How did life come about on Earth? What can the origin of life here tell us about life on other planets? And what do we know about the future of life? When scientists are faced with complex and multidimensional questions like these, the answers aren’t necessarily found within one single discipline or academic department. But if you bring together a philosopher, a plant scientist, a thermal biologist, a biomaterials expert, three chemists and a geologist, powerful things begin to happen. Just ask the members of MSU’s newly created Astrobiology Institute.
“Once you start to go across disciplines you naturally tend to look at the bigger questions instead of focusing only on the nitty-gritty details,” said Trevor Douglas, head of MSU’s Center for Bio-Inspired Nanomaterials and member of the institute. “Collaborating scientifically is an incredibly difficult thing to do. It takes a high level of trust and requires collaborators to be open to sharing ideas.”
Astrobiology is a multidisciplinary area of research that focuses on the origin of life and life in extreme environments. MSU astrobiologists will attempt to find a link between geology and biology by studying the role of iron-sulfide compounds. These compounds occur naturally in rocks and minerals and may hold the key to explaining the transition from non-living minerals to living biological organisms when life first occurred on Earth.
Douglas and John Peters, head of MSU’s Thermal Biology Institute, lay the foundation for astrobiology research at MSU through their extensive and longstanding collaborations. As a result, MSU was selected as one of four new members of the NASA Astrobiology Institute in May 2007, along with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the California Institute of Technology-Pasadena and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. During the five-year term of the grant, astrobiology research at MSU will receive approximately $6 million.
“Truly the grant is validation that science at the highest and most competitive level is occurring at MSU,” said Peters. “The involvement in the center will bring additional attention to research at MSU as a whole and gives MSU the opportunity to lead astrobiology research and education nationwide.”
Joan Broderick, a team member who specializes in bioinorganic chemistry, said MSU’s reputation for interdisciplinary research is part of what attracted her to the university in 2005. Previously a self-described “traditional” scientist who focused on narrow research questions, she now finds herself taking a broader approach to science. “I think the most interesting aspect of this project is that we’re pulling together all these people who otherwise never would’ve met or spoken to each other in a scientific setting,” Broderick said about the collaboration. “I’m really excited about contributing knowledge in one of the most exciting areas of science right now. We’re really pushing the boundaries of what can be understood about the origin of life.”
The NASA grant will not only put MSU on the map and advance research in the area of astrobiology, it will benefit students as well, said Douglas. “Showing that we can draw scientifically valid threads between biology and geology is the key goal. In the process we’re hoping to educate a lot of students in thinking multidisciplinary and thinking outside the box.”
By Linda McGurk
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Astrobiology: Collaborating on the origins of life
How did life come about on Earth? What can the origin of life here tell us about life on other planets? And what do we know about the future of life? When scientists are faced with complex and multidimensional questions like these, the answers aren’t necessarily found within one single discipline or academic department. But if you bring together a philosopher, a plant scientist, a thermal biologist, a biomaterials expert, three chemists and a geologist, powerful things begin to happen. Just ask the members of MSU’s newly created Astrobiology Institute.
“Once you start to go across disciplines you naturally tend to look at the bigger questions instead of focusing only on the nitty-gritty details,” said Trevor Douglas, head of MSU’s Center for Bio-Inspired Nanomaterials and member of the institute. “Collaborating scientifically is an incredibly difficult thing to do. It takes a high level of trust and requires collaborators to be open to sharing ideas.”
Astrobiology is a multidisciplinary area of research that focuses on the origin of life and life in extreme environments. MSU astrobiologists will attempt to find a link between geology and biology by studying the role of iron-sulfide compounds. These compounds occur naturally in rocks and minerals and may hold the key to explaining the transition from non-living minerals to living biological organisms when life first occurred on Earth.
Douglas and John Peters, head of MSU’s Thermal Biology Institute, lay the foundation for astrobiology research at MSU through their extensive and longstanding collaborations. As a result, MSU was selected as one of four new members of the NASA Astrobiology Institute in May 2007, along with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the California Institute of Technology-Pasadena and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. During the five-year term of the grant, astrobiology research at MSU will receive approximately $6 million.
“Truly the grant is validation that science at the highest and most competitive level is occurring at MSU,” said Peters. “The involvement in the center will bring additional attention to research at MSU as a whole and gives MSU the opportunity to lead astrobiology research and education nationwide.”
Joan Broderick, a team member who specializes in bioinorganic chemistry, said MSU’s reputation for interdisciplinary research is part of what attracted her to the university in 2005. Previously a self-described “traditional” scientist who focused on narrow research questions, she now finds herself taking a broader approach to science. “I think the most interesting aspect of this project is that we’re pulling together all these people who otherwise never would’ve met or spoken to each other in a scientific setting,” Broderick said about the collaboration. “I’m really excited about contributing knowledge in one of the most exciting areas of science right now. We’re really pushing the boundaries of what can be understood about the origin of life.”
The NASA grant will not only put MSU on the map and advance research in the area of astrobiology, it will benefit students as well, said Douglas. “Showing that we can draw scientifically valid threads between biology and geology is the key goal. In the process we’re hoping to educate a lot of students in thinking multidisciplinary and thinking outside the box.”
By Linda McGurk
Download PDF