Primordial Wombs: Clay Crystals as the Originary Surfaces of Life

The Graduate Scholars Colloquium provides a site of vibrant intellectual exchange and engagement for graduate students across the disciplines engaged in the study of gender and its multiple social, cultural, political and material implications. Dinner is served. Please RSVP to maryann.murtagh@duke.edu.

The first colloquium this year is presented by Annu Dahiya, PhD candidate, Literature Department presents "Primordial Wombs: Clay Crystals as the Orginary Surfaces of Life", response by Max Symuleski, PhD candidate Computational Media Arts and Cultures Program
Attending to the role the early Earth's geology-specifically its production of clay minerals on its surfaces through the interaction of water and rocks-may have played in the biochemical origins of life, "Primordial Wombs" analyzes the role the nonliving environment played in the genesis of life on Earth. The creation of a bounded and separated 'inside' via a membrane was crucial for the formation of the first cells. A growing strand of origins of life research suggests clay crystals provided the first 'proto-membranes' for the biochemical precursors of life. These inter-molecular spaces provided protection from the extreme volatile conditions of early Earth. This resulted in these 'simple' biochemical molecules to not immediately disintegrate and 'die' and thus be able to further evolve. The biochemical evolution of life may not have been possible without clay crystals.