Astrobiology and the Origins of Life

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04/03/2009

Apr. 03, 2009

Astrobiology and the Origins of Life

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Ever lain on your back, studying a starry sky, wondering if there's anything else out there?

It's possible that there could be another spot in our own solar system that supports life, or did in the past. Some planetary scientists think that Martian life, past or present, is a possibility. Bacteria live in some of the harshest environments known on the Earth, from Antarctic ice to deep sea vents - so why not the Red Planet? Earlier this year, astronomers reported finding methane gas in the Martian atmosphere. Their paper, published in the journal Science, said that gas could result either from geochemical activity or possibly living organisms.

Other experts are looking further afield in search of extraterrestrial life. But will we be able to recognize exotic life forms if we stumble across them? Are alternate systems of biology, based on chemistry involving arsenic or sulfur, rather than carbon, alive and well elsewhere? In this hour of Science Friday, we'll talk about the origins of life, and the possibility we're not alone in the universe. We're broadcasting from Tempe, Arizona this week, as part of ASU's Origins Symposium. See a web stream of the Origins Symposium here.

Produced by Christopher Intagliata, Senior Producer

Guests

Peter Ward
Professor, Department of Biology

The Astrobiology Program

The University of Washington

Seattle, Washington
Paul Davies
Cosmologist, Physicist, Astrobiologist

Director, The Beyond Center

Arizona State University

Tempe, Arizona
Barry Blumberg
Winner, 1976 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Founding director, NASA Astrobiology Institute

Distinguished Scientist, NASA Lunar Science Institute and NASA Astrobiology Institute

Senior Advisor to the President,
Fox Chase Cancer Center
Ariel Anbar
Principal Investigator, NASA Astrobiology Institute team at Arizona State University

Associate Professor

School of Earth & Space Exploration

Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry

Arizona State University

Tempe, Arizona

Discussion

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Code:
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line 3: 	my($parent);
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line 6: 		$parent = $LayoutManager::url_resolved_values{'SEGMENT.nickname'};
line 7: 	}
line 8: 	elsif($LayoutManager::url_resolved_values{'VIDEO.nickname'}) {
line 9: 		$parent = $LayoutManager::url_resolved_values{'VIDEO.nickname'};
line 10: 	}
line 11: 	elsif($LayoutManager::url_resolved_values{'DOCUMENT.nickname'}) {
line 12: 		$parent = $LayoutManager::url_resolved_values{'DOCUMENT.nickname'}
line 13: 	}
line 14: 	
line 15: 	if($parent) {
line 16: 		my(@books) = &Database::SelectClause('BOOK',"parent = $parent");
line 17: 		if(!@books) {
line 18: 			$parent = '';
line 19: 		}
line 20: 	}
line 21: 	
line 22: 	if(!$parent) {
line 23: 		my(@sel) = &Database::SelectClause('GLOBAL','record all ""');
line 24: 		if(@sel) {
line 25: 			$parent = 'GLOBAL.' . $sel[0];
line 26: 		}
line 27: 			$main::ENV{'reading_header'} = "FEATURED READING";
line 28: 	}
line 29: 	
line 30: 	 = '';
line 31: 	
line 32: 	if($parent) {
line 33: 		my(@books) = &Database::SelectClause('BOOK',"parent = $parent");
line 34: 		0 = 0;
line 35: 		my $dots;
line 36: 		foreach(@books) {
line 37: 			my(%data);
line 38: 			&Database::GetRow($_,'BOOK',\%data);
line 39: 			my($status,$title,$author,$url,$image,$width,$height) = &SciFri::Schema::getAmazonItem($data{'isbn'});
line 40: 			if($data{'title'}) {
line 41: 				$title = $data{'title'};
line 42: 			}
line 43: 			if($data{'author'}) {
line 44: 				$author = $data{'author'};
line 45: 			}
line 46: 			if($status eq 'ok') {
line 47: 				 .= "<div class=\"box-2x1-item box-slide\" data-href=\"$url\">";
line 48: 				 .= "	<div class=\"box-2x1-item-photo\">";
line 49: 				 .= "		<div class=\"image-wrapper\" data-jsclass=\"imageWrapper\" data-align=\"right\">";
line 50: 				 .= "			<img src=\"$image\" data-width=\"$width\" data-height=\"$height\">";
line 51: 				 .= "		</div>";
line 52: 				 .= "	</div>";
line 53: 				 .= "	<h4>$title</h4>";
line 54: 				if($author) {
line 55: 					 .= "	<p>by $author</p>";
line 56: 				}
line 57: 				 .= "	<div class=\"box-2x1-more-button\"><a href=\"$url\"><img src=\"/images/v1/icon_text_more_white.png\" width=47 height=15 border=0></a></div>";
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line 60: 			}
line 61: 		}
line 62: 	}
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line 64: 	else { $main::ENV{'reading_header'} = "RELATED READING"; }
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line 66: &doEval();
line 67: 1;