Special Seminar - The new science of life's origins and distribution in the universe
Special Seminar - The new science of life's origins and distribution in the universe
John Eiler, Caltech
Abstract: The study of the origins of life and its possible existence beyond the earth has long lived in the liminal space between science, quasi-scientific speculation, and nonsense. Nevertheless, the questions that motivate this field are among the greatest unanswered problems in the natural sciences and human thought more broadly. The modern era of this subject began in the 1990’s with a wave of top-down funding agency investments and several highly visible and equally ludicrous false starts. But recently this subject has transformed its scope, methods and opportunities, and has radically expanded and re-organized its connections to more established, rigorous fields, including astronomy, synthetic chemistry, geology, geochemistry, and the biological ‘omics’ disciplines. The last decade has seen dramatic progress on several interconnected fronts, yet the field remains ravenous for its first truly transformative discovery. The central questions remain: What will constitute definitive evidence of life’s origins on earth and existence in the wider universe; and, how should we best seek that evidence?
Give this man an emu
Phosphorus islands and habitable zones. Water and a carbon cycle. ( vulcanism ) Other biochemistry signatures. Xenohistory, synthetic biology, artificial life, ect.. kardeshev levels, mega structures, communication types, ect.. Phosphorus islands is a big one for biological life. DNA/RNA and cell walls construction have paths and work predone. Nailing down which probably happened is still up for grabs. Thank you for sharing. Keep up the good work.
The origin of life is likely in forces. An understanding of forces would be necessary. Once the cell, or form, is studied life has likely been long underway prior to the first cell. If there weren’t forces there would not be anything much less life.
Life was baked in the cake from the beginning
Some say one cannot understand an infinite universe with a finite mind... many finite minds love to pretend they can... and then the jackboots show up and put an end to that game and start a new one.
It’s not just “confirmation bias” the field is near pseudoscientific. Regardless, you forgot the 3rd way on how to tackle the problem: from top-down, JUMP, bottom-up, JUMP, top-down again, JUMP, … where the f* am I?! The top down, or rather, present to past, tells you where you need to end up at. what to look for and how life works. Understanding what life is from E. coli to ecotone and back down.