Darwin Day speaker to address the origins of life

focus on the origin of life.

Mr. Lane, who holds a Ph.D., said his talk will address “the essential mysteries of biology” that include why bacteria hasn’t changed in size or complexity for billions of years, unlike most other forms of life.

“Why do we see rather abrupt development of multiple cell organisms, and why do we not see that in bacteria?” asked Mr. Lane, who is on the faculty of the University College London and has received numerous science and writing awards.

Another unsolved mystery is the electrical charge along the cellular membrane.

“I will talk about the problem with bacteria and the way energy works in cells that are key to the very origin of life, with bacteria being the singular origin of all complexity of cells,” he said. “I will raise these issues and put forward ideas to help solve them. I will leave people with the sense that we don’t know the answers, but we can make guesses and approach solutions to the questions.”

David Lampe, the Duquesne University biologist who serves as Darwin Day organizer, said the speech, which is free and open to the public, will focus on the idea that “if we believe life arose from nonlife, we still don’t know how that happened.”

“Where did the first living thing come from?” he said. “How did chemistry become a living cell, then become more complicated forms of life?”

Darwin Day is the university’s annual international celebration of the life and work of Charles Darwin, the 19th-century naturalist whose work was key to the discovery of evolution. The event also emphasizes the importance of science education.