Centre for Origin and Prevalence of Life (COPL) at ETH Zurich
copl-eth.bsky.social
Centre for Origin and Prevalence of Life (COPL) at ETH Zurich
@copl-eth.bsky.social
Interdisciplinary research and teaching on life in the Universe. Bringing together 40+ research groups across ETH Zurich & PSI to explore life’s origins, evolution, and existence beyond Earth. copl.ethz.ch
What if the origins of life weren’t a single pathway, but a whole network of chemistry + biology speaking to each other from the very beginning?
Our latest post from John Sutherland’s talk explores this integrative view.

🔗 copl.ethz.ch/news/COPL-ne...
Exploring the Origins of Life: A Holistic Perspective
At the recent COPL Colloquium, John Sutherland presented a compelling vision for unraveling one of science’s most profound mysteries: the origin of life. His talk emphasized that understanding life’s ...
copl.ethz.ch
November 19, 2025 at 10:53 AM
COPL supports three new research projects, each exploring explore life’s origins – from multiple ancestry hypotheses to prebiotic energy cycles and ocean-world habitability.

copl.ethz.ch/news/COPL-ne...

@tanjastadler.bsky.social @bsse.ethz.ch @eth-eaps.bsky.social
Three research projects selected for financial support
The Centre for Origin and Prevalence of Life is pleased to announce the selection of three new research projects for financial support in 2025. These projects span topics from the deep origins of life...
copl.ethz.ch
October 29, 2025 at 10:52 AM
We welcomed two new NOMIS–ETH Fellows this month!

☀️ Thomas Drant – recreating early Earth’s photochemistry to study how life began. @eth-eaps.bsky.social
🌍 @aaffholder.bsky.social – modelling planetary oxygenation and the emergence of habitable worlds. @usyseth.bsky.social

shorturl.at/RgmNo
Welcoming the 2025 NOMIS–ETH Fellows
In early October, the Centre for Origin and Prevalence of Life at ETH Zurich welcomed the new NOMIS–ETH fellows, Dr. Thomas Drant and Dr. Antonin Affholder, who presented their ongoing research projec...
shorturl.at
October 22, 2025 at 11:50 AM
COPL 101 Lunch Seminar with Dr. Rhonda Morgan,
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA/Caltech

"Revolutionizing Design: Optimizing HWO Architecture for Biosignature Detection from NUV to NIR Wavelengths"

Friday, 10 October 2025, 12:30pm, NO D 45, ETH Zentrum

copl.ethz.ch/events/detai...
October 9, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Reposted by Centre for Origin and Prevalence of Life (COPL) at ETH Zurich
Thirty years ago, Swiss physicist Didier Queloz discovered the first planet outside our solar system, revolutionising astrophysics. In 2019, he received the Nobel Prize for his discovery. But he still hasn’t had enough. Why? Find out in the video. 👇
October 8, 2025 at 5:48 AM
Reposted by Centre for Origin and Prevalence of Life (COPL) at ETH Zurich
Are distant exoplanets really ocean worlds? 🌍✨
New ETH Zurich research shows they’re much drier than believed — with only limited water on their surfaces. This changes how we search for habitable planets and suggests Earth may not be so unique after all.

Read more:
Exoplanets are not water worlds
There is much less water on the surfaces of distant planets outside our solar system than previously thought. These exoplanets do not have thick layers of water, as was often speculated. That’s the co...
ethz.ch
September 18, 2025 at 9:38 AM
Reposted by Centre for Origin and Prevalence of Life (COPL) at ETH Zurich
Forschende der ETH Zürich konnten erstmals messen, wie sich die Menge an gelöstem organischem Kohlenstoff im Meer über die Jahrmillionen verändert hat. Die Resultate zeigen, dass unsere Erklärungen, wie Eiszeiten und komplexes Leben entstanden, lückenhaft sind.

