Origins of Life and Astrobiology
Astrobiology is a vibrant field that focuses on the study of the origins, distribution and evolution of life in the universe.
Astrobiology at the University of Arizona
Astrobiology is an interdisciplinary field that combines astronomy, geology, biology and chemistry. At the University of Arizona, there are six academic departments that participate in the astrobiology program: Astronomy, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Geosciences, Molecular and Cellular Biology, and Planetary Sciences.
The University of Arizona offers one of the few astrobiology minor programs in the United States.
Some of the questions we seek to answer include:
How did life emerge?
How did the first metabolic networks and organisms evolve?
How did the translation machinery emerge and evolve?
Can we provide insights into RNA world?
Is life deterministic or repeatable?
What is the likelihood that life comparable to our own has arisen elsewhere in the universe?