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How and where did life on Earth begin?
And what did it need to thrive?
And could it be found elsewhere?
These are some of the great unanswered questions in science.
Darwin suggested we look for the cradle of life here in some warm little pond.
More recently, the focus moved to ocean depths.
Yet new observations in outer space and in labs raise fresh questions about what's known as habitability, the potential to develop life.
So what was the chemistry needed for life to begin?
And is it different from the chemistry we have now?
And what signs of life should we be looking for in the universe to.
To learn if we are alone?
With me to discuss the habitability of planets are Jane Berkby, Associate professor of Exoplanetary Sciences at the University of Oxford and Tutorial Fellow in Physics at Brasenose College, Seydul Islam, Assistant professor of Chemistry at King's College London, and Oliver Shortle, professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Clare College.
Oliver, there's a range of ideas about where life began on Earth.
Can you give us an overview?