Exploring the Toxic Building Blocks of Early Life

Chemist Jack Szostak wants to understand how the first life forms came into being on Earth. He and Steve discuss the danger of "mirror bacteria," the origin of biology in poisonous chemicals, and the possibility that life might exist on other planets too. 

• SOURCES:
  • Jack Szostak, Nobel laureate and professor of chemistry at The University of Chicago.

• RESOURCES:
  • Is Earth Exceptional?: The Quest for Cosmic Life, by Mario Livio and Jack Szostak (2024)
  • "Q&A: How ‘Mirror Bacteria’ Could Take a Devastating Toll on Humanity," by Isabella Backman (Yale School of Medicine, 2024).
  • "The virtual circular genome model for primordial RNA replication," by Jack Szostak, Lijun Zhou, and Dian Ding (RNA, 2021).
  • "Protocells and RNA Self-Replication," by Gerald Joyce and Jack Szostak (Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology, 2018).
  • "The Narrow Road to the Deep Past: In Search of the Chemistry of the Origin of Life," by Jack Szostak (Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2017).
  • "Jack Szostak on 'Life in the Lab' (And Autocatalytic Sets)" by Suzan Mazur (Huffington Post, 2014).
  • "Jack W. Szostak Interview" (The Nobel Prize, 2009).
  • "The Miller-Urey Experiment" (National Center for Science Education).
  • "From Old Vials, New Hints on Origin of Life," by Kenny Chang (New York Times, 2008).

• EXTRAS:
  • What Is It Like to Be an Addict?: Understanding Substance Abuse, by Owen Flanagan (2025)
  • "UPDATE: What It’s Like to Be Steve Levitt’s Daughters," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2024).
  • "We Can Play God Now," by Freakonomics Radio (2022).