On Friday 20th March, researchers from across multiple departments gathered at Robinson College for the LCLU’s Annual Science Day 2026. The presenters were mainly early career researchers working in fields ranging from astronomy and earth sciences to chemistry, physics, and philosophy. The event celebrated the multidisciplinary research carried out on Life in the Universe themes across the university, featuring keynote talks from Dr Amy Bonsor on exoplanet composition and habitability, and Prof Matthew Powner on the origins of life’s peptides.
The day featured four themed sessions exploring fundamental questions about life in the universe. The first session, Hidden Oceans, launched us into the search for life beyond Earth, examining atmospheric composition in exoplanets such as K2-18 b and exploring how magma oceans and planetary interiors shape observable signatures. This set the stage for discussions on how we detect and interpret potential biosignatures in distant worlds.
Next, The Rocky History of Planets Cracked Open turned to planetary formation and evolution. Talks explored the billion-year histories of exoplanets, evidence for early heavy bombardment in the Solar System, the role of highly siderophile elements in understanding Earth’s formation, and the long-term atmospheric consequences of giant impacts. Together, these contributions highlighted how violent planetary histories may set the stage for habitability.
Following the second keynote, the session How Chemistry Became Biology examined the transition from prebiotic chemistry to living systems. Speakers presented work on RNA ligation, self-replicating molecular systems, the role of chirality and spin selectivity, and the stability of key prebiotic molecules such as hydrogen cyanide. These talks offered complementary perspectives on how life might emerge from simple chemical beginnings.
Finally, Conditions for Life on Earth and Beyond broadened the lens to planetary-scale processes and conceptual frameworks. Contributions ranged from the role of magnetite in establishing molecular asymmetry to large-scale geochemical cycles and biosphere–planet interactions. The session also included a talk on ecological modelling of potential biospheres on Hycean worlds and concluded with a philosophical perspective on chance and contingency at life’s origins.
Review by Jules Macome, Lucia Trevisan, Gregory Cooke, Lukas Rossmanith