This page presents an overview of current theories, data, and debates regarding the origins of life on Earth. Topics covered include the nature of prebiotic Earth and the environment where life emerged, the RNA world hypothesis, self-organization and the emergence of the first cells, the metabolism-first hypothesis, possible origins and evolution of homochirality in amino acids and sugars. The text is sprinkled with links to reference materials. There are also links to relevant Wikipedia articles, an interview with Gunter Wachtershauser about his autotrophic theory of abiogenesis, and an article by Leslie Orgel comparing gene-first versus metabolism-first models.
