<p></p><p>1. Introduction</p><p>                                                                                                                </p><p>2. The Origins                                                                                                                        </p><p>2.1   Introduction</p>2.2   Birth of The Solar System<p></p><p>2.3   The Earth </p><p>2.4   The Start of Tectonics</p><p>2.5   Tectonic Processes are Essential to Life</p><p>2.6   Genesis of The Atmosphere-Ocean-Continental Crust (AOC) System</p> <p></p><p>3. The Birth of Life                                                                                                                </p><p>3.1 Introduction</p><p>3.2 Seafloor Hydrothermal Vents as Settings for the Emergence of Life</p><p>3.3 A Primordial Role for RNA?</p><p>3.4 The Origin of the Genetic Code</p><p>3.5 A RNA-Protein World</p><p>3.6 Biological Membranes</p><p>3.7 From Geochemistry to Biochemistry: The Emergence of an Autonomous Metabolism</p>3.8 DNA Replaced RNA as the Repository of Biological Information<p></p><p>3.9 The Bacteria-Archaea Membrane Divide: Ancestral or Derived?</p><p>3.10 Concluding Remarks</p><p> </p><p>4. Moving to the Light: The Evolution of Photosynthesis                                            </p><p>4.1 Introduction</p><p>4.2 Light, Pigments and Photosystems</p><p>4.3 Accessory Pigments</p><p>4.4 The Photochemical Process in Anoxygenic Bacteria</p><p>4.5 Evolutionary Interrelationships of Type-1 and Type-2 Photosystems</p>4.6 Oxygenic Photosynthesis<p></p><p>4.7 Pathways of Carbon Photosynthetic Fixation</p><p> </p><p>5. The Great Oxygenation </p><p>5.1 Introduction</p><p>5.2 Planetary Oxygen Balance</p><p>5.3 Methane was Probably a Key Driver of Planetary Oxygenation</p><p>5.4 The GOE was Associated with a Phase of Climatic Instability</p>5.5 After the GOE, the Earth Stabilized in a Low-Oxygen State for Over One Billion Years <p></p><p>5.6 The Earth Entered a High-Oxygen Phase About 800 Million Years Ago</p>5.7 The Impact of Oxygen on Biological Evolution<p></p><p> </p><p>6. Eukaryotes</p><p>6.1 Introduction</p><p>6.2 Rise and Fall of the Archaezoan Model of Eukaryogenesis</p><p>6.3 Post-Archaezoan Models</p><p>6.4 The Neomuran Model</p><p>6.5 The Origin of the Nucleus</p>6.6 Was the Host a Primitive Eukaryote or a Complex Archaeon?<p></p><p>6.7 The Mitochondria</p><p>6.8 The Last Eukaryote Common Ancestor (LECA) had all the Fundamental Traits of Eukaryotic Cells</p><p>6.9 Eukaryote Phylogeny and Systematics</p><p>6.10 Timing of Eukaryote Appearance and Diversification</p>6.11 Concluding Remarks<p></p><p> </p><p>7. Sexual Reproduction</p>7.1 Introduction<p></p><p>7.2 Origin of Meiotic Sex</p><p>7.3 The Case of Parthenogenetic Rotifers</p><p>7.4 Sexual Reproduction Sets Strong Species Boundaries in Eukaryotes</p><p>7.5 Species Boundary in Prokaryotes is Conventional</p>7.6 Gamete Differentiation and Genders<p></p><p> </p><p>8. Multicellularity</p><p>8.1 Introduction</p><p>8.2 Cellular Specialization and Levels of Organization in Multicellular Organisms</p>8.3 Stem Cells and Germ Line<p></p><p>8.4 Concluding Remarks</p><p> </p>9. The Chloroplast and Photosynthetic Eukaryotes<p></p><p>9.1 Introduction</p><p>9.2 Birth of the Primary Chloroplast</p><p>9.3 The Plants (Archaeplastida)</p><p>9.4 Secondary Chloroplasts</p><p>9.5 Phylogeny of Eukaryotes with Secondary Chloroplasts</p><p>9.8 Chloroplast Thieves and Other Stories</p><p>9.7 Plastid Division</p>9.8 Storage Polysaccharides<p></p><p> </p><p>10. The Animals</p>10.1 Introduction<p></p><p>10.2 Embryo Development and Body Symmetry</p><p>10.3 Animal Systematics</p><p>10.4 Cellular Junctions and Epithelia</p><p>10.5 The Intestine and Animal Evolution</p><p>10.6 Chordates</p><p>10.7 The Impact of Animals on the Global Environment</p><p> </p>11. Land Plants<p></p><p>11.1 Introduction</p><p>11.2 An Early Step in Plant Terrestrialization was a Change in the Ancestral Life Cycle</p><p>11.3 Early Land Plants</p><p>11.4 Stomata and Homeohydry</p><p>11.5 Land Plant Systematics</p><p>11.6 The Xylem: A Lignified Water-Conducting System</p><p>11.7 Multiple Evolution of Leaves And Roots</p>11.8 Land Plants Have Co-Evolved with Fungal Symbionts<p></p><p>11.9 The Impact of Land Plants on the Global Environment</p><p> </p><p>12. The Emergence of Humanity</p><p>12.1 Introduction</p><p>12.2 The Evolution of Bipedality</p><p>12.3 Australopythecines</p><p>12.4 The Genus Homo</p><p>12.5 Origin and Diffusion of Modern Humans</p><p>12.6 Death from a Distance: High-Speed Throwing</p><p>12.7 Why are Humans Naked?</p>12.8 Reproductive Biology of Humans<p></p><p>12.9 The Evolution of Language</p><p>12.10 The "Cognitive Revolution"</p><p>12.11 The Evolution of Cooperation and the Emergence of Culture</p><p>12.12 The Agricultural Revolution</p>12.13 The Evolution of Social Organization<p></p><p>12.14 The Search for "Human" Genes</p><p>12.15 The Impact of Humanity on the Global Environment</p><p> </p><p>13. Synopsis</p><p> </p><p>14. Glossary</p><p> </p><p>15. Analytic Index</p><p></p>