2014 Celsius–Linnaeus Lectures: The origins of the universe and life

At this year’s Celsius-Linnaeus lectures at Uppsala University on February 13, top international researchers Professor George Efstathiou and Professor Marlene Zuk will present new findings about the development of the universe and about human evolution and their significance for our living conditions.

Exactly how the universe started remains unclear. However, recently our knowledge has moved closer to the starting point, with the help of new data from the Planck satellite. How life started on our planet is unknown, but we’re learning more and more about how the earth, life, and we humans have evolved and changed.
 
In February each year, the Faculty of Science and Technology arranges two lectures in memory of Anders Celsius and Carl von Linné (a.k.a Linnaeus). The invited lecturers are scientists whose world-leading and highly topical research has attracted attention in the research world and is of great general interest.

This year’s lectures will take place at Ångström Laboratory. The lecturers are Professor George Efstathiou from the University of Cambridge, U.K., and Professor Marlene Zuk from the University of Minnesota, USA. On Friday, 14 February, a multidisciplinary Celsius-Linnaeus Symposium will be held, with the theme “Principles of evolution” at the Evolutionary Biology Centre (EBC).

The media are cordially invited to attend both events. The lectures on the 13th will be broadcast online and will also be available to watch after the fact.

Why is our universe so old and so huge? Why is it very nearly the same everywhere and in all directions? New measurements of cosmic background radiation performed by the Plank satellite can answer some of these questions and provide new knowledge about the universe from the beginning up to the age of 10-35 seconds. The Celsius lecturer George Efstathiou is a professor of astrophysics and a member of the scientific team behind the European Planck satellite that was launched into orbit in 2009.
 
The Linnaeus Lecture questions the idea that the human body and brain are badly adapted to our modern life. Have we really strayed too far from our origins? We love to speculate about how life was lived in the childhood of humankind in order to explain what we should eat and how we should live today, but this assumes our knowing precisely how our ancestors lived and a belief that we have not continued to evolve. Marlene Zuk warns us against both of these false assumptions. There has never been a golden age when we were perfectly adapted to our environment, and the human species is constantly changing. Marlene Zuk is a professor of evolutionary biology and has written several popular books on the subject.
 
A common theme for the two lectures is evolution, which, in the very broad sense, will be the theme at the symposium on Friday. Through scientific advances we now have knowledge about the development of the universe from the “big bang”, through the development of galaxies, stars, and planetary systems, to the evolution of life on our own planet. We are evolving culturally as well: our languages, our technology, our knowledge all evolve. The concept of evolution runs through many sciences today, including some that may seem to be remote from biology. For example, mathematicians use methods inspired by biological evolution to find the best solution to really difficult problems. Ideas in various fields have much in common, but there are a great many differences as well. At the symposium we will highlight what we have in common, where we differ, and the potential and danger of applying a mode of thinking from one field in an entirely different one.

For more information, please contact: Professor Gunilla Borgefors, chair Celsius-Linnaeus committe, +46 (0)18-471 3466, +46 (0)70-628 08 54, gunilla.borgefors@it.uu.se