Investigating the evolution of life and Earth
The Bradley laboratory uses microbiology and geochemistry to understand how life and the Earth have changed and evolved over the last four billion years.
We perform laboratory experiments, explore unusual environments, and examine the geological record to understand the life history of Earth and other planets.
Sedimentary rocks contain molecular fossils
Molecular fossils are the remnants of once-living organisms. We aim to understand fossilized molecular information. To do this, we study ancient rocks, sediments, and other samples. We piece together the depositional history of these samples and examine their molecular contents. We also study how modern environments produce molecular information, and perform experiments in the laboratory to calibrate our understanding. Through detailed analyses, we uncover new information about the ancient world.
Life detection on terrestrial worlds
Our approach to life detection can be also applied to other planets. We are working to apply our life-detection strategies to missions to the rest of the solar system, including the moon, Mars, and Europa.
“The philosophical study of nature endeavors, in the vicissitudes of phenomena, to connect the present with the past.”
— Alexander von Humboldt