Abstract:

In the real world, Life alters the environments it resides in. When these alterations can be detected and attributed with reasonable certainty to biological (rather than abiotic) processes, they can serve as potential biosignatures to infer the current presence (or past existence) of life on Earth and on other planets. In this very preliminary project, I simulate the effect of protocells endowed to various degrees with life-like processes (growth, self-replication, mutation, interaction) on an environment following the rules of an artificial chemistry. The results show that these protocells can modify their chemical environments temporarily or permanently, leading to characteristic chemical signatures. Could we generalize the simulations’ results to life detection in the real world?

Speaker: Dr. Lana Sinapayen (Sony Computer Science Laboratories)

Host: Nathaniel Virgo, ELSI.

Date: Wed. 25 Sep. 16:00-17:00 JST

Venue: Mishima Hall, ELSI