Course Summary
Learn about the Emergence of Life through this course offered by Coursera. Explore the history of life on earth and the scientific evidence behind it.Key Learning Points
- Understand the origins of life on earth
- Learn about the evolution of life and its diversification
- Explore the scientific evidence behind the emergence of life
Job Positions & Salaries of people who have taken this course might have
- Research Scientist
- USA: $72,000
- India: ₹5,00,000
- Spain: €30,000
- Science Writer
- USA: $57,000
- India: ₹4,00,000
- Spain: €24,000
- High School Science Teacher
- USA: $48,000
- India: ₹3,50,000
- Spain: €20,000
Related Topics for further study
Learning Outcomes
- Understand the scientific evidence behind the emergence of life
- Recognize the patterns of evolution and diversification of life
- Develop a deep knowledge of the history of life on earth
Prerequisites or good to have knowledge before taking this course
- Basic knowledge of biology
- Interest in the origins of life
Course Difficulty Level
IntermediateCourse Format
- Self-paced
- Online
- Video Lectures
Similar Courses
- Astrobiology and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life
- Introduction to Evolutionary Biology
- Biology Meets Programming: Bioinformatics for Beginners
Related Education Paths
- Bachelor of Science in Biology
- Master of Science in Evolutionary Biology
- PhD in Earth and Planetary Sciences
Related Books
Description
How did life emerge on Earth? How have life and Earth co-evolved through geological time? Is life elsewhere in the universe? Take a look through the 4-billion-year history of life on Earth through the lens of the modern Tree of Life!
Outline
- Orientation
- Emergence of Life Trailer
- Welcome to the Emergence of Life!
- Welcome to Emergence of Life!
- Syllabus
- Updating Your Profile
- Social Media
- About the Discussion Forums
- How Graded Discussions Work
- Discussion Rubric
- Paper Assignment Rubric
- Orientation Quiz
- Week 1 - Geological Time and the Nature of Science
- 1.1. Scientific World View
- 1.2. Philosophical Benchmarks in Science
- 1.3. Scientific Inquiry vs Scientific Method
- 1.4. The Scale of Time and Space: Powers of Ten
- 1.5. NASA’s Greeting Card to Aliens: The Golden Record
- 1.6. Deep Geological Time
- 1.7. The Structure of the Solar System
- 1.8. Birth of the Earth
- 1.9. The Perfect Storm: A Recipe for Life
- Week 1 Overview
- Week 1 Quiz A
- Week 1 Quiz B
- Week 2 - The Tree of Life and Early Earth Environments
- 2.1. The Scientific Inquiry of Carl Woese
- 2.2. The Place of Carl Woese in Evolutionary Biology
- 2.3. Revolution of the Tree of Life
- 2.4. Evolution of the Tree of Life
- 2.5. How Did Life Emerge?
- 2.6. The Genetic Code and Evolutionary Theory
- 2.7. Throwing Rocks at Earth: The Martian Meteorite
- 2.8. Microbial Mats and Stromatolites: Laying Down On the Job
- 2.9. Oxygenation of the Atmosphere
- 2.10. Snowball Earth; It Did Freeze Over!
- Week 2 Overview
- Who Was Carl Woese?
