Robert Shapiro (28 November 1935 – 15 June 2011[1]) was professor emeritus of chemistry at New York University. He is best known for his work on the origin of life, having written two books on the topic: Origins, a Skeptic’s Guide to the Creation of Life on Earth (1986) and Planetary Dreams (2001). He opposed the RNA world hypothesis, and held that the spontaneous emergence of a molecule as complicated as RNA is highly unlikely. Instead, he proposed that life arose from some self-sustaining and compartmentalized reaction of simple molecules: "metabolism first" instead of "RNA first". This reaction would have to be able to reproduce and evolve, eventually leading to RNA. He claimed that in this view life is a normal consequence of the laws of nature and potentially quite common in the universe.[2]
Works
- Origins: A Skeptic's Guide to the Creation of Life on Earth Summit Books (January 1986) ISBN 0-671-45939-2.
- Planetary Dreams: The Quest to Discover Life Beyond Earth Wiley; 1 edition (May 18, 2001) ISBN 0471407356.
References
External links
| Persondata |
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| Name |
Shapiro, Robert |
| Alternative names |
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| Short description |
American chemist |
| Date of birth |
28 November 1935 |
| Place of birth |
New York City |
| Date of death |
15 June 2011 |
| Place of death |
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