What is Life? on the New Scentist Main Stage

When Darwin explained evolution he made no attempt to answer the deeper question: what is life? Even a humble bacterium accomplishes things so amazing, so dazzling, it looks like magic. So do we need new physics to explain living matter? Based on his latest book "The Demon in the Machine", Paul Davies will argue that an answer is at last in sight. The link that interweaves physics and biology is information, not in the prosaic everyday sense, but as an abstract concept as important and profound as energy. The power of organised information to explain life heralds the next scientific revolution.

Paul Davies is a theoretical physicist, cosmologist, astrobiologist and best-selling author. He is Regents’ Professor and Director of the Beyond Center at Arizona State University. His research has ranged from the origin of the universe to the origin of life, the nature of time, astrobiology and the deep evolutionary roots of cancer. The author of 30 books, his latest is The Demon in the Machine, an explanation for living matter based on information theory. He is a member of the Order of Australia and the recipient of many awards. The asteroid 1992 OG was renamed (6870) Pauldavies in his honour.