Mehr Dazu:
Eierförmige Steinchen werfen neues Licht auf Erdgeschichte
Forschende der ETH Zürich konnten erstmals messen, wie sich die Menge an gelöstem organischem Kohlenstoff im Meer über die Jahrmillionen verändert hat. Die Resultate zeigen, dass unsere Erklärungen, w...
ethz.ch
September 25, 2025 at 8:06 AM
Our NOMIS–ETH fellow Antonin Affholder recently joined SETI Live to discuss his study on the potential for microscopic life in Titan’s ocean.
A new study led by ETH Zurich fellow @aaffholder.bsky.social examines whether Titan's subsurface ocean could support life. His findings suggest that if life exists there, it may persist only in extremely small amounts, making detection a formidable challenge. 🧪 🔭

Learn more:
Life in Titans Ocean? The Microscopic Possibility of Biomass on Saturn's Moon
www.seti.org
September 16, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Reposted by Centre for Origin and Prevalence of Life (COPL) at ETH Zurich
The Leverhulme Centre for Life in the Universe Senior Fellowship programme is now open. Further details and how to apply www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/lclu-se... @leverhulme.ac.uk
September 9, 2025 at 3:31 PM
📣 Open Call – Applications are now open for the 2025 NOMIS–ETH Postdoctoral Fellowships at the @copl-eth.bsky.social. @ethz.ch

A great opportunity for early-career researchers to lead interdisciplinary projects on the origin & prevalence of life.

Learn more and apply: shorturl.at/RfjJJ
Open Call for NOMIS–ETH Postdoctoral Fellowships
The 2025 call for applications for the NOMIS–ETH Fellowship Programme within the Centre for Origin and Prevalence of Life is open. Researchers are invited to apply until 7 November 2025, at 17:00 Zuri...
copl.ethz.ch
September 5, 2025 at 10:05 AM
COPL Special Seminar with Prof. Benjamin Tutolo,
University of Calgary

"Salty Waters: Life’s Origins and Biological Habitability on Earth (and Mars?)"

Monday, 14 July 2025, 15:15pm, NO E 39, ETH Zentrum
@eth-eaps.bsky.social

copl.ethz.ch/events/detai...
July 8, 2025 at 12:15 PM
We're happy to share that Dr. Gabriel Giger has won the 2025 Origins Federation PhD Prize for his research on lab-induced endosymbiosis, done in the #VorholtLab @ethz.ch. He'll present at the #OriginsFederation annual conference in Chicago this fall.

More: copl.ethz.ch/news/COPL-ne...
Gabriel Giger awarded Origins Federation PhD Prize
We congratulate Dr. Gabriel Giger on being awarded the 2025 PhD Prize by the Origins Federation for his outstanding doctoral research conducted at ETH Zurich under the supervision of COPL member Prof....
copl.ethz.ch
July 4, 2025 at 9:16 AM
Last week, we took a trip into the Bedretto Lab.

Led by Cara Magnabosco, the visit explored her team’s work on rock-breathing microbes living below the surface. Funded by COPL, her research blends metagenomics, cryo-EM & machine learning to study deep life. 🌍🪐 More here: shorturl.at/4I0Dd
July 3, 2025 at 8:19 AM
Reposted by Centre for Origin and Prevalence of Life (COPL) at ETH Zurich
Many types of bacteria produce a protein complex that injects toxins into neighbouring cells to eliminate competitors. For the first time, researchers at ETH Zurich and Eawag discovered that these killer bacteria also use this weapon to feed on their neighbours.

ethz.ch/en/news-and-...
Bacteria fight and feast with the same tool
Many types of bacteria produce a protein complex that injects toxins into neighbouring cells to eliminate competitors. For the first time, researchers at ETH Zurich and Eawag discovered that these kil...
ethz.ch
June 13, 2025 at 10:05 AM
Reposted by Centre for Origin and Prevalence of Life (COPL) at ETH Zurich
Phytoplankton in the ocean is key to CO2 sequestration. Now researchers found a cycle of micronutrients for its growth which was thought of as non-existent.

ethz.ch/en/news-and-...
How trace elements are recycled in the deep sea
Trace metals such as iron or zinc that are stored in deep-sea sediments are lost forever to phytoplankton on the ocean surface. This is what geochemists believed for a long time about the cycle of mic...
ethz.ch
June 11, 2025 at 3:47 PM
COPL 101 Lunch Seminar with Prof. Caroline Dorn,
@ethz.ch

"New insights into super-Earths and sub-Neptunes"

Friday, 23 May 2025, 12:30pm, NO D 45, ETH Zentrum

copl.ethz.ch/events/detai...
May 21, 2025 at 9:56 AM
Reposted by Centre for Origin and Prevalence of Life (COPL) at ETH Zurich
Breaking news and a great honour for D-BIOL professor Jörn Piel: he wins the very prestigious Jung Prize for Medicine! Our congratulations! ethz.ch/en/news-and-...
ETH microbiologist honoured with prestigious European medical award
Chemist and microbiologist Jörn Piel combs through the vast world of bacteria for new natural substances to combat the antibiotic crisis. The ETH professor has now been honoured for his research with ...
ethz.ch
May 15, 2025 at 6:13 AM
COPL 101 Lunch Seminar with Prof. Dongyang Huang,
Peking University

