The Australian Centre for Astrobiology was founded by Prof. Malcolm Walter in July 2001 at Macquarie University, and then moved to the University of New South Wales in 2008. It is the only centre of astrobiological research in Australia and is an Associate Member of the NASA Astrobiology Institute, one of only two in the world. The ACA also has close links with the European Space Agency and other international space agencies and institutions around the world.
The Australian Centre for Astrobiology
News
ACA Seminar by Dr Yosuke Hoshino on Isoprenoids at the origin of life: Palaeobiochemistry of life’s building blocks
Abstract: Isoprenoids, also known as terpenoids, are ancient compounds with their origin before the era of the last universal common ancestor. They are the most diverse class of organic compounds in nature and have pivotal roles in all known organisms on Earth from unicellular bacteria to complex multicellular eukaryotes.
Doing real science can transform how we think
The ACA’s Isabelle Kingsley needed to confess: she was a science teacher who didn’t understand how science is done For long, science was taught to be about cold hard facts. We learnt these facts in lectures and textbooks. We wrote them down and remembered them. But scientists had discovered these cold hard facts by flying kites or sitting under apple trees.
Upcoming event by ACA member A/Prof Brendan Burns
Rocking the Cradle of Life: Join A/Prof Brendan Burns to hear about how his astrobiology group at UNSW is studying the origin of complex life using the stromatolites, ‘living rocks’, of Shark Bay in Western Australia as a model environment.
.jpg){kind=logo}
.jpg){kind=logo}
.jpg){kind=logo}