UCSC scientists to discuss life on Earth in conjunction with world premiere of Frans Lanting's Life: A Journey through Time

A scientific forum exploring advances in the understanding of life on Earth will take place on Monday, July 31, at 7 p.m. at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium. The forum is being held in conjunction with Life: A Journey through Time, a multimedia presentation by photographer Frans Lanting, which has its world premiere this month as part of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music.

The scientific forum is free and open to the public. Performances of Life: A Journey through Time will take place on July 29 and 30, also at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium. This groundbreaking multimedia work merges art and science, photography and music. For ticket information and more details about the performances, see http://www.cabrillomusic.org/2006/2006-season.html.

Lanting will take part in the forum, along with eminent scientists from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and NASA Ames Research Center. David Deamer, professor of chemistry and biochemistry and acting chair of biomolecular engineering at UCSC, will moderate the panel discussion. Other participants include Sandra Faber, University Professor of astronomy and astrophysics at UCSC; David Haussler, Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and professor of biomolecular engineering at UCSC; and Jonathan Trent, a researcher in the astrobiology program at NASA Ames Research Center.