The evolution of life in the universe

When we think of “Evolution” we usually refer to Darwin’s theory of the evolution of species. What is often not appreciated is that Evolution is a much broader phenomenon that affects different types of systems in ways that are often still not well understood. How did life come about on Earth before Darwinian Evolution could begin? How did planets that could support life emerge in the universe? Have life and intelligence appeared elsewhere in the universe? Can we expect human life to evolve further? If so, how? These are some of the questions we address in this course. Some answers, challenges to our knowledge, and scientifically grounded speculation will be presented.

256 students completed this course

89% recommend it to other students

Teacher: Silvano P. Colombano Ph.D.

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89% of students recommend

“Excellent course that explains the fundamentals of evolution and its accelerating timeline. Every new development lays the foundation for future development in a never ending spiral change. It expanded my view of life and of the universe.”

“You have awakened my interest in SCIENCE!!!!!! Thank you!!!”

“Loved the course and learned a lot! Entertaining, scary, and factual. Thank you!”

Course plan

Lesson 1. From the Big Bang to Earth
Lesson 2. The Origin of Life on Earth
Lesson 3. From LUCA to Humans
Lesson 4. The Evolution of Human Culture
Lesson 5. The Evolution of Technology
Lesson 6. The Age of Robotics
Lesson 7. Artificial Intelligence
Lesson 8. The Start of Space Exploration
Lesson 9. Likelihood of Extraterrestrial Intelligence
Lesson 10. The Future of Life in the Universe
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Format

Starting tomorrow, you will receive a new lesson straight to your inbox every morning for 10 days. Lessons take just 5 minutes to read, and each course is followed by fun, knowledge-testing quiz.

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