Life in the Universe
The 2015 UA Science Lecture Series explores our Universe at molecular, biological, planetary and cosmic scales to ask 'What is life?' and how do we recognize it? Life as we know it produces complex order. Earth's many life forms are diverse and continually changing through birth, growth, and evolution. To understand life in the Universe we ask: What environments produce life and which attributes make something alive? How does life change? Is there life in our Solar System, or on one of countless exoplanets? Is there a connection between life on Earth and life elsewhere? Or are we alone? (from UA Science Lecture Series)
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What is Life?
Throughout history, our definition of 'life' reflects our assumptions about how the Universe works - and why we ask the question.
Planet Formation and the Origin of Life
It is generally accepted that planets or their satellites are required for life to originate and evolve. Thus, in order to understand the possible distribution of life in the Universe it is important to study planet formation and evolution.
Life on Earth: By Chance or by Law?
This talk will touch on the examples where the laws of chemistry and physics, in addition to evolutionary rules, have resulted in general properties of life.
Complexity and Evolvability: What Makes Life so Interesting?
Life is particularly fascinating in its ability to create complex and ever-changing forms out of simple building blocks. How does such complexity arise, and what are the conditions that allow never-ending evolution of new and more intricate forms of life?
Searching for Life in the Solar System
In the last 50 years, spacecraft have determined that life on the surfaces of planets and moons in the Solar System is rare - if it exists at all. However, there are places where a search for life in the Solar System may still be fruitful.
Amazing Discoveries: A Billion Earth-like Worlds
One of the most fascinating developments in the last two decades is humankind's discovery of alien worlds orbiting stars near our Sun.
Intelligent Life Beyond Earth
It's challenging to define life, and even more difficult to make general definitions of intelligence and technology. We'll look at the premises and assumptions involved in the search, the strategies used, and the profound consequences of making contact.
| Related Links |
| Are We Alone? The Search for Life beyond the Earth A discussion of the prospects of finding life, simple or intelligent, beyond our own planet. There is the possibility of finding evidence of life, past or present, on Mars or even below the icy crust of Jupiter's moon Europa. |
| The Oldest Question: Is There Life Beyond Earth? Our reconstruction of the chronology of events that led to the origin of the Earth and subsequent chemical evolution on our planet informs us that nothing unusual was required for the origin and development of terrestrial life, and that therefore life may be pervasive throughout the cosmos. |
| Finding Life beyond Earth: Are We Alone? This is a PBS documentary which takes a spectacular trip to distant realms of our solar system to discover where secret forms of life may lie hidden. |
| The Search for Life in the Universe Scientists on the hunt for distant planets and extraterrestrial intelligence explore faraway galaxies and barely visible realms. |
| Life in the Universe (UC Irvine) This course provides an overview of the scientific quest to discover life elsewhere in the universe. |
| Astrobiology and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life In this course we will explore what we know about life's ability to live in extreme environments on the Earth, we will look at different hypotheses for how it originated. |
| Astrobiology and Space Exploration This course discusses evolution in the context of space and time, focusing on the emergence of life in a planetary context on Earth and possibly elsewhere as well as the evolution of intelligence and the search for it elsewhere. |
| Origins - From the Big Bang to the Emergence of Humans This course will cover our modern scientific understanding of origins, from the Big Bang to the formation of planets like Earth, evolution by natural selection, the genetic basis of evolution, and the emergence of humans. |