Astrobiologist Sean Jordan (Dublin City University) talks about his path to becoming a scientist studying the origins of life, some of big questions scientists grapple with when looking for chemical and biological signs of early life, and his advice for students interested in astrobiology.
Find Sean at The Protosigns Lab and on instagram at @originssean and @protosigns
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Highlights of the episode:
*Opening quote by Sean about the transition from chemistry to biology and the origins of life [0:01];
*Susan introduces astrobiologist Sean Jordan and guest host Sierra Revels who is an intern for the Science Fare podcast [0:52];
*Sean tells us how he decided to become a scientist and what turned him onto astrobiology and describes the magic of piecing together the origins of an environment [2:12];
*The case for deep sea vents as a place where life originated [7:08];
*When exactly did life originate? [11:15];
*Sean’s lab’s work on lipids and insights on the first cell membranes [15:20];
*How early cell membranes may have formed and how that is different from the cell membranes students are learning about in biology [18:31];
*What is the connection between understanding early, simple cells on Earth and detecting life on other planets? [21:41];
*The “leopard spot” patterns found by the Mars Perseverance Rover and what they could mean [28:23];
*Listener question on how nebulae relate to the creation of the Earth [32:20];
*Sean’s take on the panspermia hypothesis [33:30];
*A new hypothesis Sean is working on - let’s search for signs of the emergence of life in the solar system, not just signs of life . . . is life emerging somewhere right now and if so, what would that even look like? [40:23];
*Sean’s advice to high school students interested in this field [42:33]
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