- Paper Assignment 1 Information
- Week 2 Quiz A
- Week 2 Quiz B
- Week 3 - Fossilization and Precambrian Life-Earth Interaction
- 3.1. DCSI: Dino Crime Scene Investigators
- 3.2. Ancient Forensic Science: Fossilization
- 3.3. Getting Old and Well-Preserved: Modes of Preservation
- 3.4. Our Spineless Friends: The Invertebrates
- 3.5. Lifestyles of the Rich and Fossilized
- 3.6. Trying to Make a Living: Fossil Feeding Modes
- 3.7. The Great Experiment of the Ediacaran Fauna
- Week 3 Overview
- Week 3 Quiz A
- Week 3 Quiz B
- Week 4 - Paleozoic Life After the Advent of Skeletons
- 4.1. Cycles of Radiation and Extinction
- 4.2. Cambrian Explosion
- 4.3. Cambrian Fauna: Origin of Vertebrates
- 4.4. Burgess Shale Experiment
- 4.5. Invertebrates: Successes of Life Without a Backbone
- 4.6. Paleozoic Fauna
- 4.7. Vertebrates: Successes of Life With a Backbone
- 4.8. Evolution of Jaws and Perfecting Predation
- 4.9. Heavily Armored Fish Without Jaws
- 4.10. Fish Evolution: Hook, Line, and Sinker
- Week 4 Overview
- Paper Assignment 2 Information
- Week 4 Quiz A
- Week 4 Quiz B
- Week 5 - Paleozoic Plants, Reptiles, and the Transition to Land
- 5.1. Plants Invade the Land and Sea
- 5.2. Early Prevascular Plants
- 5.3. Takeover of the Vascular Plants
- 5.4. Pennsylvanian Greenhouse Earth
- 5.5. Rise of the Reptiles
- 5.6. Reptiles Heating Up: Thermal Regulation
- 5.7. Diapsids and Synapsids: Ships Passing in the Night
- Week 5 Overview
- Week 5 Quiz A
- Week 5 Quiz B
- Week 6 - Mesozoic Reign of the Dinosaurs and the Development of Flight
- 6.1. Symbiosis as a Strategy of Survival
- 6.2. Rise of the Diapsids
- 6.3. Pterosaurs: The ONLY Flying Reptiles
- 6.4. Dinosaur Phylogeny: Hips Don't Lie
- 6.5. Evolution of Flight: Life Invades the Sky
- 6.6. Wild Wings: Fit to Fly
- 6.7. Cretaceous Warming on a Reorganized Earth
- 6.8. T. rex, and the Crater of Doom
- Week 6 Overview
- Paper Assignment 3 Information
- Week 6 Quiz A
- Week 6 Quiz B
- Week 7 - Cenozoic Mammals and Global Environmental Change
- 7.1. House of the Rising Mammals
- 7.2. Mammals Conquer the Earth
- 7.3. Big is Beautiful
- 7.4. Sophistication of Mammal Skulls
- 7.5. Mammalian Dentition: My, What Big Teeth You Have!
- 7.6. Mammals: Taxonomy is in the Eye of the Beholder
- 7.7. Mammal-Marsupial Exchange: There Goes the Neighborhood
- 7.8. The Primates
- 7.9. The Rise of Humans: Getting a Leg Up on the Competition
- 7.10. Early Hominids: Trees versus Savannahs
- Week 7 Overview
- Week 7 Quiz A
- Week 7 Quiz B
- Week 8 - Astrobiology and the Search for Life in the Cosmos
- 8.1. NASA Astrobiology: Roadmap to Life in the Universe
- 8.2. NASA: A Platform for Inter-Disciplinary Science
- 8.3. Mars Flybys and Orbiters: Getting the Picture
- 8.4. Mars Rovers: Was the Red Planet Habitable?
- 8.5. NASA Future Missions
- 8.6. NASA Institute for Universal Biology
- 8.7. Think and Wonder…Wonder and Think
- 8.8. The Emergence of Life: Course Synthesis
- Emergence of Life Outtakes
- Week 8 Quiz A Video 1: Curiosity Completes Its First Martian Year
- Week 8 Quiz A Video 2: One Year to Pluto
- Week 8 Overview
- Week 8 Quiz A
- Week 8 Quiz B
Summary of User Reviews
The Emergence of Life course has received positive reviews from many users, highlighting its interesting content and knowledgeable instructors. One key aspect that users appreciated was the course's comprehensiveness in covering the topic of life emergence.Pros from User Reviews
- Instructors are knowledgeable and engaging
- Course content is interesting and thought-provoking
- Comprehensively covers the topic of life emergence
Cons from User Reviews
- Some users found the course challenging
- The course may require a significant time commitment
- Some users felt that the assessments were too difficult
Bruce W. Fouke, Ph.D.
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