Syllabus
May be subject to change.
1) Introduction, definition of astrobiology and exobiology, basic terms, history, interdisciplinarity; origin and evolution of universe (incl. cosmology) and Solar system, origin and evolution of stars and planets in other planetary systems, detection of exoplanets and achievements in this field
2) Definition and origin of life, energy, elements and solvents; artificial life, origin of life on Earth, proof and theories; shadow biosphere, viruses etc.
3) Extremophiles and life in extreme environment
4) Biological evolution and its character – general and special evolutionary mechanisms, dependency on environment, macroevolution, macroevolutionary trends, trend of increasing complexity of life, Major evolutionary transitions, contingency and convergency, Dennett’s tower and evolutionary lifts
5) Evolution of planet Earth, its (in)uniqueness, habitable zones, biogeochemical cycles, Gaia theory (for and against), Life and death of planet Earth, Rare earth; biological aspects of exoplanets, various types of planets and their life-related constraints and advantages, particular astrobiologically interesting bodies
6) Inner planets of Solar system excluding Earth and Mars + Moon (as archive); Venus and its possible friendliness for life in past (and present?)
7) Mars – history of the planet, martian meteorites, past and ongoing probes, findings, controversies, places suitable for life, possible life forms
8) Outer planets and their moons – endohydrospheres and related physical, chemical and biological theories, possible life forms, hypotheses considering life in the atmosphere of gas giants
9) Subglacial lakes – general aspects, Vostok, history of research, findings, other sublacial lakes in Antarctica and analogues elsewhere, perennially frozen lakes, analogies with other objects in Solar system
10) Exotic habitats – from Pluto, asteroids and Oort cloud to neutron stars, proposed hypothetical exotic life forms, curiosities, possible and impossible life forms incl. digital etc.
11) Planned probes and future of astrobiological research – history of research, possibilities for detection of life, possibilities of detection of intelligent life, methods of astrobiological research on Earth (artificial life, simulations, models, experiments with extremophiles etc.)
12) Fermi paradox „Where are they“ – various theories, intelligent and non-inteligent life, anthropic principle, history of search for extraterrestrial intelligence
Annotation
In this course, students are introduced to the field of astrobiology, its current advances and applications in other scientific fields. It focuses mainly on the biological aspects of the field.
The main thematic areas include the origin and prerequisites for life, the definition of life, the general features of biological evolution and evolutionary trends, biogeochemical cycles and the mutual relationship between organisms and their environment, possible conditions for life in our system (throughout its history) and beyond, extremophilic forms of life on Earth, exotic habitats on Earth and their analogues in space, and possibilities of exotic forms of life on Earth and beyond. We will also touch the issues of the evolution of the universe, the formation of planetary systems, delimitation of star and galactic habitable zones, models of life conditions, history of astrobiology, research of life in space (i.e. especially astrobiology-related results of successful missions of remotely controlled probes), ongoing missions, methods of astrobiological research (including research on the boundary conditions of life of terrestrial organisms in terms of temperature, pressure, acceleration, etc.), or Fermi paradox.
The course is intended especially for students of biological disciplines, but it is suitable also for students of other scientific disciplines of all years with an interest in discussed topics.