This note covers the following topics: Properties of life, The cell,
Life definitions in astrobiology, Chemical properties of life, The chemical
elements of life, The water molecule, Chemical bonds in biology, Functional
groups in biomolecules, Biological macromolecules, Nucleic acids: RNA and DNA,
Molecules used for energy exchange, Genetic sequences and classification of
organisms.
This book presents results from several projects in the new field of computational
astrobiology, which is devoted to advancing our understanding of the origin,
evolution and distribution of life in the Universe using theoretical and
computational tools.