One of the greatest questions in science may be close to being answered in the near future.

How and in what environment did life originate on Earth?

Plausible scenarios for the first steps towards life can only be described adequately if the environment in which these developments took place is known. From a geological perspective, deep, water filled fractures in the early continental crust offered ideal conditions for the emergence of the first cells. Even today, such environments still meet all the requirements for complex organic chemistry.

The first author takes readers on his personal journey towards answering what may be the greatest question in biology. He not only explains how the individual pieces of the puzzle concerning the development of life fit together, but also shares his personal experiences in this challenging field of research. While the first seven chapters of the second edition have been revised, Chapter 8 has been completely reconceived. By logically connecting the facts currently known and taking present day biochemical relationships into account, it outlines a possible pathway that may have led to the storage of genetic information in a first cell.

Chapters 9 and 10 add two further contributions by Christian Mayer. In these chapters, he opens a fundamental discussion about the definition of “What is life?” by placing the relationship between order and complexity at the centre. He also describes the importance of periodically occurring influences on the entire development of life.

Ulrich C. Schreiber is a retired Professor of Geology at the University of Duisburg Essen. At an early stage in his career, he combined the core fields of classical geology, including volcanology, tectonics and regional geology, with ecological questions extending as far as the deep biosphere.

Christian Mayer is officially retired but continues to work as a Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Duisburg Essen under an extended contract. His research focuses include self organizing molecular processes and prebiotic chemistry.

The research findings of both authors have been widely published internationally and featured in numerous science programmes.