'How can the Arctic help find life on other planets', London, UK
25 February 2013 - 25 February 2013
United Kingdom
A lecture entitled 'How can the Arctic help find life on other planets' will take place on 25 February 2013 in London, UK.
How do microorganisms survive in extreme conditions? What can their evolution teach us about our search for life on other planets? The recent discovery of cold-tolerant microorganisms in glaciated and permanently frozen environments has broadened the known range of environmental conditions which support microbial life.
Microbial life began probably about 3 billion years ago, and the first evolutionary steps began in a world without oxygen, with a different atmosphere unable to provide protection from ultraviolet radiation, and with water bodies which were hot and acidic. It was a physiologically challenging world, but one in which the microbes survived and succeeded, and through their success they began to change the world - adding oxygen to the atmosphere and changing the micro-environments into places that are less stressed.
Extreme conditions still exist out there and often still dominated by microbial communities. The study of these environments and the organisms that live there has considerable value for researchers.
The lecture will expose attendees to extremophiles, organisms adapted to live in extreme conditions, and introduce how their survival adaptations are being used to search for extra-terrestrial life.For further information, please visit
http://royalsociety.org/events/2013/arctic-cafe/(opens in new window)
How do microorganisms survive in extreme conditions? What can their evolution teach us about our search for life on other planets? The recent discovery of cold-tolerant microorganisms in glaciated and permanently frozen environments has broadened the known range of environmental conditions which support microbial life.
Microbial life began probably about 3 billion years ago, and the first evolutionary steps began in a world without oxygen, with a different atmosphere unable to provide protection from ultraviolet radiation, and with water bodies which were hot and acidic. It was a physiologically challenging world, but one in which the microbes survived and succeeded, and through their success they began to change the world - adding oxygen to the atmosphere and changing the micro-environments into places that are less stressed.
Extreme conditions still exist out there and often still dominated by microbial communities. The study of these environments and the organisms that live there has considerable value for researchers.
The lecture will expose attendees to extremophiles, organisms adapted to live in extreme conditions, and introduce how their survival adaptations are being used to search for extra-terrestrial life.For further information, please visit
http://royalsociety.org/events/2013/arctic-cafe/(opens in new window)