In this free event open to the general public, the speakers, Sandra Ramírez and Antonio Lazcano, will discuss the importance of planetary atmospheres in the emergence of life and viruses as subjects of study for prebiotic synthesis proposals.
Speakers
Sandra Ramirez
Stanley Miller's Experiment and the Concept of Planetary Atmospheres
In 1953, Stanley Miller conducted one of the most famous experiments in the history of biology: the synthesis of amino acids from a mixture of gases that simulated Earth's primitive atmosphere. This experiment has been crucial in the development of the branch of chemistry that studies how organic molecules and life on Earth were formed. Moreover, it has inspired a new generation of scientists to explore the possibility of life on other planets and opened new perspectives for the search for extraterrestrial life. Such is the case with experiments related to the atmosphere of Titan, the largest of Saturn's natural satellites.
Professor-Researcher affiliated with the Center for Chemical Research at the Autonomous University of the State of Morelos (UAEM) since 2002. She holds a Doctorate in Chemical Sciences and another in Environmental Physics and Atmospheric Pollution from the University of Paris XII Val de Marne. Her scientific research has focused on the chemical and physical characterization of organic compounds present in the atmosphere of various planetary objects.
Antonio Lazcano
Origin and Evolution of Viruses: The Case of SARS-CoV-2.
Although there is an endless debate over whether viruses are alive or not, they are biological entities that, when replicating with variations, are subject to the action of natural selection. This underlies not only the phenomena of zoonosis in which viruses jump from other animal species to humans but also the emergence of variants and subvariants that, as we are currently seeing, are constantly evolving and changing.
Professor Antonio Lazcano is part of the Biology Department at the Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and director of the Lynn Margulis Center for Evolutionary Biology in the Galapagos Islands (USFQ). He is also the first Latin American scientist elected twice as president of the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life (ISSOL), in addition to being the author of the bestseller "The Origin of Life".
