UCSC researcher Lynn Lee is uncovering clues to one of science's most vexing riddles: How did life on earth begin some 3.5 billion years ago. Lee painstakingly mixes an assortment of metals, ions, and organic molecules, and analyzes the resultant products over time. Her goal: to replicate portions of the chemical soup that may have given rise to earth's first life forms. (Photo: R. R. Jones)     Back to UC Santa Cruz page