On  27 May 2021 RSC Belgium members and friends were able to explore ‘How does chemistry come alive?’ in a fascinating webinar with Professor Nick Lane of University College London. Nick described how the continuous reaction of hydrogen and carbon dioxide in the structured environment of hydrothermal vents could have driven the beginnings of metabolism and genetics in protocells at the origin of life on our Earth.

Nick previously talked to us about his fascinating work on bioenergetics, evolution and the origin of life in 2014. He is an evolutionary biochemist and writer in the Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment at UCLondon. He was awarded the inaugural UCL Provost’s Venture Research Prize for his research on evolutionary biochemistry and bioenergetics and his current work focuses on the origin of life, and the origin and evolution of eukaryotes. He was a founding member of the UCL Consortium for Mitochondrial Research, and leads the UCL Research Frontiers Origins of Life programme.

The Belgium section of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) was established in 1989. It has around 120 professional members in Belgium and an extensive list of ‘Friends of RSC Belgium’. The section organises lectures, visits and social events with a principal objective of promoting the chemical sciences to the public.