have occurred, or can occur, and what must be done in the way of model experiments and reconstitution experiments." (pg. 222)

He admits, "As long as we are limited to biology as it is on the earth, it is going to be very difficult for us to be sure that such a system occurred in the way described in this book. We shall have to find other places in the universe, preferably near by in our solar system, in which this process is going on and has not gone all the way, so that we can see it at some other stage of its development. This is one of the reasons why I, at least, am interested in the lunar and planetary exploration programme: I think that answers to this fundamental question may be provided by such exploration." (pg. 243)

In his final chapter, "The Search for Significance," he concludes on the note, "The slogan of yesterday, 'for God and Country,' is still the star of today, only the meanings of the words have changed: 'God' is the Universe and 'Country' is 'the Human Race.'"(He also includes a brief Appendix on "The Possibilities of Interstellar Communication.") (Pg. 259)

Genius Discussion on Ooze to Vertebrates
Wow! Hey! I found this gem in a free give away box at a community college I was attending. Forget that, buy it! Melvin Calvin is the guy responsible for the Calvin cycle in photosynthesis. He takes Stanley Miller's 1950s reaction chamber experiments to the nth degree and breaks down paleo-biochemistry in a way that would convert the new Pope Benedict over to being an evolutionary Marxist! He really dissects reaction chamber mechanics down to minute detail and the biochemistry is truly encompassing. The electron micrographs are pretty sophisticated as well. Anyone who wants to credibly debate those "life could not have evolved at random" types would do well to read this book. Calvin goes step by step through how macromolecular life evolved on earth, replete with detailed explanations and graphics. Sort of a dry, scientific treatise on organo-molecular evolution, but worth every minute. ... Read more

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ISOTOPIC CARBON Techniques in Its Measurement and Chemical Manipulation by MELVIN CALVIN PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY CHARLES HEIDELBERCER JAMES C. REID BERT M. TOLBERT PETER F. YANKWICH INSTRUCTOR IN CHEMISTRY ALL MEMBERS OF THE SCIENTIFIC STAFF OF THE RADIATION LABORATORY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY 1949 JOHN WILEY SONS, INC., NEW YORK CHAPMAN HALL, LIMITED, LONDON COPYRIGHT, 1949 BY JOHN WILEY SONS, INC. All Rights Reserved This book or any part thereof must not be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publisher. PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge gratefully the cooperation of a large number of workers outside our own labora tory. These people not only gave permission to reproduce published work, but many of them generously supplied to us results and proce dures as yet unpublished. Permission to include material not published elsewhere was given by Arthur W. Adamson, S. Aronoff, H. A. Barker, James A. Bassham, Andrew A. Benson, Weldon G. Brown, Farrington Daniels, William G. Dauben, fi. W. Fager, Bernard A. Fries, W. Z Hassid, Gerhart R. Hen nig, Louis R. Henrich, John L. Huston, Clinton D. Janney, William P. Jesse, Truman P. Kohman, Wright H. Langham, Richard M. Lemmon, W. B. Leslie, Willard F. Libby, Robert Loevinger, Robert B. Loftfield, Burton J. Moyer, Rosemarie Ostwald, Nello Pace, Charles N. Rice, Warwick Sakami, D. J. Salley, Hannah E. Silberstein, A. K. Solomon, L. B. Spector, Enrique Strajman, Richard B. Turner, John W. Weigl, and S. Weinhouse. The following have allowed us to make use of previously published work H. S. Anker, W. D. Armstrong, R. B. Bernstein, S. Gurin, F. C. Henriques, Jr., J. T. Kummer, R. B. Loftfield, J. R. Rachele, A. K. Solomon, and Vincent du Vigneaud. Various parts of the manuscript were read by Freda Decker Chris tenson, Bernard A. Fries, Louis R. Henrich, and Truman P. Kohman, all of whom made valuable suggestions. We are deeply indebted to Betty Davis Cohen and Marie Haumeder, who carried out the arduous task of typing the manuscript in all drafts, to Betty Reece Martinelli, who prepared the figures in the text, and to Marilyn Mack, who not only arranged and typed the index and bibliog raphy but also took care of the multitude of clerical tasks associated with the final preparation of the book. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE 1 PRODUCTION AND PROPERTIES OF ISOTOPIC CARBON ... 1 2 MEASUREMENT OF CARBON 13 9 3 CHARACTERISTICS OF CARBON TRACER RADIATIONS ... 15 4 INSTRUMENTS FOR RADIOACTIVITY MEASUREMENT ... 33 5 DETECTORS FOR RADIOACTIVITY MEASUREMENTS .... 52 6 SAMPLE PREPARATION I ... 79 7 SAMPLE PREPARATION II . 101 8 VACUUM TECHNIQUES IN ORGANIC CHEMISTRY 127 9 SYNTHESIS OF CARBON-LABELED COMPOUNDS 148 10 CRITERIA OF PURITY 240 11 DEGRADATION PROCEDURES 248 12 BlOSYNTHETIC METHODS 262 APPENDIX I ISOTOPE DILUTION METHODS 278 II STATISTICAL TREATMENT OF COUNTING DATA 283 III DETERMINATION OF COINCIDENCE CORRECTIONS . . . 292 IV DETERMINATION OF COUNTER EFFICIENCY 303 V SELF-ABSORPTION DATA FOR BARIUM CARBONATE AND WAX MOUNTED ON ALUMINUM 317 VI NUMERICAL EXAMPLES ILLUSTRATING RADIOACTIVITY ASSAY OPERATIONS 319 VII FLOW IN VACUUM SYSTEMS 328 VIII VACUUM GAUGES AND MANOMETERS 332 IX AN INDUCTION STIRRER FOR USE WITH VACUUM OR CLOSED SYSTEMS 336 BIBLIOGRAPHY 341 AUTHOR INDEX 351 SUBJECT INDEX 358 vii INTRODUCTION The significance of having available considerable quantities of tracer isotopes of carbon, in both chemistry and biology, needs hardly be re peated. The usual definition of organic chemistry as the chemistry of carbon compounds, and its very name, organic, can scarcely fail to impress even the uninitiated with the importance of this element in both life and industry... ... Read more

