International Origin of Life Conference

by Richard William Nelson | Feb 19, 2013

 

Origin of life“The origin of life on Earth is a scientific problem,” according to WIKIPEDIA, “which is not yet solved. There are many ideas but few clear facts.” To address this issue, in 2013, Princeton University hosted an international origin of life conference.

In the nineteenth century, the “spontaneous generation” theory had long been the natural explanation for the origin of life, starting in Greek philosophy. Even Charles Darwin, centuries later, in The Origin of Species (1859), endorsed the theory.

The famous French microbiologist Louis Pasteur, however, proved the origin of life was anything but “spontaneous.” For the finding, the French Academy of Sciences awarded the Alhumbert Prize to Pasteur in 1862. Since then, a consensus on a replacement theory remained unfinished business.

To develop a consensus for the long-defunct “spontaneous generation” theory, researchers from Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Mexico, and Japan, representing twenty-seven institutions, gathered for thirty-nine presentations at the Princeton Center for Theoretical Science (PCTS).

Continue Reading

The First Bird

by Richard William Nelson | Feb 4, 2013

Feathered TerapodPaleontologist Pascal Godefroit of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Belgium published a paper in Nature in January, challenging the current understanding of “the first bird.” In Liaoning Province of north-east China, Godefroit collaborated with a research team from the Jilin University Geological Museum, China, and found fossil evidence challenging the Archaeopteryx as “the first bird.” Archaeopteryx  means the “ancient wing.”

Nature published their paper entitled “Reduced plumage and flight ability of a new Jurassic paravian theropod from China,” Godefroit stated –

“These specimens have challenged the pivotal position of Archaeopteryx in bird phylogeny.”

Continue Reading

Pin It on Pinterest