I love stories, and science tells us the most incredible story of all. Not only are we children of our parents, but of the Earth and the universe as well. How did we become the magnificent biological contraptions that we are? Which forces first culminated in the powers of metabolism and reproduction? What was written on our first page? And are there similar stories all across the cosmos? There is still so much we don't know about our own living existence, especially when it comes to our enigmatic beginning.
As part of my PhD research, I modeled the production of nitrogen oxides on early Earth, which is a potentially crucial ingredient for the theory of the emergence of life at submarine alkaline hydrothermal vents. Recently, I worked with Madeline Christensen and Danica Adams on updating our estimates of nitrogen fixation on early Earth with new chemical pathways.
With Stuart Bartlett, I published a book chapter where we survey some of the philosophical challenges and pitfalls within origins research.
Image credit: University of Washington/IFE/URI-IAO/NOAA
