Exploring The Origins of Life, with Kerstin Göpfrich

What is the origin of life in the universe? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Matt Kirshen explore how life got its start, the Miller-Urey experiment, and synthetic biology with Kerstin Göpfrich, professor at Heidelberg’s Center for Molecular Biology and leader of the Max Planck Research Group for Biophysical Engineering of Life. Could the first alien life we find be the one we make?

Do we have a clear enough definition of “life” to know when we’ve made it? Kerstin takes us inside her lab, where she’s building synthetic cells from the bottom up. How do you go from chemistry to biology? Can RNA nanotechnology act as the toolkit to assemble life? Learn about RNA origami and how Kerstin’s team designs molecular structures on a computer before testing them in the lab. What can computational design reveal about creating systems that evolve, mutate, and even die?

We explore astrobiology and ask: would life elsewhere in the universe use DNA and RNA, or something completely different? If we replayed Earth’s history, would evolution land in the same place again? Why does all life on Earth share the same molecular handedness, and could a right-handed chirality version of life ever have existed?

We explore the ethics of creating life in the lab. What happens if a self-replicating system emerges? Could synthetic life transform medicine, manufacturing, or even our understanding of the universe? And, most fundamentally, why try to make life at all?

Thanks to our Patrons Kory Thompson, Scott Brooks, Evelyn ZB, Ken Robertson, Richard Iserman, JenFran, Adam Peters, roccie hill, Linux Diner, Steve Jaeger, Devona Johnson, Aaron Cortese, Jennifer Hoying, Brian Howard, kuwar Ahluwalia, Tal Kennedy, Amanda Echon, Michael McCarron, George Katsoufis, Martin BElan, sebby randazzo, Doug, Eval, Nate Amsden, Preston Kersey, Brian, Larbi, Aaron N., Ericka Nightshade, Alisha Okoroafo, karla, Daniel Mekonnen, James J.C. Kelly, MM, Josue Montanez, Stephen Addy, Fox Riley, Caleb Lillard, Louis-Gabriel Thibault, Wendy Kleeb, Jakob Linderoth, Aura, Mary, Mike D'Agostino, Julia Donehew, Jorge, Daniel Tersigni, Lindsay M., Jay Dakota Nance, and Goose for supporting us this week.

Timestamps:

Check out our second channel, @StarTalkPlus

Get the NEW StarTalk book, 'To Infinity and BeyondA Journey of Cosmic Discovery' on Amazon

Support us on Patreon

FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE to StarTalk:

About StarTalk:

Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up!

#StarTalk #NeildeGrasseTyson