Astrophysicist Boris Shtern – Book Presentation: The Place of Life in the Universe

Astrophysicist Boris Shtern – Book Presentation: The Place of Life in the Universe

We invite you to the presentation of a new book by Mikhail Gelfand, Eugene Koonin, Alexander Markov, Armen Mulkidzhanyan, Mikhail Nikitin, and Boris Shtern.

Billions of years ago, life emerged on our planet. But how did it happen? What evolutionary twists and turns led to the emergence of intelligence? Is life on Earth unique in the Universe? What are the chances of life arising on another planet? Could it one day leap across the interstellar void?

This book is based on interviews conducted by a physicist with leading biologists — both renowned scientists and popular science communicators. While the authors don’t claim to have all the answers — as none currently exist — they outline various scientific approaches to exploring these profound questions.

At the presentation, astrophysicist Boris Shtern — one of the book’s authors — will give a talk with a special focus on the potential for Earth's life to spread to reachable exoplanets.