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LAS CRUCES MUSEUM OF NATURE AND SCIENCE

Sept. 20 Science Café: The origins of life

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The Las Cruces Museum of Nature and Science (MONAS) and Sigma Xi present “Science Café – Mutualism, Selection, and Complexity in the Origins of Life,” with guest speaker Nita Sahai, Ph.D. via Zoom at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 20, from the University of Akron, the City of Las Cruces said in a news release.

Use webinar ID 83944573212 or call 575-522-3120 or email education@las-cruces.org for a link to the program.

The appearance of life around four billion years ago was a result of complex geochemical events involving the interaction of primitive atmosphere, water, dissolved ions and minerals, leading to the formation of biopolymeric molecular building blocks of life, the news release said. These building blocks selected and self-assembled to form the earliest life-like entities or protocells. Sahai’s research aims to discover the potential role of minerals and dissolved metal ions in the self-assembly of these building blocks.

Sahai completed her Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins University and is a professor at the University of Akron’s Department of Polymer Science. Her research focuses on the physical-chemical aspects of biomolecular and inorganic ion interactions relevant to the origins and early evolution of life and bone biomineralization.

Las Cruces Museum of Nature and Science

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