When, where, and by what means did life begin? On Earth? Elsewhere? Only
once, or many times? Such questions were the focus of this moderated
dialogue among researchers from diverse disciplines - from cosmology,
paleontology, and geology to biophysics and molecular biology.
The questions addressed in the dialogue focused first on where life could
have begun and then on what may have been the first
replicating/reproducing entity. The participants then considered which
future research directions would be most fruitful for learning about the
origin of life on this or other planets. Finally, discussants responded
to the deceptively simple question: How will we recognize
extraterrestrial life when we encounter it?