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Melvin Ellis Calvin (April 8, 1911 - January 8, 1997) was an American chemist most famed for discovering the Calvin cycle along with Andrew Benson and James Bassham, for which he was awarded the 1961 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He spent most of his five-decade career at the University of California, Berkeley.Calvin was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, the son of Russian immigrants. His father was Lithuanian and his mother Georgian. As a small child, Calvin's family moved to Detroit; he graduated from Central High School in 1928[1]. Melvin Calvin earned his Bachelor of Science from the Michigan College of Mining and Technology (now known as Michigan Technological University) in 1931 and his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Minnesota in 1935. He then spent the next four years doing postdoctoral work at the University of Manchester. He married Genevieve Jemtegaard in 1942, and they had three children, two daughters and a son. ... Read more

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This digital document, covering the life and work of Melvin Calvin, is an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume published by Thompson Gale. The length of the entry is 2754 words. The page length listed above is based on a typical 300-word page. Although the exact content of each entry from this volume can vary, typical entries include the following information:

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This digital document is an article from Macmillan Reference USA Science Library: Plant Sciences, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 637 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.A comprehensive collection of articles on all aspects of plant sciences, from forensic botany to genetic engineering, from wheat to kudzu. Includes articles on careers related to plant sciences and important individuals, as well as topics from acid rain to wood products. ... Read more

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Melvin Calvin is the winner of the 1961 Nobel Prize for his work on the path of carbon photosynthesis. In this volume he discusses his work as a pioneer scientist in the application of chemistry as part of multidisciplinary research programs, incorporating disciplines from psychology to botany, from photochemistry to chemical evolution and artificial photosynthesis. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Chemistry: Foundations and Applications, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 584 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.

“Chemistry: Foundations and Application” is an accessible four-volume set that covers chemistry’s laws, processes, applications and sub-disciplines, reviews the history of the field, including modern research and practical applications, and includes biographies of scientists past and present. Varied topics that examine and explain chemistry's many branches, including inorganic, industrial, atmospheric and computational chemistry, and biotechnology allow students and general-interest readers alike to explore the myriad ways in which chemistry plays an important role in daily life.

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This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Library's large-scale digitization efforts. The Library seeks to preserve the intellectual content of items in a manner that facilitates and promotes a variety of uses. The digital reformatting process results in an electronic version of the original text that can be both accessed online and used to create new print copies. The Library also understands and values the usefulness of print and makes reprints available to the public whenever possible. This book and hundreds of thousands of others can be found in the HathiTrust, an archive of the digitized collections of many great research libraries. For access to the University of Michigan Library's digital collections, please see http://www.lib.umich.edu and for information about the HathiTrust, please visit http://www.hathitrust.org ... Read more