Film Night June – The Cosmos – 45 years later.

One Voice in the Cosmic Fugue

Subject: Evolution by natural selection; Heike crab story; origin of life; DNA and the unity of life. 45 Years Later:

• Genomic sequencing revolution (Human Genome Project 2003; thousands of species sequenced); horizontal gene transfer and RNA world hypothesis strengthened.
• Laboratory synthesis of self-replicating RNA and protocells; complex organics detected on comets (Rosetta) and asteroids (Ryugu samples).
• JWST detecting prebiotic molecules in protoplanetary disks.