Heidelberg 2022 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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EP: Fachverband Extraterrestrische Physik

EP 2: Astrophysics / Exoplanets and Astrobiology

EP 2.9: Vortrag

Montag, 21. März 2022, 18:30–18:45, EP-H1

Viruses first? — •Karin Moelling — Inst. med. Mikrobiologie, Universität Zürich, Gloriastr 30, 8006 Zürich, Schweiz — Max Planck Institut Mol.Gen. Ihnestr 73 14195 berlin Deutschland

The discovery of exoplanets within putative habitable zones and spaceships to Mars and Eraly Earth raise interest in the origin of life. Could viruses play a role at the beginning of life on Earth and elsewhere? Viruses are the most successful species on Earth in every habitat. Contemporary viruses reflect evolution ranging from the early RNA world to the present DNA-protein world. Earliest replicating and evolving entities are enzymatic non-coding RNA molecules, ribozymes or viroids, fulfilling criteria of life. RNA is till today a dominating molecule in almost all aspects of life, generating novel information as driver of evolution. The whole Universe contains essential building blocks of life H,O,C,N,P. Water may be essential. Meteorites teach us about aminoaicds. The diversity of survival mechanism are demonstrated by extremophilic archaea, which developed indivdual survival metabolisms depending on extreme living conditonas as extrempohils. Autonomy of early life forms may have been given up by energy-saving parasitic life forms today.(Moelling and Breocker,2019, doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.0052310.3389/fmicb.2019.00523)