"Are we alone in the universe?" "Are there alien beings out there?" "Is there life on Mars?"
These are just some of the questions to be addressed by acclaimed physicist Professor Paul Davies, of the University of Adelaide, at a free public lecture at the University of Queensland on Thursday, August 6, at 7pm.
Professor Davies will also discuss his new thought-provoking book The Fifth Miracle - The Search for the Origin of Life at the lecture in the Abel Smith Lecture Theatre, Campbell Rd, St Lucia. The lecture will be chaired by the head of the University's Physics Department and director of the Centre for Laser Science, Professor Gerard Milburn.
Science fiction became science fact in 1996 with the possible discovery of fossilised bacteria in a Martian meteorite. "The idea of life on Mars fires the imagination. But the consequences of the discovery are likely to go beyond mere scientific curiosity, and transform our picture of ourselves and our place in the cosmos," Professor Davies said.
In his book, the award-winning scientist and writer reveals how such discoveries are shedding light on one the greatest scientific puzzles of our age: the origin of life itself - the "fifth miracle" of the Book of Genesis.
"Was it a random chemical fluke, unique in the universe, or are the laws of the cosmos ingeniously bio-friendly? And are we really close to creating life in a test tube, as some scientists claim?" he said.
An internationally acclaimed physicist, writer and broadcaster, Professor Davies has made an enormous contribution to the understanding of science. He obtained a doctorate in physics from University College London and subsequently held academic appointments in astronomy and mathematics at the universities of Cambridge and London. He was appointed Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Newcastle-on-Tyne in 1980 and in 1990 was appointed Professor of Mathematical Physics and Professor of Natural Philosophy at The University of Adelaide.
Based in South Australia, he retains his links with the United Kingdom as Visiting Professor at Imperial College London. He is the author of more than 20 books and the winner of the prestigious Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion.
Copies of The Fifth Miracle (rrp $35) will be available for sale at the lecture and refreshments will be served afterwards.
For more information, contact Jo Hughes (telephone 07 3365 3405).
