1. News
 / Modified dec 7, 2017 3:09 p.m.

Episode 109: The Origins of Life

Experimental tools are helping astrobiologist Betul Kacar unravel mysteries about the origins of life

AZSCI - Origins of Life Photograph of E. coli that was transformed with the pGlo plasmid.
Joaquin D Taylor

Betul Kacar is an astrobiologist at the UA who is interested in the origins of life. Betul’s lab investigates key questions regarding molecular mechanisms of evolution and the distribution of life throughout the universe. At the lab, Betul travels backwards in evolutionary time combining computational and experimental tools and follows the evolutionary history of DNA to unravel how harsh conditions of our ancient planet shaped life to be the way it is today. The process of how she does this work makes for a fascinating discussion and offers insights into the intense research taking place at the University of Arizona.

In this episode:

Betul Kacar, Assistant Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology
Tim Swindle, Ph.D., Director and Head of the UA’s Lunar and Planetary Lab

Arizona Science
Catch Arizona Science each Friday during Science Friday on NPR 89.1. You can subscribe to our podcast on Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, or the NPR App. See more from Arizona Science.
MORE: Arizona Science
By posting comments, you agree to our
AZPM encourages comments, but comments that contain profanity, unrelated information, threats, libel, defamatory statements, obscenities, pornography or that violate the law are not allowed. Comments that promote commercial products or services are not allowed. Comments in violation of this policy will be removed. Continued posting of comments that violate this policy will result in the commenter being banned from the site.

By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.
AZPM is a service of the University of Arizona and our broadcast stations are licensed to the Arizona Board of Regents who hold the trademarks for Arizona Public Media and AZPM. We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples.
The University of Arizona