Dr. Betül Kaçar’s research group bridges biology and astronomy to explore a fundamental question—how do we search for life beyond Earth?

The Kaçar Lab explores ancient innovations to uncover solutions for today’s and tomorrow’s challenges. Through the lens of evolution, astrobiology, and geochemical investigations, they seek to understand the origins of life, its evolutionary pathways, and the possibility of life beyond Earth.

As part of their research, the Kaçar Lab collaborates with MUSE, a NASA-funded astrobiology consortium dedicated to studying the role of metals in life’s evolution—a project I had the privilege of contributing to.

Visualizing these interdisciplinary concepts was an exciting challenge. Assisting Dr. Kaçar with her TED Talk helped shape the imagery, drawing inspiration from clocks, phylogenetic trees, microbiology, and the vastness of space. It was equally important to highlight the lab’s female leadership, which we represented through astronaut illustrations.

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