BCIG Bookclub: “Gen-e-sis: The Scientific Quest
for Life’s Origins”
Clinical
Center (Building 10) Medical Board Room (Room 2C116)
By airing all the controversies, I
attempt to provide a balanced view of ‘the origin of life’ - a hotly contested
scientific subject.”
Robert Hazen
THE EVENING: Dr. Hazen will review his book
and dialogue with us about it. We will end at 7:00 p.m. - earlier
than usual - so that those interested in continuing the dialogue over dinner may
do so. (Unfortunately, Dr. Hazen will not be able to join our group for dinner.)
THE BOOK: Author Robert Hazen doesn’t tell us the meaning of
life, but he does shed light on how it started. The "primordial soup" theory
suggests that organic building blocks floating around in Earth's ocean four
billion years ago combined to form the first primitive organisms. Hazen explains
many rival theories vying for attention. The discovery of life near hydrothermal
vents deep in the ocean have led some scientists to propose that life started
there. Recent studies of microbes living in rock miles below the earth's surface
suggest more radical genesis stories. The origin of life is a hotly contested
scientific field, of which Hazen provides a balanced view, airing all the
controversies. He discusses the study of molecular fossils and even how we might
search for life on other planets. His writing is clear and entertaining, giving
a delightful look into his unpredictable experimental work without shying away
from the complexity of the science. (He coauthored Science Matters: Achieving
Scientific Literacy.)
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5:30 pm- 7:30 pm May 25, 2006
(view
video)
AUTHOR:
Robert M. Hazen, research scientist at the Carnegie Institution of
Washington’s Geophysical Laboratory and Clarence Robinson Professor of Earth
Science at George Mason University, received the B.S. and S.M. in geology at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1971), and the Ph.D.at Harvard University
in earth science (1975). After studies as NATO Postdoctoral Fellow at
Cambridge University in England, he joined the Carnegie Institution’s research
effort.
SUITABILITY:
Anyone interested in the subject matter of the book is most welcome to attend
this BCIG Book Club Event.
REGISTRATION:
As with most all BCIG events, registration is not required. Just show up happy.
NIH CONTACT:
Carl Leonard, 301-496-0191,
cleonard@lired.com
REFRESHMENTS:
Please bring refreshments if you wish. There is a cafeteria near our meeting
room. We may go out to dinner with the author in a nearby Bethesda restaurant
after the meeting.
BCIG WEB SITE:
www.nih-bcig.org
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