Looking for the Laws of Life
Sunday, June 1, 2008, 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Life. Some scientists are searching the cosmos for habitable cradles of it, others are combing Earth for exotic forms of it, while others still are on the verge of creating it in the lab. The forms life could take seem endless — at least in theory. But are there universal laws of life, much like the fundamental laws of physics, which govern or limit the characteristics that make it — in any form — possible? Our audience joined John Hockenberry for a vibrant discussion with leading astrobiologists Paul Davies, Steven Benner and Maggie Turnbull as they looked at life through the lens of chemistry and physics in search of life as we don’t know it.
Image © Roxana González | Dreamstime.com
Participants:
Steven Benner is one of the pioneers of synthetic biology, which seeks to create artificial living systems. He is a Distinguished Fellow at the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution in Gainesville, Florida and a founder of the Westheimer Institute for Science.
Paul Davies is Director of the BEYOND Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science at Arizona State University and the co-Director of the ASU Cosmology Initiative. His research interests range from the origin of the universe to the origin of life.
John Hockenberry is an award-winning journalist with twenty-five years experience in radio, broadcast television and print. He is co-host of WNYC and PRI's The Takeaway, host on The DNA Files, and a contributor to The Infinite Mind.
Margaret Turnbull leads the science team of the NASA New Worlds Observer mission looking for Earth-like planets and signs of alien life. She is an astrobiologist at the Global Science Institute in Wisconsin.
