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The origin and evolution of Life in the universe

Project description

Interdisciplinary collaboration aims to unlock another piece of the puzzle of the origin of life

How life emerged remains a mystery to this day. While research has helped unravel certain aspects of the origin of life, the answers are fragmentary. The EU-funded oLife project brings together a wide range of disciplines, from molecular biology and evolutionary ecology to astrophysics and biochemistry. This groundbreaking programme is part of a national interdisciplinary research effort that involves 300 scientists from top-research institutions in the Netherlands who are joining forces to enhance our understanding of the origin, evolution and distribution of life in the Universe.

Objective

The origin and evolution of life remains one of the biggest puzzles for humankind. We still do not know where we come from, nor do we know what the future will bring. While at the disciplinary level some aspects of the origin of life question have been unravelled, the answers obtained thus far are fragmentary and far from complete. We are convinced that an unconventional trans-disciplinary approach is needed for making substantial progress. The oLife FP brings together a wide range of disciplines ranging from molecular biology to astrophysics, and from evolutionary ecology to biochemistry. This ground-breaking broad approach will undoubtedly lead to major new insights and perhaps even to a real breakthrough in the origin of life question. This COFUND initiative is part of a national interdisciplinary research effort, involving 300 scientists from top research institutions in the Netherlands, who are joining forces to enhance our understanding of the origin, evolution, distribution and development of life in the universe, with the ultimate goal of developing methods for steering life on a human-dominated planet. Besides pursuing interdisciplinary research on an internationally competitive level, the oLife FP will provide top-level training to junior scientists, who by interacting with researchers from various disciplines and secondments in academia, companies and other non-academic institutions will be ideally prepared for a career inside and outside of academia.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Keywords

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

MSCA-COFUND - Co-funding of regional, national and international programmes (COFUND)

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-COFUND-2018

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Coordinator

RIJKSUNIVERSITEIT GRONINGEN
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 1 986 120,00
Address
Broerstraat 5
9712CP Groningen
Netherlands

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Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 3 972 240,00
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