Biogenesis itself

In the biological sense, biogenesis is the spontaneous assembly of program-controlled, self-reproducing fluid automata under prebiotic conditions. In order to understand this phenomenon, principles of the theory of fluid automata should be laid down, as well as those of cycle stoichiometry which makes the exact, quantitative design of such chemically organised fluid automata possible. In addition, we need a minimum model of programme-controlled, self-reproducing fluid automata, the so-called chemoton model. All this together ensures the possibility of studying biogenesis under the conditions assumed correct. (C) 1997 Academic Press Limited.