Ask An Astrobiologist: How & When Do Molecules Become Life with Dr. Henderson "Jim" Cleaves

SYNOPSIS

Our guest is Dr. Henderson "Jim" Cleaves! Jim studies the origin of life on Earth and its potential beyond, specifically asking the question: how does chemistry become biology? He is interested in how organic compounds are produced from cosmically-abundant, inorganic compounds, and how these compounds self-organize to form more complex and potentially self-replicating systems. Dr. Cleaves is a member of ISSOL, The International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life, an international astrobiology society; a senior research investigator at Blue Marble Space Institute of Science; and a professor of chemistry at Howard University.