Currently we do not know what life is, or whether there exist universal laws – in the same sense the laws of physics and chemistry are universal – that describe life. While this may not matter so much for the study of life as it exists at present or in the past on Earth, it is critically important in the field of astrobiology, which seeks to understand life not just on Earth but anywhere in the universe. In this talk I discuss new approaches to understanding what universal principles might underlie living matter, from what happens within individual cells up to the planetary scale.
Sara I. Walker is assistant professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration (SESE) at Arizona State University. She is a co-founder of the astrobiology social network SAGANet.org and on the board of directors for Blue Marble Space, a nonprofit education and science organization.
To register for the event, visit: go.wisc.edu/OoLALA
Seminar link:https://zoom.us/j/516695234
Simulating Titan’s Atmosphere
Building Minimal Synthetic Cells
Resurrecting Ancient Biomolecules
NAI
