ASTROBIOLOGY The questions surrounding how life originated on Earth and whether life might exist or have existed on other planets in the Universe are the central motivating questions in Astrobiology. These questions are best addressed by intensive studies of the origin of life on Earth. The reasons obviously include that life is only known on Earth and that Earth is our most accessible planet, but also that the Earth has a geologic record of the development and evolution of life. Our program is a joint research effort between Johns Hopkins University and the Carnegie Institution of Washington, together with researchers at the University of Delaware and Penn State University. ORIGIN OF LIFE ON EARTH Why did life choose left-handed amino acids and right-handed sugars? How did the assembly of the first biomolecules take place? Our research addresses whether these things happened because of mineral surfaces. In other words, did mineral surfaces provide a special environment where chiral selection and molecular assembly took place? We are seeking a fundamental understanding of how organic molecules attach to mineral surfaces, and how this may depend on environmental conditions. An example of our work is given in Jonsson et al. (2009). ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS ON THE EARLY EARTH Life began on the early Earth in part because the environmental conditions were favorable. What were these conditions? We are addressing this question as well as the subsequent evolution of the ocean and atmosphere because the answers are vital to an understanding of the stability and reactivity of the organic molecules from which life developed. An example of our work is given in Sverjensky and Lee (2010).
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