Where does life come from? How did it evolve? Does it exist beyond our planet? These most basic questions of existence seem, to some degree, almost unanswerable, but they are exactly the questions that Betul Kacar, a professor of astronomy and of molecular and cellular biology, is tackling in her research laboratory at the University of Arizona.
A recent transplant from Harvard University, Kacar joined UA’s Center for Astrobiology and Molecular and Cellular Biology Department in January 2018. With support from NASA’s Astrobiology Institute and Exobiology Program, the National Science Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation, Kacar’s research laboratory on campus is already gaining national attention.