Are we alone in the universe, or is life a consequence of the Big Bang and to be found throughout the galaxies? Did life arise separately on Mars or does Earth life share a common ancestry with the Red Planet? Prof Paul Davies explores these and other issues surrounding current theories of how life arose in his new book, The Fifth Miracle, the Search for the Origin of Life.
The book will be published this week, and Prof Davies will discuss the work at a public lecture next Monday at 7 p.m. at the RDS, one in a series of Science Today lectures organised jointly by The Irish Times and the Royal Dublin Society. He examines whether life was just a bizarre chemical accident that remains unique to this planet, or if it was written into the underlying laws of the universe, destined to occur on other planets.
His discussion is backed up by the latest knowledge about microbes, discovered in the harshest of environments at the bottom of our oceans and deep within the Earth. Prof Davies will give his lecture at the RDS concert hall on Merrion Road. Tickets £5, including £2 off the £18.99 sterling book price, are available from Hodges Figgis, 56-58 Dawson Street, Dublin 2, and can be bought by post from Hodges Figgis (tel (01) 677-4754) Cheques and postal orders must be crossed and envelopes marked "Paul Davies lecture".