Skills you'll gain

There are 9 modules in this course

This course will evaluate the entire history of life on Earth within the context of our cutting-edge understanding of the Tree of Life. This includes the pioneering work of Professor Carl Woese on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus which revolutionized our understanding with a new "Tree of Life." Other themes include: -Reconnaissance of ancient primordial life before the first cell evolved -The entire ~4-billion-year development of single- and multi-celled life through the lens of the Tree of Life -The influence of Earth system processes (meteor impacts, volcanoes, ice sheets) on shaping and structuring the Tree of Life This synthesis emphasizes the universality of the emergence of life as a prelude for the search for extraterrestrial life.

Week 1 - Geological Time and the Nature of Science

Week 2 - The Tree of Life and Early Earth Environments

Week 3 - Fossilization and Precambrian Life-Earth Interaction

Week 4 - Paleozoic Life After the Advent of Skeletons

Week 5 - Paleozoic Plants, Reptiles, and the Transition to Land

Week 6 - Mesozoic Reign of the Dinosaurs and the Development of Flight

Week 7 - Cenozoic Mammals and Global Environmental Change

Week 8 - Astrobiology and the Search for Life in the Cosmos

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