| Budget Amount *help |
¥1,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000)
Fiscal Year 1997: ¥300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥300,000)
Fiscal Year 1996: ¥400,000 (Direct Cost: ¥400,000)
Fiscal Year 1995: ¥500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000)
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| Research Abstract |
The interests in studies on the origin of life, in Japan, began in 1940s, though H.Nagai's book "SEIMEIRON,the theory of life" (1913) and H.F.Osborn's book "Origin and Evolution of Life" were already published. A.I.Oparin's "Origin of Life" (1938) was translated into Japanese in 1941 by a philosopher S.Yamada, and was recognized as an important work.
After the interruption of the publication during the war Oparin's book was soon reproduced in 1946, and J.D.Bernal's "The Physical Basis of Life" was introduced into Japan as a book on the origin of life. It tells that the theory of origin of life was so attractive in the situation. However, the experimental study by S.L.Miller on "Production of amino acids under possible primitive earth conditions" (1953) was not so mentioned in Japanese scientific journals.
Oparin, invited in Japan in 1955 to read lectures, was welcomed, so that the interest in the theory of origin of life rose quickly. In this occasion S.Akabori contributed to Oparin's work presenting him his unique idea on origin of fore-protein. After that Akabori, M.Ishimoto, and Y.Oda attended the first symposium on studies for origin of life in 1957 and presented papers.
In 1960s the general interest in the view of life turned to molecular biology, double helix model of DNA had been proposed already, and the experimental works on origin of life grew gradually in Japan, too, in response to American activity of studies of the field.
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