Jack Szostak

1 month ago | freakonomics.com | Steven D. Levitt |Mario Livio |Jack Szostak |Owen Flanagan

I’m sure you’re familiar with Darwin’s theory of evolution, which explains how simple life forms evolved over billions of years into complex life forms. But what evolution doesn’t tell us about at all is how those simple life forms came into being in the first place. How did we go from non-life to life? And that is the question that keeps today’s guest, Jack Szostak, up at night. SZOSTAK: Life everywhere has cells, right? So there had to be a first cell.

Jan 15, 2025 | nautil.us | Mario Livio |Jack Szostak

In their attempts to pin down the meaning of “life,” scientists and philosophers have offered dozens of definitions. Lately, researchers more or less agree that, for something to be alive, it has to be able to reproduce and evolve by natural selection. Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. Log in or Join now .

Sep 16, 2024 | scientificamerican.com | Mario Livio |Jack Szostak

Two of the most intriguing questions in science are: How did life on Earth begin? and Is there life elsewhere in the universe? Given the enormous interest in these questions, you might expect that the basic concepts would be settled by now. But in fact, many ideas about crucial aspects of life are plagued with uncertainties and misconceptions. Before we can even crudely estimate the likelihood of life beyond Earth, we need to know a lot more about how life on Earth got started.

Jan 1, 2024 | hachettebookgroup.com | Mario Livio |Jack Szostak

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Jan 1, 2024 | hachettebookgroup.com | Mario Livio |Jack Szostak

“[Livio and Szostak] deliver a compelling account… the latest on a fascinating search.” Kirkus Reviews "Livio and Szostak adeptly describe how astrophysics, geology and chemistry may have collided on the primordial Earth to spark life.