

79 | Sara Imari Walker on Information and the Origin of Life
44 snips Jan 13, 2020
Sara Imari Walker, an Associate Professor at Arizona State University with a focus on astrobiology, dives into the intriguing nature of life. She discusses competing theories on the origins of life, including genetics-first versus metabolism-first models. The conversation explores the role of information in living systems, questioning traditional definitions of life. Walker also highlights innovative methodologies in research, emphasizing the importance of experiments that simulate early Earth conditions. Her insights spark thoughts on the potential for life beyond our planet.
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From Cosmology to Astrobiology
- Sara Imari Walker started in physics wanting to be a cosmologist.
- She transitioned to astrobiology after working on the origin of homochirality with her advisor, Marcelo Gleiser.
Origin of Life: A Nascent Field
- Origin of life research is less mature than particle physics or cosmology, lacking a standard model.
- This makes it exciting but also challenging due to the numerous untested models.
First Organism vs. LUCA
- There's a vast difference between the first living organism and the last universal common ancestor (LUCA).
- Life may have started as a planetary process, not a single cell, making the LUCA a later development.