Скачать или смотреть How do scientists measure—and define—life? | Lee Cronin

How do scientists measure and define life in the natural world? Dr. Lee Cronin gives us a definition, in 4 minutes.

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Have we found a new way of defining life? This scientist thinks so.

Lee Cronin, the Regius Chair of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow, proposes that Assembly Theory may hold the key to discovering how life began and evolved. His theory introduces three parameters for understanding the transition from nonliving to living entities: the time it takes to make the object, the time it takes for the object to fall apart naturally, and the time the object can persist in living lineages. These parameters help to quantify life by calculating a system's construction, which measures the extent of selection that has occurred.

In his laboratory, Cronin and his team have used this concept to create an "origin of life machine." It aims to replicate the conditions that allow life to emerge from nonliving materials. By leveraging these time-based parameters, Cronin and his team are constructing engines designed to perform random chemistry experiments, seeking systems that exhibit these life-like characteristics.

If successful, this research could completely change how we think about where life came from —and its future.

Read the full video transcript: https://bigthink.com/the-well/how-do-...

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