Empirical Approaches to Alternative Chemistries of Life: A Workshop

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With this award, the Chemistry Division is supporting David Lynn of Emory University, E. Virginia (Ginger) Armbrust of the University of Washington and Cynthia Burrows of the University of Utah to conduct a workshop, co-funded by NASA, and entitled, "Empirical Approaches to Alternative Chemistries of Life". The workshop in to take place in Alexandria, VA over the period of April 1-4, 2012, with roughly 30-35 invited participants from the fields of chemistry, virology, biology and geochemistry, many of whom will never have interacted with one another before. The goal is to achieve cross-pollination toward the end of asking bold questions about how and where one would look in search of new molecules of life, new mechanisms for self-organization or new chemical bases of life. The organizers propose to explore a number of themes that range from the molecular level to the ecosystem/systems biology level. The workshop participants will be chosen to represent both a diverse range of scientific disciplines, and diverse demographics, including an international component. The findings of this workshop will be disseminated in the form of a report for the community. It is expected that the workshop and its report will stimulate new types of experiments, including interdisciplinary ventures not previously undertaken, in search of new chemistries relevant to the emergence and sustenance of living systems.