Is Earth Unique? Mario Livio and Jack Szostak on the Odds of Alien Life [Ep. 457]

Into the Impossible With Brian Keating

Brian Keating

Science, Physics, Natural Sciences

4.7 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 10 September 2024

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Does life exist beyond Earth, or is our planet genuinely unique? Can we recreate the origins of life in a lab? And what role does Mars play in the quest for cosmic life? I had the extraordinary honor of discussing this with two outstanding scientists, Mario Livio and Jack Szostak. Mario and Jack just released their new book, Is Earth Exceptional?, which seeks to answer whether life is a freak accident or a chemical inevitability. Tune in and join us for this mesmerizing exploration! Mario Livio is an astrophysicist and author known for his work in cosmology and his popular science books. Livio has significantly contributed to our understanding of dark energy, black holes, and other cosmic phenomena. Jack Szostak is a prominent biologist and Nobel Laureate known for his significant contributions to understanding life's fundamental processes. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2009, along with Elizabeth Blackburn and Carol Greider, for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase. Key Takeaways: 00:00:00 Intro 00:01:33 “Life existing only on Earth is arrogant.” 00:04:09 Miller–Urey experiment 00:08:35 Does extraordinary evidence exist? 00:10:12 Judging a book by its cover 00:14:11 The origin of life 00:22:18 Thoughts on Rare Earth by Ward and Brownlee 00:24:59 The role of magnetite in the origin of life 00:31:30 Life on Mars? 00:55:15 Drake equation 00:58:54 Outro Additional resources: ➡️ Learn more about Mario Livio: 💻 Website: https://www.mariolivio.com/ ➡️ Learn more about Jack Szostak: 💻 Website: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2009/szostak/facts/ ➡️ Follow me on your fav platforms: ✖️ Twitter: https://x.com/DrBrianKeating 🔔 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/DrBrianKeating?sub_confirmation=1 📝 Join my mailing list: https://briankeating.com/list ✍️ Check out my blog: https://briankeating.com/cosmic-musings/ 🎙️ Follow my podcast: https://briankeating.com/podcast ✨ Member's only playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=UUMOmXH_moPhfkqCk6S3b9RWuw Into the Impossible with Brian Keating is a podcast dedicated to all those who want to explore the universe within and beyond the known. Make sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Is Earth exceptional or are we alone in the vast cosmos?
0:05.6	Today I'm into the impossible. I have a conversation with two giants of modern science.
0:11.2	Mario Livio, an astrophysicist who worked on the Hubble Space Telescope and is the
0:16.2	best-selling author of seven books, including the Golden Ratio and Brilliant Blunders, and Jack
0:22.1	Schostak, a professor of chemistry at the University of Chicago, leaving the
0:26.2	center for the origin of life.
0:28.1	In 2009, Jack shared the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. Today we discuss life's uniqueness or
0:36.2	ubiquity, the potential or existence of life beyond Earth. We challenge the
0:41.5	interpretations of the Miller-Yury experiment and discuss ways that
0:45.6	Jack is attempting to make synthetic DNA and efforts to create life in the lab.
0:51.2	We discuss the controversial RNA world hypothesis, how life could
0:55.2	originate from RNA, not DNA. And we talk about the surprising role of a molecule called
1:02.3	magnetite, which could be the key that unlocks the mysteries of life on Earth and in the Cosmos.
1:08.5	Join us for an exploration of the uniqueness of life on Earth and whether or not life on Earth is all
1:15.5	there is in from magic.
1:29.0	Open the pod bay doors now.
1:33.0	In the end of the book, you say something along the lines of Earth being exceptional is a question that you almost regard as arrogant.
1:43.0	Why should we be the only life in the universe?
1:46.0	And I want to pose to you, what are the odds if somebody, you know,
1:50.0	took your neighbor's pet cat that you love and you know threatened to do
1:54.9	something to it unless you told them what your exact thoughts are about the odds of
1:58.9	their being life not the you know not the possibility of life, which I agree, but you said life existing only on earth is arrogant.
	...

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