01:090:292:H2
SAS Honors Seminar: Extraterrestrial Life
Fall 2019

Instructor Andrew Baker Serin W309 Phone: 848-445-8887 Email: ajbaker[at]physics.rutgers.edu Office hours: TBD Venue M6W6 (4:30-5:50pm) in Honors College S120, except where boldfaced below

Textbook(s)
The only required course textbook is Bennett & Shostak, Life in the Universe (Fourth Edition). Students with strong science backgrounds and strong interest in this subject may also wish to consider Sullivan & Baross (eds.), Planets and Life: The Emerging Science of Astrobiology, although this is not required.

Overview
For centuries, humans have looked at the night sky and wondered whether we are alone or whether we share the universe with advanced extraterrestrial civilizations. In recent years, this question has begun to move from the realm of speculation to the arena of scientific inquiry, thanks to new discoveries about planets orbiting stars other than our Sun, about potential habitats for life in our solar system, and about the possible development of life in extreme environments on the Earth. This seminar, intended for students from all academic majors, will examine the prospects for the emergence of extraterrestrial life (intelligent or otherwise) and our detection of it from a scientific perspective. A familiarity with basic mathematical and scientific concepts will be assumed; moderately sophisticated mathematics (e.g., calculus and Fourier analysis) will be discussed but not required for homework. Course meetings will be principally devoted to discussions -- led by students (selected at random at the beginning of each class) and guided by the instructor -- of weekly reading assignments. Background material from a single textbook will be supplemented by popular books and articles, as well as selected papers from the research literature. Grades will be based on leadership of and participation in discussions, short weekly writing assignments, a mid-term research mini-project, and an end-of-term paper.

Schedule
Both the sequence of topics and the assignment due dates are preliminary at this point; I will update them as needed. Two course meetings near the end of the semester are tentatively reserved for relevant topics to be chosen shortly before Thanksgiving by the students enrolled in the course.

