How to Make Life from the Primordial Soup-Rutherford Lecture: CANCELLED

Lecture cancelled due to weather in Dunedin affecting travel - How to Make Life from the Primordial Soup - Why RNA is a key ingredient to human life.

One of the biggest questions in life is how did we get here? How did rock and steam become our world, full of life and diversity? The science community thought they had the answer with the achievement of the Human Genome Project just after the turn of the new millennium; however ten years on it seems that it may not be DNA which is the star but its sibling RNA. In this lecture, 2010 Rutherford Medallist Professor Warren Tate will speculate on RNA’s role 3‐4 billion years ago in the origin of protein synthesis and the genetic code, and how understanding the history of this fascinating molecule might lead us into the future with the development of therapies for Alzheimer’s Disease, HIV and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Professor Tate is currently Associate Dean of Research for the Health Science Division at the University of Otago. He has served his discipline with extended periods on the board of the Health Research Council, the National Science Council of the Human Frontiers of Science Programme, on the Governing Council of the Asia Pacific International Molecular Biology Network, and, most recently as an inaugural member of the Science Board of the Ministry of Science and Innovation. Professor Tate was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in June 2011.