# MIT Fall 2014 Soapbox Series: How to Make Life and Influence Planets October 07, 2014 ## Co-sponsored by the NASA Astrobiology Institute at MIT. **(Featuring Prof. Ann Pearson and Prof. Francis Macdonald)** **Tuesday, 10/7: 6:00-7:30pm**### **Origins of Life on Earth** - \[[Video](http://techtv.mit.edu/collections/mitmuseum/videos/30106-soapbox-how-to-make-life-and-influence-planets?value=Soapbox:%20Origins%20of%20Life%20on%20Earth)\] Discover what we can we infer about the origin of life from the genomes of living organisms and what the geological record tell us about the Earth's environments during life’s beginnings. What does this mean for the search for life beyond Earth? [Greg Fournier](http://almlab.mit.edu/GFournier.html) - Associate Professor of Geobiology, MIT[Francis Macdonald](http://eps.harvard.edu/people/francis-macdonald) - Associate Professor of Geology, Harvard **Tuesday, 10/14: 6:00-7:30pm**The Invisible Majority** - \[Video [1](http://techtv.mit.edu/collections/mitmuseum/videos/30138-soapbox-the-invisible-majority-part-1) [2](http://techtv.mit.edu/collections/mitmuseum/videos/30139-soapbox-the-invisible-majority-part-two)\]Most fossils are too small to see since most of life’s history is microbial. However it is possible to [identify signatures of microbial life in rocks](http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2014/acient-rock-ripples-show-early-life-0912). Find out what they tell us, and how might we use them to recognize life elsewhere.[Ann Pearson](http://eps.harvard.edu/people/ann-pearson) - Professor of Environmental Sciences, Harvard[Giulio Mariotti](http://eapsweb.mit.edu/people/giuliom) - Crosby Postdoctoral Fellow, MIT[Part 1](http://techtv.mit.edu/collections/mitmuseum/videos/30138-soapbox-the-invisible-majority-part-1) | [Part 2](http://techtv.mit.edu/collections/mitmuseum/videos/30139-soapbox-the-invisible-majority-part-two) See also:- [ Johnston Lab news ](/latest-news/johnston-lab-news) Share on:- [ Facebook ](#) - [ Twitter ](#) - [ Linkedin ](#)