CLASS	DATE	TOPIC	READING	DUE
1	Sep 4	astrobiology; the Drake Equation	none
2	Sep 9	definitions of life	B&S 5.1-5.2, 5.6 pp 215-222 only of Chyba & McDonald (1995, AREPS, 23, 215): "The Origin of Life in the Solar System: Current Issues" Koshland (2002, Science, 295, 2215): "The Seven Pillars of Life" Cleland & Chyba (2002, Orig. Life Evol. Biosph., 32, 387): "Defining 'Life'" Popa (2010, Orig. Life Evol. Biosph., 40, 183): "Necessity, Futility and the Possibility of Defining Life are all Embedded in its Origin as a Punctuated-gradualism" cheat sheet
3	Sep 11	terran and alternate biochemistries	B&S 5.3-5.4 Benner et al. (2004, Curr. Opin. Chem. Biol., 8, 672): "Is there a common chemical model for life in the universe?" Schulze-Makuch et al. (2015, Life, 5(3), 1472): "The Physical, Chemical and Physiological Limits of Life" cheat sheet	response paper #1
4	Sep 16	evolution of terran life	B&S 4.2, 6.1, 6.3 key sections (see cheat sheet) of Sagan (1967, J. Theoret. Biol., 14, 225): "On the Origin of Mitosing Cells" cheat sheet
5	Sep 18	terran extremophiles	B&S 5.5, 9.4 Rampelotto (2013, Life, 3(3), 482): "Extremophiles and Extreme Environments" Vetriani et al. (2005, Appl. Env. Microbio., 71, 220): "Mercury Adaptation among Bacteria from a Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent" cheat sheet	response paper #2
6	Sep 23	origin of terran life guest instructor: Professor Saurabh Jha	B&S 4.3, 6.1 (review), 6.2 Chyba & Sagan (1992, Nature, 355, 125): "Endogenous production, exogenous delivery, and impact-shock synthesis of organic molecules: an inventory for the origins of life" Miller (1953, Science, 117, 528): "A Production of Amino Acids Under Possible Primitive Earth Conditions" Westheimer (1986, Nature, 319, 534): "Polyribonucleic acids as enzymes" Gilbert (1986, Nature, 319, 618): "The RNA world" Cepelewicz (2017, Quanta Magazine): "The End of the RNA World Is Near, Biochemists Argue" cheat sheet
7	Sep 25	formation and evolution of stars guest instructor: Professor Jack Hughes	B&S 3.1-3.2, 11.1, 11.5 Thomas (2018, Astrobiology, 18:5, 481): "Photobiological Effects at Earth's Surface Following a 50 pc Supernova" Nelson (2008, Nature, 455, 36): "The Harvard computers" cheat sheet	response paper #3
8	Sep 30	formation of planets	B&S 3.3-3.5, 4.6 Stevenson (2001, Science, 294, 71): "Jupiter and Its Moons" key sections (see cheat sheet) of Canup & Ward (2006, Nature, 441, 834): "A common mass scaling for satellite systems of gaseous planets" key sections (see cheat sheet) of ALMA Partnership et al. (2015, ApJ, 808, L3): "The 2014 ALMA Long Baseline Campaign: First Results from High Angular Resolution Observations toward the HL Tau Region" cheat sheet
9	Oct 2	extrasolar planetary systems	B&S 11.2-11.3 Marcy & Butler (1996, ApJ, 464, L147): "A Planetary Companion to 70 Virginis" Charbonneau et al. (2000, ApJ, 529, L45): "Detection of Planetary Transits Across a Sun-Like Star" cheat sheet	response paper #4
10	Oct 7	Kepler	key sections (see cheat sheet) of Borucki et al. (2011, ApJ, 736, 19): "Characteristics of Planetary Candidates Observed by Kepler. II. Analysis of the First Four Months of Data" Latham et al. (2011, ApJ, 732, L24): "A First Comparison of Kepler Planet Candidates in Single and Multiple Systems" NASA press release 15-024AR: "Kepler's Borucki Retires after Five Decades at NASA" Figures 1-12 in NASA's 2018 "Briefing Materials: Kepler Survey Catalog of Planet Candidates in the Cygnus Field" cheat sheet
11	Oct 9	planetary atmospheres	B&S 4.4-4.5, 10.5 Kasting et al. (1988, Scientific American, 258:2, 90): "How Climate Evolved on the Terrestrial Planets" Billings (2019, Scientific American): "Astronomers Find Water on an Exoplanet Twice the Size of Earth"	response paper #5
12	Oct 14	habitable zones	B&S 7.1, 10.1-10.4, 11.4 key sections (see cheat sheet) of Anglada-Escudé (2016, Nature, 536, 440): "A terrestrial planet candidate in a temperate orbit around Proxima Centauri" Lineweaver et al. (2004, Science, 303, 59): "The Galactic Habitable Zone and the Age Distribution of Complex Life in the Milky Way" cheat sheet
13	Oct 16	life on Mars? guest instructor: Professor Chuck Keeton	B&S 7.2, 7.4, 8.1-8.4 Sheehan (2003, Sky and Telescope website): "Venus Spokes: An Explanation at Last?"	response paper #6
14	Oct 21	life on meteorites?	B&S 8.5 McKay et al. (1996, Science, 273, 924): "Search for Past Life on Mars: Possible Relic Biogenic Activity in Martian Meteorite ALH84001" Kerr (1996, Science, 273, 864): "Ancient Life on Mars?" Schirber (2010, Astrobiology): "The Continuing Controversy of the Mars Meteorite" key sections (see cheat sheet) of Hoover (2011, Journal of Cosmology, 16, 7070): "Fossils of Cyanobacteria in CI1 Carbonaceous Meteorites: Implications to Life on Comets, Europa, and Enceladus" Plait (2011, Discover Magazine/Bad Astronomy blog): "Followup thoughts on the meteorite fossils claim" cheat sheet
