Faculté des sciences Faculté des sciences

Centre for Life in the Universe: Uniting Sciences to Explore the Unknown

Interview with the Director, Professor Emeline Bolmont

 

To start, could you introduce yourself in a few words? What is your role within the Faculty and the Centre for Life in the Universe (CVU)? 

I am Emeline Bolmont, an Associate Professor in the Department of Astronomy within the Faculty of Science. I am also the Director of the Centre for Life in the Universe since its establishment in 2021. I work in the field of exoplanets; I am interested in tidal effects that influence the evolution of planets close to their stars, and I also study their habitability. Thanks to the creation of the CVU, I have also participated in interdisciplinary projects over the past few years at the intersection of astrophysics, climatology, earth sciences, and biology. 

Could you briefly describe what the CVU is and what its main scientific mission is today? 

The CVU was created following the award of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2019 to Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz. Their discovery in 1995 of the first exoplanet (51 Peg b) opened a new field of research whose ultimate goal today is to detect life on other worlds. Thirty years later, we know that there are countless planets, some of which could harbor liquid water on their surfaces. With new instruments capable of analyzing their atmospheres, all conditions are now in place to take the next step. 

The big question remains: what should we look for in these atmospheres to conclude the presence of life? This complex question requires an interdisciplinary approach. Climate science helps us understand atmospheres that are very different from Earth’s (with exotic compositions) and characterized by synchronous rotation—where one side is in perpetual day and the other in perpetual night. Chemistry helps study the interaction between stellar radiation and atmospheric molecules, as well as their mutual reactions. Earth sciences clarify the link between a planet’s interior and the composition of its atmosphere, while biology proposes possible biosignatures adapted to these extreme environments. 

The question of detecting life elsewhere naturally brings us to the origin of life on Earth: how could inert matter give rise to molecules as complex as RNA or DNA? Again, a multidisciplinary approach is essential. Understanding the conditions of early Earth requires astronomy (to know what the Sun and asteroid bombardment were like), earth sciences (to identify rock types and the presence of oceans or lakes), climate science (to estimate atmospheric composition), and of course chemistry (to determine possible reactions under those conditions). 

In short, astronomy alone is no longer sufficient: we must bring all these disciplines together to move forward. This is precisely the mission of the CVU, which since its creation has developed collaborative projects to advance on two major questions: the search for life elsewhere and understanding our own origins. 

The CVU brings together expertise from many disciplines. Could you share one or two examples of collaborations that particularly illustrate this interdisciplinary spirit? 

It’s hard to choose, but I’ll give two examples: 

This first project, led by Prof. Luca Caricchi and Prof. Nicolas Greber (Earth Sciences and Natural History Museum of Geneva), in collaboration with Prof. David Ehrenreich (Astronomy), has received funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) since 2024. The research team includes Lili Loth, a PhD student, and two postdoctoral researchers, Clémentine Antoine and Joaquin Bastias. 

The chemical composition of Earth’s atmosphere has been profoundly influenced by volcanic gases, which are themselves linked to overall geodynamics. The project aims to establish a link between the temporal evolution of Earth’s atmosphere and its geological evolution. 

To do this, the team analyzes zircon crystals containing small apatite inclusions. These inclusions preserve a chemical fingerprint of volcanic gases at the time the crystal formed. To obtain these samples, the researchers traveled to some of the oldest known terrains on the planet, located in Canada and Greenland. 

Preliminary results shed new light on the conditions that prevailed on early Earth, opening the possibility of a long time interval for the formation of oceans as we know them today. 

Finally, the link to astronomy is based on using the atmospheric composition of exoplanets to obtain information about their geological evolution and, especially, to determine whether plate tectonics is active—an important condition for the development of life. 

This second project began from early discussions during the creation of the CVU with Bas Ibelings and Dan McGinnis. Originally, we wanted to study how the bacterium E. coli survives extraterrestrial conditions, particularly atmospheres different from Earth’s. This first study, published in January 2025 (Kuzucan et al., 2025), inspired us to go further by exploring more realistic conditions in our experiments. This work is led by postdoctoral researcher Dr. Asena Kuzucan, working with Prof. Nina Zeyen, Profs. Luca Caricchi and Ross Milton, collaborators from EPFL, and other colleagues from the NCCR PlanetS (which funds this project). 

