Got Metal? Life and Metals, The Unexpected Connection - Livestream

Single-cell life appears quickly after the formation of our Earth and co-evolve with our planet over the eons. Biologists understand that all life requires trace elements, many of which are metals, to perform crucial chemical reactions. Recent studies show that geological activity, such as plate tectonics, plays a key role in controlling when and which metals are available for life during evolution.

We don’t yet know how life appears and could thrive in extreme conditions and the importance of the concentration of metals to increase or stop this coevolution. This question is essential in the framework of the discovery of exoplanets which forms in different conditions and probably evolve differently.

To discuss the role of metals in the evolution of life here on Earth and exoplanets, we invited two scientists from the University of Naples Federico II in Italy: Donato Giovannelli, a Microbial Ecologist and Professor who works on the coevolution of Life and the Planet and Giovanni Covone, astrophysicist and Professor of Astrophysics, whose research focuses on exoplanets and exobiology.

Molly Bentley, Executive Director of Big Picture Science, will moderate the discussion. Together they will explore how biologists study the co-evolution between the Earth and the microbial world, focusing on the relationship between the geological release of metals necessary for life and present in low concentrations and how this down-to-Earth research can inform astronomers about the quest for life on exoplanets.

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