15	Oct 23	life on Europa?	B&S 7.3, 9.1-9.2 Wall (2018, Scientific American): "Signs of Life on Europa May Be Just Beneath the Surface" key sections (see cheat sheet) of Trumbo et al. (2019, Science Advances, 5:6, eeaw7123): "Sodium cloride on the surface of Europa" cheat sheet
16	Oct 28	life on Titan and Enceladus?	B&S 9.3 key sections (see cheat sheet) of Neish et al. (2018, Astrobiology, 18, 571): "Strategies for detecting biological molecules on Titan" key sections (see cheat sheet) of Khawaja et al. (2019, MNRAS, 489, 5231): "Low-mass nitrogen-, oxygen-bearing, and aromatic compounds in Enceledean ice grains" cheat sheet
17	Oct 30	life on extrasolar planets?	reread pp 405-406 of B&S 11.4 Sagan et al. (1993, Nature, 365, 715): "A search for life on Earth from the Galileo spacecraft" Arnold (2008, Space Science Reviews, 135, 323): "Earthshine Observation of Vegetation and Implication for Life Detection on Other Planets: A Review of 2001-2006 Works" cheat sheet	response paper #7
18	Nov 4	impacts and mass extinctions guest instructor: Professor Blakesley Burkhart	B&S 6.4 Alvarez et al. (1980, Science, 208, 1095): "Extraterrestrial Cause for the Cretaceous-Tertiary Extinction" cheat sheet
19	Nov 6	evolution of intelligence guest instructor: Professor Blakesley Burkhart	B&S 6.5, 12.2 Krützen et al. (2005, PNAS, 102, 8939): "Cultural transmission of tool use in bottlenose dolphins" Prior et al. (2008, PLoS Biology, 6:8, e202): "Mirror-Induced Behavior in the Magpie (Pica pica): Evidence of Self-Recognition" cheat sheet see also videos of Gerti and Harvey the magpies
	Nov 8			mid-term project (by email)
20	Nov 11	development of (and threats to) civilization	B&S 12.1 Diamond (1987, Discover): "The worst mistake in the history of the human race - adoption of agriculture" Diamond (1997, Edge online): "Why Did Human History Unfold Differently On Different Continents For The Last 13,000 Years?" Gladwell (2005, New Yorker): "The Vanishing" Diamond (2011, online blog post): "The myths of Easter Island - Jared Diamond responds" Hunt & Lipo (2011, online blog post): "'The Easter Island ecocide never happened' - response to Jared Diamond" Bhadelia (2016, NPR): "Has The World Learned The Wrong Lessons From The Ebola Outbreak?" Ravilious (2005, The Guardian): "What a way to go"
21	Nov 13	interstellar communication	B&S 12.3 Davis (2017, Planetary Society blog): "Is There Anybody Out There?" Wright et al. (2020, Astro2020 white paper): "Searches for Technosignatures in Astronomy and Astrophysics"	response paper #8
22	Nov 18	interstellar travel	B&S 13.1-13.4 Breakthrough Starshot May 2018 bidder's briefing (see also a supporting technical briefing).
23	Nov 20	UFOs and alien abductions	B&S 12.4 Thomas (1995, Skeptical Inquirer): "The Roswell Incident and Project Mogul" Sheaffer (2004, Skeptical Inquirer): "The Campeche, Mexico 'Infrared UFO' Video" McGaha & Nickell (2011, Skeptical Inquirer): "'Exeter Incident' Solved! A Classic UFO Case, Forty-Five Years 'Cold'" Mooney (2005, Doubt and About): "Waking Up to Sleep Paralysis" McNally & Clancy (2005, Transcultural Psychiatry, 42, 113): "Sleep Paralysis, Sexual Abuse, and Space Alien Abduction" see also video of the Campeche incident	response paper #9
24	Nov 25	ethical concerns in astrobiology	"Preamble" and "Policy" sections only of COSPAR (2002, 2005, 2011): "Planetary Protection Policy" Executive summary (pp 1-10) only of National Academy of Sciences (2006): "Preventing the Forward Contamination of Mars" Race & Randolph (2002, Adv. Space Res., 30, 1583): "The need for operating guidelines and a decision making framework applicable to the discovery of non-intelligent extraterrestrial life" Bailey (2011, Reason): "Does Mars Have Rights?" Walkowicz (2018, Slate): "The Problem With Terraforming Mars"
25	Dec 2	the anthropic principle	reread pp 406-408 of B&S 11.4 (on the "rare Earth hypothesis") pp 1-7, 11-18, 43-51, 57-58 (17-23, 27-34, 59-67, 73-74 in PDF) only of Bostrom (2002): "Anthropic Bias" Gonzalez & Richards (2003): "The Privileged Planet" online presentation Vakoch (2004, Nature, 429, 808): "Bright blue dot" Brumfiel (2007, Nature, 447, 364): "Darwin skeptic says views cost tenure"	topic, scope, and draft reference list for term paper
26	Dec 4	student choice: ENIGMA meet at Marine Science Building (Cook Campus)
27	Dec 9	student choice: implications of first contact guest instructor: Anthony Young	Cushman (2007, Environmental History, 12, 304): "The Last First Contact" Harrison (2011, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, 369, 656): "Fear, pandemonium, equanimity and delight: human responses to extra-terrestrial life" Hickman & Boatright (2017, Space Review): "Stranger danger: Extraterrestrial first contact as a political problem"	response paper #10
28	Dec 11	four views of the Drake Equation
	Dec 23			term paper (by email)

