Life on Earth, and elsewhere

In the week that NASA landed its Phoenix Lander in the northern polar region Mars to dig for signs of ice, the Australian Centre for Astrobiology (ACA) has been relaunched, dedicated to studying life on Earth and elsewhere.

The ACA has moved from its original home at Macquarie University to a new centre at the University of NSW, where it has merged with that university's centre for cyanobacteria and astrobiology.

The centre's founding director, renowned palaeobiologist and geologist Professor Malcolm Walter, has brought his intriguing collection of stromatolite fossils to join UNSW's team of astrobiologists, led by Professor Brett Nielan, best known for his work on the genetics of cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, the activity of which forms stromatolites.

The centre is one of only two international groups linked to NASA's Astrobiology Institute. NASA astronaut Dr Andy Thomas officially opened the centre, appealing for more investment in universities and education to overcome the last decade of underinvestment.

"[The centre] will answer some profoundly important questions about how life began on this planet," Thomas said. "I can think of little more important question than that, as we, one species in this immense universe, should strive to answer."

The ACA involves scientists from a range of fields, including astronomers, geologists, biologists and palaeontologists. It will involve research into some of the earliest records of life on Earth - the ancient stromatolite fossils found in the Pilbara in WA; research into extant stromatolites in WA's Shark Bay; and the potential for life on other planets.

Speaking by webcam, the director of NASA's Astrobiology Institute, Dr Carl Pilcher, said the ACA had been a vital part in developing the field of astrobiology.

"Astrobiology is built on an understanding of the nature of life on Earth, because after all we can't understand what the possibilities are for life on another planet if we don't understand the nature of life on Earth," Pilcher said.

"Also important is understanding how the climate and conditions on Earth have changed over geological time and how the biosphere has changed with the Earth - how the evolution of the biosphere has influenced the evolution of the Earth and vice versa."

Malcolm Walter said researchers in Australia have a unique opportunity to look at the earliest history of life on Earth, preserved in the rock record in the Pilbara.

"The Pilbara has become a Mecca for anyone interested in the environment of the early Earth and early life on Earth," he said. "We also have some of the best examples of modern analogues of what the Earth looked like - Shark Bay is outstanding in that regard, because of its unique microbial biota."

He said the combination of his team's work on ancient examples of life on Earth combined with Neilan and colleague Dr Brendan Burns' work on understanding microbial ecosystems in extreme environments was a powerful one.

"At the same time we have on this campus some leading astronomers, so we have those three elements at least that give us great strength. If there is life out there it is most likely to be microbial."

Thomas said the research would help our understanding of whether or not life may have begun independently elsewhere in the universe, or even within the same solar system. "Just imagine the social impact that would come to us as a species if we knew that life evolved not only on this planet but quite independently on another planet," he said.

"I can think of no more important discovery than that. It will affect the understanding of ourselves, it would dramatically change our culture, our communities, our philosophy, our religion and the way we grow as people. It would be a step towards bringing us closer to that essential truth that is so often pursued by poets.

"And yet despite the profoundly important role that this work represents, we have apparently failed to express that properly, and in a world dominated by decisions based on balance sheets, and a young generation too distracted by a short attention span, these questions don't get the kind of attention that they deserve. I think that is to our collective detriment. In fact it is a tragedy and something that we need to change."