Understanding the origins of life | Sara Walker
89In the IAI's newest academy course Sara Walker investigates origin of life theories in both physics and biology, providing a radically new framework to finally understand what life itself is.
This is a course on information theory, the emergence of life and the possibility of discovering new life on other planets.
Watch the full course at https://iai.tv/iai-academy/courses/info?course=breathing-life-into-the-laws-of-physics?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=description
Part One: The Universal Laws of Life
Are we overdue an understanding of life that takes seriously the universal laws that underpin it? Walker explores the exciting paradigm shift in our thinking we may need to finally understand our living existence.
Part Two: The Origin of Life in the Universe
Many scientists focus their life-research on trying to recreate the conditions of how life emerged on Earth. But what if we dream bigger and start theorizing a less parochial form of life? Walker paves the way for thinking about how all kinds of life could evolve.
Fundamental physics has been a great success story. Yet the central phenomenon of our existence - life itself - has been left out. Physics and biology are traditionally treated as entirely separate disciplines. Increasingly, however, developments in thinking about information and a radical new conversation about what a scientific law might even look like, suggest they have more to learn from each other than we think.
What are laws of nature and can they evolve, as they do in biology? What is information and how can information theory help us radically shift our framing of these problems? And what should we be doing to find life on other planets?
Theoretical physicist and astrobiology Sara Walker shows us how to breathe life into the laws of physics and, in doing so, provide a radical new framework to finally understand what life itself is.
#originoflifetheories #SaraWalker #informationtheorycourse
Sara Walker is a famed science communicator, theoretical physicist and astrobiologist with research interests in the origins of life, astrobiology, physics of life, emergence and artificial life. Walker is currently the Deputy Director of the Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science at Arizona State University, Associate Director of the ASU-SFI Center for Biosocial Complex Systems and an associate professor at Arizona State University (ASU). She is a co-founder of the astrobiology social network SAGANet.org, and on the board of directors for Blue Marble Space a nonprofit education and science organisation.
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