Grading
Your course grade will be based on a combination of five elements:

• leadership of class discussions (20%)
  At the beginning of the semester, each student will write his/her name on three cards, which I'll deposit in a hat. At the beginning of each class, one card will be drawn from the hat to determine who (with guidance from me) leads that day's discussion. If your name is drawn and you do lead the discussion, you'll keep the card that was drawn. If you are not prepared to lead the discussion, you can pass — but the card that was drawn and one additional card with your name on it will then be added to the hat. The second time you pass, two additional cards with your name on them will be added to the hat. More than two passes will not be allowed.
• participation in class discussions (15%)
  Raising questions about any parts of the reading assignments you did not completely understand will count in your favor here.
• weekly writing assignments (20%)
  These will be response papers, whose length should correspond to ~1 typed page (single spaced) apiece. Half a page is probably too little; two pages is probably too much; three pages is definitely too much.
• mid-term research mini-project (15%)
  This will require quantitative analysis of a dataset that I'll provide.
• end-of-term paper (30%)
  This paper (10-15 typed pages, double-spaced) will be on a topic of your choice that is related to the course subject matter. You will need to submit the topic and scope of your paper, along with a draft reference list, at some point before December 2 so that I can approve them in advance. A list of approved term paper topics is here. You may find the citation guide of the Chicago Manual of Style useful in formatting your paper.

• All assignments will be evaluated for spelling, grammar, and style as well as content. I will deduct points if the quality of your prose starts to become a distraction from the quality of your ideas.
• A grade of 90% or higher will correspond to an A.
• Any plagiarism will earn a zero.
• I am willing to be somewhat flexible, but unless I tell you otherwise, I will deduct 10% off the top for each day an assignment is handed in late. This means that an assignment handed in three days late will receive at best a grade of 70%, and an assignment that is ten or more days late will automatically receive a zero.

Other items

• Instructor absences
  I will have to miss at least six of our regular classes, which will be rescheduled at a mutually convenient time or covered by a guest instructor in my absence.
• Student absences
  If you miss a class, unless I have given prior permission or it is a medical emergency, you will receive a zero for that day's participation score. All absences should be reported at this website.
• Students with disabilities
  Rutgers University welcomes students with disabilities into all of the university's educational programs. In order to receive consideration for reasonable accommodations, a student with a disability must contact the appropriate disability services office on the campus where (s)he is officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview, and provide documentation. If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus's disability services office will provide you with a Letter of Accommodations. Please share this letter with your instructors and discuss the accommodations with them as early in your courses as possible. To begin this process, please complete the registration form on the Office of Disability Services (ODS) web site.
• Student wellness services
  The School of Arts and Sciences and the Rutgers University Student Assembly have requested that all course syllabi include the following information on resources to support student wellness:
  • The Just In Case Web App provides access to helpful mental health information and resources for yourself or a friend in a mental health crisis on your smartphone or tablet, and easily contacts CAPS or RUPD.
  • Rutgers Counseling, Alcohol & Other Drug Assistance Program, and Psychiatric Services (CAPS) (848-932-7884; 17 Senior Street in New Brunswick) is a University mental health support service that includes counseling, alcohol and other drug assistance, and psychiatric services staffed by a team of professionals within Rutgers Health Services to support students' efforts to succeed at Rutgers University. CAPS offers a variety of services that include individual therapy, group therapy and workshops, crisis intervention, referral to specialists in the community and consultation, and collaboration with campus partners.
  • The Office for Violence Prevention & Victim Assistance (VPVA) (848-932-1181; 3 Bartlett Street in New Brunswick) provides confidential crisis intervention, counseling, and advocacy for victims of sexual and relationship violence and stalking to students, staff, and faculty.N Staff can be reached by phone during office hours when the university; advocates can be reached by phone after hours.
  • The Office of Disability Services (848-445-6800; Lucy Stone Hall, Suite A145, Livingston Campus, 54 Joyce Kilmer Avenue in Piscataway) works with students with documented disabilities to determine eligibility for reasonable accommodations, facilitates and coordinates those accommodations when applicable, and lastly engages with the Rutgers community at large to provide and connect students to appropriate resources.
  • Scarlet Listeners (732-247-5555) is a free and confidential peer counseling and referral hotline, providing a comforting and supportive safe space.