Logo Created by Tara Vaddiraj & Lazarus Cobb Logo Description & Significance: This logo was created to represent the field of astrobiology and its connection to our research here at SJSU. A series of small images form a circle around the spartan helmet in order to demonstrate a core concept in astrobiology. The images begin with a meteorite followed by a pyruvate molecule, which is the foundation of our research. This molecule is then followed by one that is more complex, DNA, a prokaryotic cell, and finally a eukaryotic cell, which indicates an evolution from simple to complex. This loose cycle is meant to represent the idea that life emerged from simple, non-living molecules, and how meteorites could have played a significant role in delivering compounds to Earth. Additionally, the flame of the meteorite is in SJSU colors, while the back part of the meteorite’s tail is composed of half of the NASA logo, which is a nod to our collaboration with them. This logo was designed by Tara Vaddiraj and created in photoshop by Lazarus Cobb.
What is Astrobiology?
Astrobiology is best described as the study of life in the universe. Researchers involved in this field are interested in determining how life began and evolved on Earth, if it exists outside of Earth, and understanding the future of life on our planet and beyond. Astrobiologists employ several sciences like biology, chemistry, physics, geology, and astronomy to answer these challenging questions.
What do we do?
We seek to explore the first question of astrobiology: how did life begin on Earth?
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Specifically, we are interested in determining how metabolism could have originated and evolved from prebiotic conditions. This research is involved in a subfield called prebiotic chemistry, which is abiotic (non-living) chemistry that occurred before life began.
Our lab consists of three subgroups: the meteoritic compound analysis group, the prebiotic reactions group, and the protometabolic compound synthesis group. Each is tasked with exploring different experimental conditions in order to answer the same question.