Program

National Workshop on Astrobiology:
Search for Life in the Solar System
26th – 28th October 2005
CAPRI (Italy)
Final Program
TUESDAY 25 OCTOBER
16.00 – 19.00 Registration
19.00 – 20.00 Welcome cocktail
WEDNESDAY 26 OCTOBER
9.00 – 13.00 morning session
(5 min talk)
M. Capaccioli - J.R.Brucato – Welcome and introduction
Origin of Life
Chairman: J.R. Brucato
(20 min talk)
A. Lazcano - Astrobiology and the study of the origins of life: the happy liaison?
(20 min talk)
P.L. Luisi - Science facing the origin of life on Earth
(15 min talk)
J. Oliver - Definitely life but not definitively
(15 min talk)
J.G.Ferry - The origins of energy conservation and evolution of methanogenesis
Chirality
(20 min talk)
G. Palyi - Biological chirality
11.00 – 11.30 Coffee break
Chairman: TBD
(20 min talk)
V. Aquilanti - Observed molecular alignment in gaseous streams and possible
chiral effects in vortices
(15 min talk)
Y. Keheyan - Gamma radiation induced polymerization of a chiral monomer: a
new way to induce chiral amplification
(15 min talk)
M. Gleiser - Modeling the Development of Prebiotic Homochirality
Primordial genomics
(20 min talk)
E. Gallori - Looking for the primordial genetic honeycomb
(15 min talk)
F.U. Battistuzzi - A genomic timetree of the evolution of early life on Earth
(15 min talk)
M. Moracci - Genomic analysis in Archaea: expression of interrupted genes
(15 min talk)
G. Bianciardi - Molecular analysis of anaerobic psychrophilic bacteria
13.00 – 14.30 Lunch break
14.30 – 18.30 Afternoon session
Chairman: A.Lazcano
(20 min talk)
R. Saladino - Origin of informational polymers: synthesis of nucleic acid precursors
from formamide under prebiotic conditions.
(20 min talk)
E.N. Trifonov - Primordia vita. Deconvolution from modern sequences.
(20 min talk)
E. Di Mauro - Origin of informational polymers: differential stability of 3’- and 5’phosphoester bonds in monomers and oligomers, both ribo and deoxy ribo.
(20 min talk)
A. Travers - Alternative DNA structures - why does DNA have A-T and G-C base
pairs?
(15 min talk)
E. Szathmàry - The replication problem
16.30 – 17.00 Coffee break
17.00 – 18.30 Round table
THURSDAY 27 OCTOBER
9.00 – 13.00 morning session
Prebiotic chemistry
Chairman: E. Gallori
(20 min talk)
G. Strazzulla - Production of molecules of astrobiological interest by ion irradiation
of relevant targets
(20 min talk)
F. Cataldo - Polyynes and cyanopolyynes: their synthesis with the carbon arc gives
the same abundances occurring in carbon-rich stars.
(15 min talk)
N. Balucani - Gas phase reactions in extraterrestrial environments: laboratory
investigations by crossed molecular beams
(15 min talk)
V.K. Gupta - Photosynergistic collaboration of non-linear processes at mesoscopic
level and formation of biomimeticself-sustaining autoreplicative supramolecular
assemblies, ‘Jeewanu’ in an irradiated sterilized aqueous mixture of some
inorganic and organic substances.
Solar System
(20 min talk)
J.I. Lunine - Complex organic chemistry in the solar system: the case for Titan
11.00 – 11.30 Coffee break
Chairman: G. Strazzulla
(15 min talk)
O. Kotsyurbenko - Mediterranean deep-sea brine lakes: unique terrestrial
environments and analogues to putative subsurface ocean on Europa
(15 min talk)
A.C. Levasseur-Regour - Early inner solar system impactors: Physical properties of
comets nuclei and dust particles revisited after Stardust and Deep Impact
(15 min talk)
A. Rotundi – Dust evolution in the solar nebula and the interplanetary dust
particles
(15 min talk)
J.R. Brucato - Cosmic dust analogues: inorganic catalysis for prebiotic chemistry
(20 min talk)
F. Westall - Early life on Mars and the Earth
(15 min talk)
M.H. Engel - Detection of Past Life Elsewhere in the Solar System
13.00 – 14.30 Lunch break
14.30 – 18.30 Afternoon session
Chairman: J. Lunine
(20 min talk)
R. Grymes - The NASA Astrobiology Institute and the NASA Astrobiology
Program
(15 min talk)
G. Tinetti - Characterizing Extrasolar Terrestrial Planets with reflected, emitted
and transmitted Spectra
(15 min talk)
R.S. Perry - Mars Priordial Crust: Unique Sites for Investigating Proto-Biological
Properties
(15 min talk)
A. Kereszturi - Environmental parameters of Dark Dune Spots as possible surface
habitats
16.30 – 17.00 Coffee break
17.00 – 18.30 Poster session
20.00
Social dinner
FRIDAY 28 OCTOBER
9.00 – 13.00 morning session
Space Technologies
Chairman: L. Colangeli
(20 min talk)
S. Di Pippo - ASI strategic approach to exobiology
(20 min talk)
J. Vago - ESA’s ExoMars Mission to Search for Signs of Life on the Red Planet
(20 min talk)
S. Ambesi Impiombato – Fresh new air in Space? MoMa on the ASI launch pad
(20 min talk)
G. Adami - Life science involvement of AAS –Laben
(15 min talk)
M.T. Giardi - Comparison by Automatic Sensor of Response to Space Condition of
Photosynthetic Oxygenic Organisms on the Evolution Scale
11.00 – 11.30 Coffee break
Chairman: TBD
(20 min talk)
E. De Marchi - Probes for Deep Subsurface Planetary Exploration
(20 min talk)
L. Colangeli - Collection and analysis of dust in the Solar System
(20 min talk)
G. Preti - Galileo Avionica’s activities for Planetary Exploration and relevant
technologies
(20 min talk)
M. Chiarini - A new miniaturised optical system for chemical species spectroscopic
detection based on a scanning integrated Mach-Zehnder Microinterferometer on
LiNbO3
(15 min talk)
J.L. Josset - Close-up Imager for Mars Exobiology Missions
(5 min talk)
J.R. Brucato – Conclusion
13.00 End Workshop
Poster session
17.00 – 18.30 Thursday 27th October
P. R. Bahn, A. Pappelis, J. Bozzola – Protocell-like microspheres from thermal
polyaspartic acid.
A. Berces, H. Lammer, Ch. Kolb, G. Kovacs, G. Ronto - Life and the solar UV
environment on early Earth
A. Blanco, M. D'Elia, D. Licchelli, V. Orofino S. Fonti - Studies of biominerals
relevant for the search of life on Mars
B.P. Burns, A. Seifert, F. Gho, F. Pomati, A. Jungblut et al. - Genetic potential for
secondary metabolite production in stromatolite communities
A. G. Fairén - Amazonian acidic liquid water on Mars: evidence from MER
explorations
G. Galletta, G. Fanti, M. D'Alessandro, et al. - S.A.M., the Italian Martian simulation
chamber
M. A. Sephton, A. L. Butterworth, R. S. Perry - Provenance of volatile carbonbearing gases in carbonaceous chondrites
R. Thomas, P. Gille, V. Barbin, R. Léveillé, J. MacGibbon, L. Miko, et al. –
Cathodoluminescence applied to the detection of past biological activity in martian
sediments.
S. Zimmerman, J. G. Ferry - On the catalytic mechanism of an ancient enzyme,
carbonic anhydrase, from archaeon Methanosarcina thermophila

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