Craig Walton is the first NOMIS Fellow to conduct research at ETH Zurich’s Center for the Origin and Prevalence of Life. (Image: ETH Foundation / Daniel Winkler)
Craig Walton is the first NOMIS Fellow to conduct research at ETH Zurich's Center for the Origin and Prevalence of Life. (Image: ETH Foundation / Daniel Winkler) Craig Walton is the first NOMIS Fellow at the Centre for Origin and Prevalence of Life at ETH Zurich. With an unconventional idea, he wants to find out the conditions under which life originated on Earth. The basic idea behind Craig Walton's research sounds fathomable: "If we can reproduce the geological conditions prevailing on Earth before life began, we'll be able to find out how life originated and how it was able to continue," the earth scientist explains. "To explore this possibility, I want to build miniature planetary landscapes inside glass jars." But what exactly were these conditions and where do the ingredients needed to recreate them come from? "Findings from Earth and planetary science research deliver important information about the environment that existed on Earth over four billion of years ago. By working closely with researchers from other disciplines who are also investigating the origin of life, we can add more parts to the puzzle," the scientist continues. To implement his idea - a highly complex undertaking - Craig Walton has access to the interdisciplinary network of the Centre for Origin and Prevalence of Life (COPL) at ETH Zurich.
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