"Sequestration of volatiles into cores of rocky planets"

Friday, 16 May 2025, 12:30pm, HIT F 23.2, ETH Hönggerberg

copl.ethz.ch/events/detai...
May 15, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Reposted by Centre for Origin and Prevalence of Life (COPL) at ETH Zurich
What if we couldn't find #Life in #Space? Find out on Fraiser Cain's 'Universe Today' podcast, featuring ETH researcher Daniel Angerhausen from the Centre for the Origin and Prevalence of Life.

@copl-eth.bsky.social @eth-eaps.bsky.social @fcain.universetoday.com
The Tricky Part of Finding Extraterrestrial Life
YouTube video by Fraser Cain
www.youtube.com
May 14, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Reposted by Centre for Origin and Prevalence of Life (COPL) at ETH Zurich
The planned space missions to search for remote life will provide valuable insights even if they do not find any evidence of life, says astrophysicist Daniel Angerhausen. ethz.ch/en/news-and-...
What if we don’t find any life on the exoplanets, Doctor Angerhausen?
The planned space missions to search for remote life will provide valuable insights even if they do not find any evidence of life, says astrophysicist Daniel Angerhausen.
ethz.ch
April 16, 2025 at 8:45 AM
COPL 101 Lunch Seminar with Prof. Alexandra Turchyn,
@cambridgeuni.bsky.social

"Earth's habitable climate: The role of the ocean crust in regulating the carbon cycle over geological time"

Wednesday, 30 April 2025, 12:30pm, HIT F 23.2, ETH Hönggerberg.

copl.ethz.ch/events/detai...
COPL 101 Lunch Seminar with Prof. Alexandra Turchyn
Earth's habitable climate: The role of the ocean crust in regulating the carbon cycle over geological time
copl.ethz.ch
April 15, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Working on natural or directed evolution?

A 5-day summer school in Lausanne this July will bring together students across fields to explore evolution at multiple scales – molecular to microbial.

Register by 1 May 2025: evolution-school25.epfl.ch
Evolution by Nature and by Design
From molecules to populations
evolution-school25.epfl.ch
April 9, 2025 at 6:45 AM
COPL 101 Lunch Seminar with Prof. Dr. Audrey Vorburger,
@unibe.ch

"The Search for Life in the Outer Solar System"

The seminar will take place on Friday, 11 April 2025, at 12:30pm, in NO D 45, ETH Zentrum.

copl.ethz.ch/events/detai...

@eth-eaps.bsky.social
COPL 101 Lunch Seminar with Prof. Audrey Vorburger
The Search for Life in the Outer Solar System
copl.ethz.ch
April 8, 2025 at 8:41 AM
We are delighted to announce the 2025 cohort of NOMIS-ETH postdoctoral fellows. Thomas Drant and @aaffholder.bsky.social are joining the COPL, thanks to the generous support of the NOMIS Foundation.

copl.ethz.ch/news/COPL-ne...

@ethzurich.bsky.social @eth-eaps.bsky.social @usyseth.bsky.social
2025 Cohort of the NOMIS-ETH Fellows
The Centre for Origin and Prevalence of Life announces the 2025 cohort of NOMIS-ETH Fellows.
copl.ethz.ch
April 4, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Reposted by Centre for Origin and Prevalence of Life (COPL) at ETH Zurich
Wie kam das Leben auf die Erde? Maria Schönbächler will das herausfinden und untersucht deshalb Meteoriten. Im SRF «Focus»-Podcast gibt sie Einblick in ihre Forschung und ihren Werdegang von der Postbeamtin zur Wissenschaftlerin an der @ethzurich.bsky.social, wo sie seit 10 Jahren lehrt.
Maria Schönbächler, wann schlägt der nächste grosse Meteorit ein?
Wie kam Leben auf die Erde? Gute Frage. Maria Schönbächler will sie beantworten. Dafür untersucht sie Meteoriten. Mit ihrer Doktorarbeit konnte sie zeigen, dass die Erde früher entstand, als bis…
www.srf.ch
April 1, 2025 at 9:32 AM