When that day comes, we’ll learn a lot, but whatever we end up learning, it is bound to transform our world in at least two ways. First, the technology that comes out of our work in the lab is going to be powerful. Much as the 20th century brought us synthesis in chemistry, the 21st century is bringing a synthesis in biology, with implications for new materials, therapies, industries, and applications. Second, these discoveries will represent nothing less than a revolution in our understanding of life and its place in the cosmos. We may again ask deeper questions about who we are and how we belong. Issues of theology and philosophy are bound to crop up. Whether the extraterrestrial life we discover is rare or ubiquitous remains to be seen, but either way the implications will be earthshaking.
Dimitar Sasselov is a professor of astronomy at Harvard University and the director of the Harvard Origins of Life Initiative. He was a TEDGlobal speaker.