More than 100 scientists from around the world gathered at the University of Chicago for the third annual Origins Federation Conference, held over five days starting September 8. The event brought together researchers in biology, chemistry, physics, earth science, planetary sciences and astronomy to discuss their latest findings on the origins of life.
Fred Ciesla, professor and department chair of UChicago’s Department of the Geophysical Sciences and one of the conference’s organizers, said: “No one discipline can solve this mystery. This gathering offers the opportunity to report developments to your own community while also communicating their significance to other fields.”
The conference is co-organized by University Professor Jack Szostak and serves as the annual meeting for the Origins Federation. The federation is a global consortium that includes four research institutions: UChicago Center for the Origins of Life, Harvard University’s Origins of Life Initiative, ETH Zürich’s Centre for Origin & Prevalence of Life, and the University of Cambridge’s Leverhulme Centre for Life in the Universe. Previous conferences were hosted by Harvard and Cambridge; next year’s meeting will be at ETH Zürich.
Each day began with introductory talks designed to bridge disciplines. For example, chemists or geologists explained foundational concepts so physicists or astronomers could understand them. Topics included ribozyme evolution and prebiotic chemistry.
Specialized presentations followed these sessions. UChicago researchers gave talks such as “Probing Formation via Exoplanet Atmospheric Composition” by astrophysicist Diana Powell; “Structural and Functional Characterization of a Self-Acylating RNA Motif” by chemist Joe Piccirilli; and “Replication of Collectively Coded Information” by physicist Martin Falk.
One session featured back-to-back exoplanet research presentations: Cambridge astronomer Nikku Madhusudhan discussed detecting potential biosignatures on a planet 120 light-years away—a study that drew international attention last spring—while UChicago astrophysicist Jacob Bean analyzed data from multiple observations that led to different conclusions.
Poster sessions allowed students to present their work alongside senior scientists from various fields. Networking opportunities were built into the schedule through meals and a visit to Chicago's Griffin Museum of Science and Industry.
UChicago physicist Arvind Murugan described his multidisciplinary research on how matter self-replicates: “The matter-to-life question—under what conditions does non-living stuff start making copies of itself—is perhaps the most interesting question in physics,” he said.
Murugan noted that many questions at the conference require input from physics thinking. He appreciated learning about early Earth geology even though it was outside his main area: “My mind was blown by how much these scientists can rigorously establish about the far past that I didn’t think was knowable,” he said. He referenced discussions on continental plate movement billions of years ago as examples requiring creativity across scientific disciplines.
Jacob Bean highlighted advances in understanding plate tectonics based on microscopic mineral samples. His own research focuses on searching for habitable environments beyond Earth: “The ultimate hope is to provide another Earth and another form of life to study to help us understand our origins and place in the universe,” Bean said.
He found value in discussions about Earth's atmospheric composition during life's emergence and related chemical processes: “In the very first talk, my local colleagues and I had an ‘Aha!’ moment when we realized a common theme between the early Earth and some of the planets we study,” he said.
Astrophysicist Leslie Rogers specializes in exoplanets as well; her work explores planetary environments where life might arise: “The search for biosignatures in exoplanet atmospheres may also eventually help constrain how commonly or infrequently life originates throughout the galaxy,” she said.
Rogers cited interest in Daniel Duzdevich’s experiments showing lipid vesicles surviving sulfuric acid solutions similar to Venus’ clouds. She also mentioned Cara Magnabosco's work at ETH Zürich using mini earthquakes to study underground microbial communities affected by rock crushing.
Bean concluded that investigating life's origin requires advanced tools from computer science and engineering while raising fundamental questions about humanity: “It requires advanced tools developed by computer scientists and engineers, and it sparks questions that get at the heart of who we are as a species and a society,” he said. “The Origins Federation Conference was a perfect venue for cross fertilization.”