Astrobiology and the origins of life

Aims

This course aims to:

• become acquainted with leading origin-of-life models and discuss how they can be tested
• explore what aspects of the biology of alien life is predictable, and whether aliens are likely to exist
• understand how views on astrobiology and the origins of life have changed over time, and how they might change in the future

Course content

In the first section of the course, you will get to grips with the problems facing scientists as they try to discover how life began. You will gain an understanding of the difficulties that face origin-of-life models, as well as the routes by which evidence can be gathered to evaluate these hypotheses. We will focus in particular on the most central problem in the origin of life on Earth: the origin and evolution of the genetic code. After looking at the latest evidence-based solutions to this seemingly impossible problem, we then begin to think about what our understanding of life’s origins teaches us about life elsewhere in the Universe.

In the second section of the course, you will understand how astrobiologists are able to make predictions about the likelihood of life elsewhere and how extra-terrestrial life might be detected. We will discuss different responses to the apparent lack of evidence for advanced extra-terrestrial life (the Fermi paradox). Next, we will discuss the extent to which the evolutionary history of life on Earth can be used to forecast the likely appearance and behaviours of alien life; we will ‘tour the cosmic zoo’ of plausible extra-terrestrial life-forms. 

The course closes with a discussion of the latest developments in origin of life research and astrobiology: will we ever resolve these important questions and, if so, how close are we to doing so?

What to expect on this course

All sessions in this course are interactive: each lecture raises many intriguing questions for group discussion, with lots of opportunity for interaction with both the course tutor and your fellow learners. The lectures are accompanied by a multimedia slideshow which ensures an engaging and immersive experience. 

Course sessions

1. The origin of life (I): chickens and eggs – the problems facing origin-of-life models, their proposed solutions, and how these models can be tested
2. The origin of life (II): the first word – an introduction to the universal genetic code, models of its evolutionary origins, and how these models can be tested
3. Astrobiology (I): is anybody there? – the probability of life existing elsewhere in the Universe, the Fermi paradox and its potential solutions
4. Astrobiology (II): touring the cosmic zoo  - the range of possible anatomies and behaviours that may be found in different extra-terrestrial environments, and a discussion of whether or not evolution on Earth provides a guide to life elsewhere
5. The future of astrobiology and origin-of-life studies: are we nearly there yet? – a summary of the latest exciting developments in both astrobiology and origin-of-life studies, and a discussion of if and how both questions might be resolved

Learning outcomes

As a result of the course, you will gain a greater understanding of the subject and you should be able to:

• explain the best supported scenario for the origin-of-life and describe the evidence that supports this
• describe how astrobiologists can make predictions about the location, anatomy, and behaviour of extra-terrestrial life
• understand how views on astrobiology and the origins of life have changed over time, and how they might change in the future

Required reading

There is no required reading for this course. See Course materials for supplementary reading once registered.