The Biggest Questions: How did life begin? AI is helping chemists unpick the mysteries around the origins of life and detect signs of it on other worlds.

How did life begin?

One of the biggest difficulties with the origins of life is the sheer complexity of the problem.

Now, a few researchers are trying a new approach: harnessing artificial intelligence

My first story for @technologyreview.com

How we will discover the mysterious origins of life once and for all Seventy years ago, three discoveries propelled our understanding of how life on Earth began. But has the biggest clue to life's origins been staring biologists in the face all along?

This year marks 70 years since three of the most important findings in the quest to understand the origins of life

What were those discoveries - and how have our ideas changed since?

Maintenance Phase by @michaelhobbes.bsky.social and @yrfatfriend.bsky.social is probably my favorite science podcast. It covers the wellness industry, and I especially enjoyed their episodes on school lunches, Oprah vs Beef, RFK Jr, and the President’s Physical Fitness Test: www.maintenancephase.com

Thanks @michael-marshall.bsky.social for a great interview that resulted in a beautiful piece; glad to hear the voices of other brilliant colleagues! www.newscientist.com/article/mg26...

PS: My network here is still small, please share I'd love to connect to more fellow scientists/engineers!

What's your favourite strange sci phenomenon outside biology? Or, What's the role of stochasticity in the Universe before the origin of life / cells? Looking at you Chemistry & Geology ; Physics's got quantum craziness galore, is there more above that level?

Yes I got several weird ones too. It's such a shame. I like that they give vouchers to referees. That's the only way we were able to publish The Future paper (in Life). We had to pay from our pocket as PI didn't want to cover it, collection of vouchers from diff authors really helped

Tell more, what tipped the scales?