Extremophiles are organisms that are adapted to survive in extreme
environments. This lecture describes the challenges that
extremes of heat, cold, acidity, salinity, and radiation pose to
organisms, and show examples of how evolution has nonetheless allowed
some organisms to adapt to not just survive but thrive in such extreme
conditions. Finally, we wil ... Show More
Oct 2009
Lecture 19: The Origin of Life on Earth
How did life arise from non-life? Frankly, we don't know, but current experimental work is aimed at trying to understand how it might work in biochemical terms. This lecture sets out the problem of "abiogenesis", and describes our current thinking about the likely origins of life ... Show More
46m 8s
Mar 2006
Lecture 44: Life, the Universe, and Everything (Life Part II)
How can we search for extraterrestrial intelligence, and what are we looking for? This second part of a 2-part lecture picks up where we left off yesterday by examining SETI, the Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence, and reviews what we might look for and how. We will use thi ... Show More
45m 56s
Sep 2007
Lecture 02: Astronomical Numbers
What are our units of measure in astronomy? To begin our exploration of astronomy, we first need to develop a common language for notating large numbers, and introduce the basic units of length, mass, and time that we will use throughout the quarter. This lecture is a quick revie ... Show More
43m 58s
Sep 2007
Welcome to Astronomy 161 for Autumn Quarter 2007
Welcome to the Astronomy 161 Lecture Podcasts. This is a brief message from me explaining the podcasts, and welcoming new and old listeners. University. Lectures will begin on Wednesday, 2007 Sept 19, and run through Friday, 2007 Nov 30. New lectures will appear shortly before 6p ... Show More
7m 35s