Philipp Spillmann Department of History & Philosophy of Science University of Cambridge, UK

Tuesday, 5^th March 2024, 16:00 CET (15:00 UTC)

Astrobiology is often said to be limited to a single instance of life in the universe: Life as we know it on Earth. Scientists and philosophers alike have been worried that this unfortunate predicament may lead to serious, perhaps even insurmountable obstacles to the justification of astrobiological models and theories. This concern is known as the N = 1 problem. In my talk, I take a closer look at this problem from a philosophical perspective, and analyze how exactly it is best phrased, explained, and solved – both in theory and scientific practice.

The talk will be streamed at: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/6631204351

Watch the trailer at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKnxVSsXEt8

Sijbren Otto, University Of Groningen Centre For Systems Chemistry, Stratingh Institute, The Netherlands

Tuesday, 6 February 2024, 16:00 CET (15:00 UTC)

Abstract: While a lot of research is devoted to the search for the chemical building blocks of life in prebiotic settings, relatively little attention has been paid to how the functions of life can emerge from mixtures of lifeless molecules. In this seminar I will introduce you to simple mechanisms through which several functions, that are deemed essential to life, can emerge from simple chemical reaction networks. These functions include self-replication, followed by catalysis and how this can lead onto a primitive metabolism. Catalysis can also yield cell-like compartments to house the self-replicators. Under the right conditions the resulting systems can undergo rudimentary Darwinian evolution and exhibit life-like behavior, including niche partitioning and eco-evolutionary dynamics

The talk will be streamed at: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/6631204351

Watch the trailer at: https://youtu.be/OQmH33FU5uY

Paola Caselli, Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Germany

Tuesday, 18 January 2022, 16:00 CEST (14:00 UTC)

In this instalment of the EAI seminar series, the speaker will present a journey from the earliest phases of star formation to protoplanetary disks, with links to our Solar System, highlighting the crucial role of astrochemistry as powerful diagnostic tool of the various steps, as well as to unveil our astrochemical origins.

The talk will be streamed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ablsg65gD98

Click here for more information and a sneak-peak video of the talk!