This first installment of the Big Questions series tackles the biggest of them all from the perspectives of a philosopher and a virologist who share an interest in understanding the origins of life.
Carol Cleland is a philosopher and the director of the Center for the Study of Origins at the University of Colorado-Boulder. John Yin is a UW-Madison chemical engineer, systems biology and virology researcher delving into the chemistry of the origins of life. UW-Madison Dean of Letters and Sciences Eric Wilcots moderates this interdisciplinary convergence on the most fundamental topic—what is life itself?