From Fossils to Astrobiology: Records of Life on Earth and the Search for Extraterrestrial Biosignat

Foreward, Joseph Seckbach and Maud Walsh. Introduction: A Roadmap to Fata Morgana?, Wladyslaw Altermann. List of authors and their addresses.GEOLOGYPART 1: Fossils and FossilizationNanosims Opens a New Window for Deciphering Organic matter in Terrestrial and Extraterrestrial Samples, Dorothy Z. Oehler, Francois Robert, Smail Mostefaoui, Anders Meibom, Madeleine Selo, David S. McKay, and Everett K. GibsonDisentangling the Microbial Fossil Record in the Barberton Greenstone Belt: A Cautionary Tale, Maud M. Walsh and Frances WestallLooking through Windows onto the Earliest History of Life on Earth and Mars, David Wacey, Nicola McLoughlin, and Martin D. BrasierModels for Silicate Fossils of Organic Materials in the Astrobiological Context, Vera M. Kolb and Patrick J. LieschMicrofossil Phosphatization and Its Astrobiological Implications, Shuhai Xiao and James D. SchiffbauerProterozoic Unicellular and Multicellular Fossils from India and Their Implications, Vinod Chandra TewariPART 2: Stromatolites, Microbial Mats, and BiofilmsStromatolites, B.P. Burns, M.R. Walter, and B.A. NeilanBiosedimentological Processes that Produce Hot Spring Sinter Biofabrics: Examples from the Uzon Caldera, Kamchatka, Russia, Jessica C. Goin and Sherry L. CadyCyanobacterial Mat Features Preserved in the Siliciclastic Sedimentary Record, Hubertus Porada and Patrick G. ErikssonDeciphering Fossil Evidence for the Origin of Life and the Origin of Animals: Common Challenges in Different Worlds, Jonathan Antcliffe and Nicola McLoughlinBIOLOGYPART 3: Terrestrial Microbes as Analogs for Life Elsewhere in the UniverseMicroorganisms in the Ancient Terrestrial Subsurface - And in Outer Space?, Helga Stan-Lotter, Sergiu Fendrihan, Marion Dornmayr-Pfaffenhuemer, Friedrich Gerbl, Andrea Legat, Claudia Gruber, and Gerhard WeidlerEvidence of Ancient Microbial Life in a Large Impact Structure and Its Implications for Astrobiology - A Case Study, Tomas Hode, Shery L. Cady, Ilka von Dalwigk and Per KristianssonPhylogenomic Dating and the Relative Ancestry of Prokaryotic Metabolisms, Carrine E. BlankFossil Microorganisms at Methane Seeps: An Astrobiological Perspective, Roberto Barbieri and Barbara CavalazziEndoliths in Terrestrial Arid Environments: Implications for Astrobiology, Nunzia Stivaletta and Roberto BarbieriMagnetotactic Bacteria and Their Potential for Terraformation, Ioan I. Ardelean, Cristina Moisescu, and Dan Razvan PopoviciuPART 4: Evolution and AstrobiologyPaleontological Tests: Human-Like Intelligence Is Not a Convergent Feature of Evolution, Charles H. LineweaverCosmic Life Forms, Attila GrandpierreSPACE SCIENCESPART 5: Astronomical and Cosmological Considerations in AstrobiologyAstronomical and Astrobiological Imprints on the Fossil Records: A Review, J. Chela-Flores, G. Jerse, M. Messerotti, and C. TunizDo Impacts Really Cause Most Mass Extinctions?, Donald R. ProtheroIrradiation of Icy Cometary Analogs: Its Relevance in Reference to Chemical Evolution and the Origin of Life, Maria Colin-Garcia, A. Negron-Mendoza, S. Ramos-Bernal and E. ChaconThe Big Bang at Time Zero, Peter R. Bahn and Steven H. PravdoMolecular Imprints of Reaction Network: Living or