| Wednesday, September 6th | |
| THEME 1: Emergence and Evolution of Microbial Life | |
| 11:00 | Oleg Kotsyurbenko (Vice President of NoRCEL) Opening the conference |
| 11:00 – 11:15 | Sohan Jheeta (Found and Chairman) 1st Welcome speech |
| 11:15 – 11:30 | Martin Dominik (President of NoRCEL) 2nd Welcome speech |
| Emergence and Evolution of Microbial Life | |
| Chair: Oleg Kotsyurbenko | |
| 11:30 – 12:15 | Charley Lineweaver (Canberra, Australia) The Gaian Bottleneck Solution to Fermi’s Paradox |
| 12:15 – 13:00 | Vladimir Kompanichenko (Birobidzhan, Russia) Between Chemistry and Microbiology: Features of the Transition to Life |
| 13:00 – 14:00 | Tea, coffee and/or lunch break |
| Chair: Ximena Celeste Abrevaya | |
| 14:00 – 14:45 | Francisco Prosdocimi (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) Castor and Pollux: the Twin Sons of LUCA and the Two Origins of Cells |
| 14:45 – 15:30 | Karo Michaelian (Mexico City, Mexico) The Non-equilibrium Thermodynamics of the Origin and Evolution of Life |
| 15:30 – 16:30 | Discussion |
| Thursday, September 7th | |
| THEME 2: Microbial Life in Extremes and Astrobiology | |
| Microbial Life in Extremes and Astrobiology | |
| Chair: Martin Dominik | |
| 11:00 – 11:40 | Oleg Kotsyurbenko (Khanty-Mansyisk, Russia) Astrobiology of Venus |
| 11:40 – 12:20 | Sergei Bulat (Saint-Petersburg, Russia) Elusive Microbiota in the Subglacial Antarctic Lake Vostok – a Challenge to Justify (by DNA Fingerprints) |
| 12:20 – 13:00 | Mikhail Yakimov (Italy) Microbial Life in Highly Chaotropic Environments |
| 13:00 – 14:00 | Tea, coffee and/or lunch break |
| Chair: Vladimir Kompanichenko | |
| 14:00 – 14:40 | Ximena Celeste Abrevaya (Buenos Aires, Argentina) Astrophysical Sources of Radiation and Life in the Universe |
| 14:40 – 15:20 | Cecilia Demergasso (Chile) Atacama Desert (AD) Natural Lab. Why the Different Stakeholders of the AD are Interested in the Territory’s Microbiology? |
| 15:20 – 16:00 | Sávio Torres de Farias (Paraíba State, Brazil) DNA: a Single Molecule with Multiple Origins |
| 16:00 – 17:00 | Discussion |
| 17:00– 17:10 | Oleg Kotsyurbenko and Sohan Jheeta Closing Remarks and the End of the Conference |
The emergence, evolution, and survival mechanisms of microorganisms in extreme terrestrial and hypothetical extraterrestrial ecosystems will be discussed by leading scientists from around the world during the first meeting of the Microbial World Network (MWN) on September 6th and 7th, 2023. During the first day, our topics will focus on the origin of microbial life, its organisation into microbial communities and its subsequent evolution. On the second day, we will cover the extreme habitats of terrestrial microorganisms, the potential for their survival and hypothetical extraterrestrial microbial systems. The main purpose of the meeting is to identify the most pressing issues regarding the microbial world and examine topics for discussion in future international meetings to be organised by MWN.
