News

Origins of Life Initiative welcomes our Inaugural Kavli-Laukien Postdoctoral Fellows Jenny Calahan and Xavier Portillo

October 4, 2023

The Origins of Life Inititative is thrilled to announce our first Kavli-Laukien Postdoctoral Fellows, Jenny Calahan and Xavier Portillo.   Jenny and Xavier have joined a community of faculty, senior researchers, graduate students, and undergraduates conducting multi-disciplinary research aimed at revealing if life is abundant in the Universe.  Through the initiative, the fellows will strive to understand how initial conditions on planets dictate the origins of life and its subsequent evolution.

Jenny Calahan studies...

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Origins Graduate Student S. Furkan Ozturk publishes article : "Breakthrough’ could explain why life molecules are left- or right-handed"

September 6, 2023

Origins Graduate Student S. Furkan Ozturk publishes a recent article  surrounding "Breakthrough’ could explain why life molecules are left- or right-handed".  To read more please visit the following site.

Papers cited in the news:

  1. Ozturk, S. Furkan, Liu, Ziwei, Sutherland, John D., Sasselov, Dimitar D. “Origin of biological...
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Origins Faculty member Juan Perez-Mercader publications

May 8, 2023

"Starting from a homogeneous blend of non-biochemistry related substances, we use light to start a Polymerization Induced Self-Assembly (PISA) reaction that triggers the boot-up of micron scale chemical systems. After forming, these grow, move, implode, self-reproduce (1) and, for different types (“species”), compete for resources and show (2) their “struggle for existence”.

 

(1) Albertsen, A., Szymański, J. & Pérez-Mercader, J. (2017): Emergent Properties of Giant Vesicles Formed by a Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly (PISA) Reaction. Sci Rep 7, 41534...

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Origins Faculty member Professor Ann Pearson named PVK Professor of Arts and Sciences

May 8, 2023
Congratulations to  Origins Faculty member Ann Pearson, who has been named the PVK Professor of Arts and Sciences.  This professorship, established through the generous gift of Peter Kwok in honor of the life work of William R. Fitzsimmons, who has served as Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid since 1986, is the highest honor recognizing scholarly achievement that the Faculty of Arts and Sciences can bestow upon one of its members.

Origins Federation Announced - March 4, 2023

March 4, 2023

The Origins of Life Initiative at Harvard University and partner centers at University of
Chicago, ETH-Zurich, and University of Cambridge intend to create the Origins
Federation, as announced today at the AAAS Meeting in Washington DC by Didier
Queloz, who directs both the ETH and Cambridge centers, and Dimitar Sasselov,
director of the Harvard Origins Initiative. See the Origins Federation announcement
...

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Andrew Knoll to receive 2022 Crafoord Prize

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences will award Origins Faculty member Andrew Knoll the prestigious 2022 Crafoord Prize for Geosciences.

January 31, 2022
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has just announced that Origins faculty member, Andrew Knoll,  will receive the 2022 Crafoord Prize in April, awarded this year for Geosciences. To read more please visit CNN and the Crafoord Prize... Read more about The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences will award Origins Faculty member Andrew Knoll the prestigious 2022 Crafoord Prize for Geosciences.