Opportunity Information: Apply for 16 570
Apply for 16 570
- The NSF in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Origin of Life" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 43.001, 47.050, 47.074,.
- This funding opportunity was created on Jun 07, 2016 and posted on Jun 07, 2016.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Dec 19, 2016. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.
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Opportunity Summary:
The "Origin of Life" grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number 16-570) is a discretionary research grant solicitation built around an NSF-style Ideas Lab, an intensive, highly interactive workshop format designed to spark unconventional thinking and rapidly assemble new research directions around a major scientific challenge. This Ideas Lab is jointly organized by the National Science Foundation (NSF) through its Directorates for Biological Sciences (BIO) and Geosciences (GEO), together with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Astrobiology Program. The core purpose is to catalyze and fund potentially transformative research projects that tackle grand challenge questions about how life began, with a particular emphasis on the earliest steps that could have led from prebiotic chemistry to living systems on early Earth.
Scientifically, the solicitation is centered on developing a stronger, more unified theoretical framework for origin-of-life research, specifically one that can encompass and connect the major "metabolism first" and "RNA first" lines of thought. Rather than treating these hypotheses as competing camps, the Ideas Lab aims to stimulate creative proposals that clarify how early chemical networks, energy flow, and catalysis might have intersected with the emergence of genetic information and replication. The opportunity is geared toward work that can generate new conceptual models, new testable pathways, and new interdisciplinary experiments or analyses that better explain plausible routes from geochemistry to biochemistry. A key motivation is that a credible set of origin pathways not only deepens understanding of what properties are truly essential to life on Earth, but also directly informs astrobiology by sharpening what scientists should look for when searching for life or pre-life signatures on other worlds.
Participation is structured in stages and is competitive. U.S. researchers must first submit a preliminary proposal specifically to request participation in the Ideas Lab, and this preliminary submission is made only through NSF FastLane. Attendance and participation in the Ideas Lab is not optional; it is a requirement for eligibility to submit a full proposal. After the workshop, multidisciplinary research ideas developed during the Ideas Lab may be invited forward as full proposals, but only by invitation, and those invited proposals may be directed to NSF or to NASA depending on fit and agency interest. The solicitation strongly encourages collaboration, reflecting the expectation that progress on origin-of-life questions will come from teams that can bridge biology, chemistry, geosciences, and related fields.
Administratively, the opportunity is listed under CFDA numbers 43.001, 47.050, and 47.074, with eligibility described as unrestricted (open to any entity type, subject to any additional eligibility notes in the full solicitation text). The original and current closing date for the preliminary stage was December 19, 2016, and the solicitation anticipated roughly 10 awards. The award ceiling was not specified in the provided source data, which is common in some Ideas Lab formats where final budgets depend on the invited project scope and the decisions that emerge from the workshop process.
Origin of Life (Funding Opportunity Number 16-570) FAQs
What is the "Origin of Life" grant opportunity (16-570)?
This is a discretionary research grant solicitation built around an NSF-style Ideas Lab, which is an intensive, highly interactive workshop designed to spark unconventional thinking and rapidly assemble new research directions around a major scientific challenge: how life began.
Who is organizing this Ideas Lab and funding opportunity?
The Ideas Lab is jointly organized by the National Science Foundation (NSF) through its Directorates for Biological Sciences (BIO) and Geosciences (GEO), together with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Astrobiology Program.
What is the main purpose of this opportunity?
The core purpose is to catalyze and fund potentially transformative research projects that address grand challenge questions about the origin of life, with particular emphasis on the earliest steps that could have led from prebiotic chemistry to living systems on early Earth.
What scientific topics and questions are emphasized?
The solicitation centers on building a stronger, more unified theoretical framework for origin-of-life research. It specifically encourages work that can encompass and connect major "metabolism first" and "RNA first" lines of thought, and generate new conceptual models, new testable pathways, and new interdisciplinary experiments or analyses that clarify plausible routes from geochemistry to biochemistry.
Is this opportunity treating "metabolism first" and "RNA first" as competing hypotheses?
No. A key goal is to move beyond treating these as competing camps and instead stimulate creative proposals that clarify how early chemical networks, energy flow, and catalysis might have intersected with the emergence of genetic information and replication.
Why does this research matter for astrobiology?
The solicitation notes that developing credible origin pathways helps identify which properties are truly essential to life on Earth, and directly informs astrobiology by sharpening what scientists should look for when searching for life or pre-life signatures on other worlds.
What is an NSF-style Ideas Lab in this context?
In this opportunity, an Ideas Lab refers to an intensive, highly interactive workshop format designed to encourage unconventional thinking and quickly form new, multidisciplinary research directions around the origin-of-life challenge.
How is participation structured?
Participation occurs in stages and is competitive. U.S. researchers must first submit a preliminary proposal to request participation in the Ideas Lab. After the workshop, multidisciplinary ideas developed during the Ideas Lab may be invited forward as full proposals.
Do applicants have to attend the Ideas Lab workshop?
Yes. Attendance and participation in the Ideas Lab is a requirement for eligibility to submit a full proposal. Participation is not optional under the stated process.
How do U.S. researchers request participation in the Ideas Lab?
They must submit a preliminary proposal specifically requesting participation, and that preliminary submission is made only through NSF FastLane.
Can an applicant submit a full proposal without being invited?
No. Full proposals may be submitted only by invitation after the Ideas Lab.
Where are invited full proposals submitted?
Invited proposals may be directed to NSF or to NASA depending on fit and agency interest, as described in the opportunity summary.
Is collaboration encouraged or required?
The solicitation strongly encourages collaboration and indicates an expectation that progress will come from teams bridging biology, chemistry, geosciences, and related fields. The post-workshop proposals are described as multidisciplinary ideas developed during the Ideas Lab.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is described as unrestricted (open to any entity type), subject to any additional eligibility notes that may appear in the full solicitation text.
What are the CFDA numbers associated with this opportunity?
The opportunity is listed under CFDA numbers 43.001, 47.050, and 47.074.
What was the deadline for the preliminary proposal stage?
The original and current closing date for the preliminary stage was December 19, 2016.
How many awards were anticipated?
The solicitation anticipated roughly 10 awards.
What is the maximum award amount (award ceiling)?
The award ceiling was not specified in the provided source information. The summary notes this can be common in some Ideas Lab formats where final budgets depend on the invited project scope and decisions emerging from the workshop process.
Is this opportunity focused only on early Earth?
The emphasis described is on the earliest steps that could have led from prebiotic chemistry to living systems on early Earth, while also highlighting relevance to astrobiology and the search for life beyond Earth.
What types of outcomes is the program trying to catalyze?
The stated aim is to catalyze potentially transformative projects that create new theoretical frameworks, new conceptual models, and new testable pathways, supported by interdisciplinary experiments or analyses that better explain plausible routes from geochemistry to biochemistry.
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