Many institutes and organizations host short, intensive courses, in which students come together for a short time to learn a particular topic or technique. This is a great opportunity for students to either study a specific topic rigorously, or to learn something in a field orthogonal to one’s own. Recently, we had the opportunity to design and hold such a course, sponsored by both EON and ELSI and held on the ELSI campus at Tokyo Institute of Technology. Now, bec
In a complex orchestra of art and science, chaos and order, uttered and experienced, punctuated by the ELSI session, ALIFE 2018 has left in its wake a sensation that we are collectively barking up (down?) the right gradient descent to…
Satsuma Iwo-jima island is a small volcanic island located on the north-westernmost margin of the Kikai caldera. Many hot springs identified along the shore. Brown to creamy white water, which formed mixing with hot spring water and seawater, identified around…
At the heart of the scientific process is the yearning for universal characteristics that transcend historical contingency and generalize the unique patterns observed in nature. In many cases these universal characteristics bleed across the different branches of the tree of…
Many institutes and organizations host short, intensive courses, in which students come together for a short time to learn a particular topic or technique. This is a great opportunity for students to either study a specific topic rigorously, or to…
EON recently held its third annual meeting in Odawara January 5th-6th, 2018. The EON meeting in Odawara was attended by 55 international scientists who are part of the collaborative network, including 12 of EON’s international Post-Doctoral Scholars, who all gave…
Long-Term Visitor Programme (Including Graduate Interns and Global Science Coordinators) EON provides funds for visitors to stay at ELSI for longer periods (usually, but not exclusively, one month or more). This has had a dramatic effect on the interdisciplinary research…
At the heart of the scientific process is the yearning for universal characteristics that transcend historical contingency and generalize the unique patterns observed in nature. In many cases these universal characteristics bleed across the different branches of the tree of…
Origins of life and astrobiology research has often utilized analytical tools and scientific knowledge from other research fields, including chemistry, biology, geology, planetary science, physics, and many more. For this reason, much of the advancement within our research field has…
An ongoing debate in artificial life involves the definition and characterisation of living systems. This definition is often taken for granted in some fields, listing either a set of functions (e.g. reproduction, self-maintenance, metabolism) or a set of properties (e.g….
At the heart of the scientific process is the yearning for universal characteristics that transcend historical contingency and generalize the unique patterns observed in nature. In many cases these universal characteristics bleed across the different branches of the tree of…
An ongoing debate in artificial life involves the definition and characterisation of living systems. This definition is often taken for granted in some fields, listing either a set of functions (e.g. reproduction, self-maintenance, metabolism) or a set of properties (e.g….
The following pertains to a new line of research on the topic of guided self-organization that was discussed with researchers at ELSI during my visit in the period December 5, 2017 – January 5, 2018. This research proposes a novel…
The ELSI Origins Network (EON) is a program hosted at the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI), created to build a cohesive and lasting global network of researchers working on the Origins of Life. EON supports a postdoctoral fellowship program, high-level interdisciplinary workshops, long-term visitor hosting, and a seed grant program to initiate innovative collaborative research. The EON web portal provides a meeting place and collaborative discussion space for researchers across the spectrum of Origins questions.
EON exists to support research into the following questions: 1. How did life arise on Earth? 2. How common is life in the Universe? 3. What fundamental principles explain the origin of life?
EON supports origins-related research through our postdoctoral fellowship program, by awarding small "seed grants" for collaborative research and by funding scientific visits to ELSI, including attendance of our interdisciplinary workshop series.
EON is building a global interdisciplinary community in order to catalyze the spread of ideas relating to the study of the origin of life. This web site is a free and open forum for discussion of all topics relating to life's origins.