by The National Network of Digital Schools
The origination of life is a subject discussed enthusiastically in many scientific circles. Even students find the topic fascinating. Recently a group of high school students enrolled in the Lincoln Interactive Cutting Edge Science (CES) program participated in a videoconference with Hans Ziock, a physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), to discuss ProtoCells, simple man-made “cells” being created to mimic the most basic functions that meet the definition of “life.” The ProtoCell project at LANL aims to understand the origins of life by simulating the creation of a very rudimentary synthetic cell. Specifically, researchers seek to understand what materials and processes are required to create a functioning and self-replicating primitive cell. Before the chat with Dr. Ziock, CES Club students met with their science advisors in an online chat room to talk about the differences between biological cells and man-made cells and to explore what might be accomplished by creating and researching ProtoCells. The students eagerly greeted Dr. Ziock with a long list of questions.
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