On the Origin of Life

It’s an age-old question: How did life come about? Even the simplest creatures that exhibit the two hallmarks of life, namely metabolism and replication, are astoundingly complex. While the search for life’s origin has fascinated humans for centuries, recent breakthroughs point us in a more conclusive direction, and have remarkable implications. Among important side insights are the unexpected similarities between prebiotic and human innovation, and the central role that energy and informationhave played in transforming the planet over the last 4 billion years, leading right up to the present climate crisis.

Our Wonderfest speaker, Dr. Charles Marshall, is Distinguished Professor of Integrative Biology at UC Berkeley. He is also Director of the University of California Museum of Paleontology.