We chose to focus on Mars about 3.4 billion years ago. At that time, liquid water flowed on the planet’s surface, which could have allowed life to emerge. The atmosphere then had to be much thicker and composed of a mixture of CO₂ and hydrogen—conditions necessary for liquid water to exist on the surface. To evaluate these conditions, we performed climate simulations using a 3D model similar to those used by the IPCC. 

We then recreated these “Martian” environments in the lab, in small chambers containing an atmosphere from the models, salty water, and basaltic rocks—volcanic rocks that likely dominated Mars’s surface at that time. These environments were inoculated with microorganisms called Methanococcus maripaludis, methanogens capable of producing methane from CO₂ and hydrogen (from the atmosphere), as well as elements such as nitrogen and phosphorus (provided by the basalts). 

This project draws on many CVU disciplines: astronomy, climatology, geology, and biology. Our experiments were successful: the methanogens survived Martian conditions, consumed hydrogen, produced methane, and altered the rocks. Microscopic observation revealed surface alteration of the rocks and changes in their chemical composition. These transformations could constitute signatures of life if they were ever observed on Martian rocks brought back from the Red Planet. 

What types of research projects are currently underway or planned in the short term that best embody the mission of the CVU? 

In addition to the two projects detailed above, we have other ongoing projects such as the Stratospores project, led by Prof. Jérôme Kasparian (https://www.unige.ch/sciences/cvu/projets/fungal-spore-survival-in-stratospheric-extreme-conditions): it aims to collect spores in the Earth’s stratosphere and understand their dispersal on our planet, and also study them from an exobiological perspective: could they survive extraterrestrial conditions? This project is currently under review by the SNSF. 

We also have a project led by Prof. Nina Zeyen that studies microbialites, rocks formed by the activity of microorganisms in water. It aims to understand how these structures form today in a volcanic lake in Italy and compare their characteristics with very ancient microbialites dating back several billion years. The goal is to better trace the chemical and mineral evolution of these rocks to recognize possible signs of life in the geological record. 

We also have more “astronomy” projects, such as the one led by Prof. Lovis, which aims to build the RISTRETTO instrument to determine the chemical composition of the atmosphere of Proxima-b. Proxima-b orbits the star closest to our solar system, Proxima Centauri, and this planet could potentially have liquid water on its surface, making it an ideal target for trying to discover life elsewhere. 

We will also soon hire a professor in prebiotic chemistry (via an excellence chair program), so this research focus on the origin of life will soon grow with a new research group expected in 2026. We also plan to create postdoctoral fellowships, which would allow new projects led by young scientists at the intersection of at least two disciplines. 

In your view, what makes the CVU unique within the Faculty of Science—and perhaps even within the Swiss or international landscape? 

The questions the CVU asks are fundamental: where do we come from? Are we alone in the universe? These questions are of the same order as the question of the origin of consciousness in neuroscience. 

We are also highly interdisciplinary: the centre brings together members from at least 6 different departments across at least 3 different sections, all sharing this curiosity about these fundamental questions. To date, our financial resources remain modest compared to centres like COPL at ETH Zurich. Yet this constraint fuels our creativity and commitment. We move forward thanks to the passion and curiosity of our members, the true drivers of our activities and projects. I believe that with the arrival of the new chair in the origin of life, our presence will be even more significant at the Swiss level, since this profile does not yet exist here. Even though the CVU is already recognized internationally, this will also give us increased visibility. 

Finally, as Director of the CVU, what motivates or inspires you most in this scientific and human endeavour? 

I am very honoured to be the director of this centre and to see it grow over time. One of my favourite aspects is the CVU days, which I find very motivating and inspiring: coming together to see how projects are progressing and seeing new ideas emerge is extremely enriching. We still have work to do to ensure that the youngest among us feel involved in the CVU and participate more fully in the activities we organize, but we are working on it. 

One thing I also love about this adventure is learning new things outside my field and stepping a little outside my “comfort zone.” And I see my own progress year after year: I understand more and remember more concepts, for example, in chemistry or geology. 

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