FYSP 069 - Astrobiology: The Scientific Search for Extraterrestrial Life

FC NSMA QFR WINT

4 credits
Astrobiology is a vibrant, interdisciplinary research effort that explores some of the most fundamental questions in science: What is life? How did life on Earth begin? Is there life beyond Earth? And how should we best search for it? To address these questions, we will draw on a range of disciplines, including planetary science, chemistry, molecular biology, evolutionary biology, and philosophy. In our survey of these different topics, students will gain an appreciation for how scientific claims are devised, tested, and supported by evidence, within and between different fields of study.