Speakers: Nick Lane, Adam Rutherford

What were the origins of life and what are the biological changes we can expect in the future as our synthetic control over our genes advances exponentially? Was there a vital spark that set off life on our planet and why do we age and die? Evolutionary biochemist Nick Lane and geneticist and presenter of Radio 4’s Inside Science, Adam Rutherford, discuss their recent books – Lane’s The Vital Question; and Rutherford’s double book that can be started at either end – Creation: The Origins of Life and Creation: The Future of Life. Together they not only cover the past 4m millennia, but offer an up-to-the-minute overview of the latest developments in our understanding of DNA and gene manipulation.