The emergence, evolution, and survival mechanisms of microorganisms in extreme terrestrial and hypothetical extra-terrestrial ecosystems were discussed by leading scientists from around the world during the first meeting of the Microbial World Network (MWN) on September 6th and 7th, 2023. On day one, the topics focussed on the origin of microbial life, its organisation into microbial communities and its subsequent evolution. The second day covered the extreme habitats of terrestrial microorganisms, the potential for their survival and hypothetical extraterrestrial microbial systems. The meeting looked at the most pressing issues regarding the microbial world and also to identifed topics for discussion in future MWN events.
Charley Lineweaver (Canberra, Australia): The Gaian Bottleneck Solution to Fermi’s Paradox
Francisco Prosdocimi (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil): Castor and Pollux: the Twin Sons of LUCA and the Two Origins of Cells
Oleg Kotsyurbenko (Khanty-Mansyisk, Russia): Astrobiology of Venus
Mikhail Yakimov (Italy): Microbial Life in Highly Chaotropic Environments
Sávio Torres de Farias (Paraíba State, Brazil): DNA: a Single Molecule with Multiple Origins
SOME FEEDBACK…
“Excellent presentations today! I have learned a lot, I have many messages to take home”
“An amazing series of talks held by the NoRCEL Group with the theme of the emergence and Evolution of Microbial Life where I met amazing minds in their respective fields”
“I write to say that the MWN was excellent, great lectures with a wide variety of topics”
“I have been attending national and international scientific conferences for 20 years already, and my experience with NoRCEL meetings is that I find them even much more fruitful than other “regular conferences”. I have been [put] in touch with really new information of excellent quality that opened new windows to explore in research…”
“Between Chemistry and Microbiology: Features of the Transition to Life and many more interesting topics were discussed during the event. I feel truly blessed to have learned so much from the top researchers in their own fields.”
