Scientists discuss Big Bang, Internet

From the Big Bang to the World Wide Web, IU scientists explained on Saturday how we think we got here.

Students, faculty and members of the Bloomington community gathered at the Whittenberger Auditorium to discuss the origins of the universe – from evolution to modern society.

IU and the Stone Age Institute, a Bloomington organization dedicated to the study of all human history, organized the symposium with the theme “The Evolution of the Universe, the Earth, Life, and the Human Species.”

“Our purpose is communicating a message beyond this room and beyond this campus,” Vice Provost for Research Sarita Soni said in the lecture. The symposium was organized with the College of Arts and Sciences 2009 Themester, “Evolution, Diversity and Change,” in mind.

Soni said the Themester was designed to bring the community together 150 years after Charles Darwin published “On the Origin of Species.”

Faculty from a wide array of disciplines spoke in 15-minute segments on the origin and evolution of everything – the universe, the stars, the Earth and life.

“The U.S. ranks 33rd out of 34th in our understanding that evolution happened,” anthropology professor Nicholas Toth said.

As a result, he and anthropology professor Kathy Schick sought to compile a list of the top 100 events in evolutionary history.

The symposium presented listeners with a broad history of evolution from the big bang to today in a comprehensive way.

“Life, as we know it on Earth, consists of evolving informational molecules and a linked chemical system,” geology professor Lisa Pratt said in the lecture.

Pratt discussed the origin of life on earth and NASA’s MAX-C Mars mission.

“The MAX-C mission is proposed for 2018 to collect, document and package samples as the first step in a campaign to study Mars’s rocks,” she said.

Scientists also discussed the biological traits that allow life to live in certain settings and environments.

Geology Professor David Polly discussed his extensive research on the Titanoboa, a giant snake that measured approximately 43 feet – longer than a bus.

“It is no coincidence that a giant snake lived at this time,” he said. “Its survival is reliant on the ambient temperature of the time.”

Biology Professor Elizabeth Raff discussed the evolutionary differences between humans and other life forms.

“Humans and chimps share 98.5 percent of genomes,” Raff said. “Yet, we are the only species who are aware of ourselves and are able to change the world and know that we are doing so.”

Schick concluded the symposium by saying that evolution has played and will continue to play a huge role in our own lives.

“It is important to remember that the rest of the world is evolving, too,” Schick said.