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  • Origin of Life Research Award The Lonsdale Award received 76 entries, many from ISSOL members, of which 15 were selected for review. The panel is composed almost entirely of ISSOL members. Dave Deamer will chair the panel, and Ken Nealson is vice-chair. The review process will resemble that used in major funding agencies, in which a primary and secondary reviewer read the proposal carefully and report to the full panel during the meeting. This is followed by a discussion and a confidential vote in which each panelist ranks the proposal from 1 to 5, with 1 being the best score. After the meeting Mr. Lonsdale will consider the panel scores, comments and recommendation, then choose the winner. The panel meets in San Diego March 30, and the prize will be announced about a month later.
  • First International Symposium on Evolutionary Biology Cabo Branco Station-Science, Culture and Art, João Pessoa, Brazil, June 5th to 8th, 2012, Further Information in the website. With the support of: Núcleo de Estudos em Biologia Evolutiva, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Universidade Federal de Campina Grande, Sociedade Brasileira de Genética and ISSOL-The International Astrobiology Society.
  • OLEB Executive Editors The OLEB Vol. 41, issue 5, introduces a modified editorial structure. Two of our Editorial Board members, H.J. Cleaves and J. Peter Gogarten, will be assuming Executive Editor positions. Since its inception, Origins of Life has been a one-man operation, with, successively, Cyril Ponnamperuma, Jim Ferris, and myself as Editors. In today’s world of increasing specialization, it is becoming increasingly difficult for one editor to be sufficiently familiar with the entire breath of the journal’s coverage, or to easily identify and contact appropriate reviewers for every manuscript which is submitted. The new Executive Editors will act independently to stimulate, evaluate, and reach final decisions on new submissions within their areas of expertize. Jim Cleaves has a background in prebiotic chemistry, geochemistry and astrobiology. He is associated with the Geophysical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution of Science, in Washington, D.C. Peter Gogarten is a specialist in Molecular and Early Biological Evolution, and is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT. I am delighted that I will able to rely on their increased involvement in OLEB in the future. Alan W. Schwartz, Editor-in-Chief, Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres.
  • The Gordon Research Conference on Origin of Life 2012 took place at the Hotel Galvez in Galveston, TX from January 8-13, 2012. Visit the website.
  • Origins 2011 The first joint meeting between ISSOL and Bioastronomy.
  • The December 2010 issue of Astrobiology Journal, featured Dr. David Deemer’s art work on the front cover. Additionally,in this issue several ISSOLians present their work.
  • Dr. Jeff Bada delivered the First Annual Stanley L. Miller Memorial Lecture at UCSD.
  • Dr. Gerald Joyce was honored by the NAS as the recipient of the first Stanley Miller Medal in Early Earth and Life Sciences. We are happy to congratulate Dr. Joyce in his accomplishments and in this medal in recognition of his origin of life work. More here.
  • The Great ISSOL Book Give-away!
  • The inaugural Stanley L Miller Early Career Research Grant  – get info on how to apply.
  • Origins 2011, the first joint meeting between ISSOL the International Astrobiology Society and Bioastronomy is well underway. The Local Organizing Committee has found a wonderful venue and is doing a great job of organizing a culturally, as well as scientifically, exciting meeting. Of most importance, The Scientific Organizing Committee is putting together a stimulating interdisciplinary program in bioastronomy/astrobiology, covering the field from exoplanets to early life on Earth.  We urge you to bring the conference to the attention of the scientific societies to which you belong, so that it will be added to their meeting calendars, and also to inform your own colleagues.