Astrobiology, And What Is Life w/ Charles Lineweaver

Hi, everybody! Today, I am releasing an interview with Dr. Charles H. Lineweaver. He is the convener of the Australian National University's Planetary Science Institute and holds a joint appointment as an associate professor in the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics and the Research School of Earth Sciences. He was a member of the COBE satellite team that discovered the temperature fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background. Before his appointment at ANU, he held post-doctoral positions at Strasbourg Observatory and the University of New South Wales where he taught one of the most popular general studies courses "Are We Alone?". His research areas include cosmology, exoplanetology, and astrobiology and evolutionary biology. 

In this episode, we talk about astrobiology. We go through some general topics, like complexity in the Universe; Darwinian and Lamarckian evolution; multilevel selection; looking for life on other planets, the extremophile life forms, and if we could find life that is not carbon-based, and related issues. In the end, we also discuss the scientific relevance of discovering life elsewhere, and also the new perspective it would bring to humanity.

https://youtu.be/1CVjgIr6gBc

Link to podcast version (Anchor): https://bit.ly/2Kdo2pT