Origins of Life

By: Robert M. Hazen, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Robert M. Hazen

Four billion years ago, the infant Earth was a seething cauldron of erupting volcanoes, raining meteors, and hot noxious gases, totally devoid of life. But a relatively short time later - only 100 million to 200 million years - the planet was teeming with primitive organisms.

What happened? Now you can find out - in a series of 24 vibrant lectures from a leader of the NASA - supported team studying the origins of life in the universe and also one of the nation's foremost science educators. The lectures take you from path-breaking experiments in the 19th century that proved the molecules of life to be no different from other chemicals, to our increasingly sophisticated modern understanding of just how the chemistry of life works, to the near certainty that the 21st century will see spectacular and unpredictable developments in our understanding of how life began. For all its familiarity, life is an elusive concept that is hard to define, much less explain. These lectures show how scientists are systematically building a picture of the process by which those chemical reactions on the early Earth eventually led to the first appearance of the DNA-protein world that remains the fundamental basis of all life today. And you'll join them as they probe for evidence of life beyond our planet.

Crammed with fascinating experiments, surprising results, heated debates, blind alleys, and promising leads, the investigation of life's origins is a mystery story in the truest sense - one in which the clues are slowly adding up but the solution is not yet in hand.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2005 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2005 The Great Courses

Hazen is great

I love the great courses. I particularly enjoy the ones that feature Hazen as a lecture. the Joy of Science is another great Great course by him. Origins was an excellent course.

Fantastic.

This is how science should be taught. People need to know the joy of knowledge and how it applies to us.

learned a lot

I loved The Joys of Science, and I love this book from the same instructor. it's fascinating, engaging, and shines light on a new and ever-growing field of science you don't often learn about in school.

Life and the limits of our understanding

Professor Robert Hazen narrates this Great Courses Origins of Life and has brought the listener to the very limits of our current understanding of the science in all the broad fields including geology, microbiology, astrobiology, chemistry and even paleontology.
I was so impressed with this audio, I not only listened to it twice, but plan to purchase the actual courseware for the complete visual experience. I don't want to give away the ending, but all 24 chapters delve into one of my favorite areas of science, and that is the history of how we know what we know. I will tell you that this is a very detailed scientifically, All the subjects discussed are from the top-down view versus the bottom-up view. All the major players of the last century are reviewed from across the planet. All the great scientists who won Noble Prizes by their successful experiments as well are reviewed. It is truly an eye-opening experience. This audio requires dedication as it covers Chromones, genes, DNA & RNA from all directions. Even in the 21st century there still is no agreed upon definition of "Life". Nasa is a big proponent in searching for life in our solar system in places like Mars, Europa & Titan just to name a few. If we can't define life here on the Earth, then it becomes very challenging to find it elsewhere in the solar system. There are many more doors that need to be opened before anyone can define "what is alive". This audio opens one door at a time. After 24 doors, there are more to be opened. If you enjoy science and history then I highly recommend this presentation.

Strong roundup of the possibilities.

Lots to learn here. I think you'll enjoy it most if you're into the weedsy details of DNA research.