Lecture 19: The Origin of Life on Earth

Astronomy 141 - Life in the Universe - Autumn Quarter 2009

Content provided by Richard Pogge. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Richard Pogge or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.

14+ y ago 46:08

MP3•Episode home

Archived series ("Inactive feed" status)

When? This feed was archived on August 20, 2021 11:09 (2+ y ago). Last successful fetch was on July 12, 2019 06:31 (5y ago)

Why? Inactive feed status. Our servers were unable to retrieve a valid podcast feed for a sustained period.

What now? You might be able to find a more up-to-date version using the search function. This series will no longer be checked for updates. If you believe this to be in error, please check if the publisher's feed link below is valid and contact support to request the feed be restored or if you have any other concerns about this.

How did life arise from non-life? Frankly, we don't know, but current experimental work is aimed at trying to understand how it might work in biochemical terms. This lecture sets out the problem of "abiogenesis", and describes our current thinking about the likely origins of life on Earth. We will review the classic Miller-Urey experiment, and look at its insights and limitations, discuss meteoritic sources of amino acids, and the basic requirements needed for protolife. I will then describe in outline two scenarios that are active areas of origins research: the RNA World model and the Metabolism First model. Finally, I will very briefly mention Exogenesis and Panspermia, which don't really address the problem of abiogenesis so much as move it elsewhere. Recorded live on 2009 Oct 20 in Room 1005 Smith Laboratory on the Columbus campus of The Ohio State University.

47 episodes

#Science #Higher Education #Natural Sciences #Richard Pogge #Podcasting Education