Abstract
This paper reviews our current ideas about the physical mechanisms which underlie the cosmological framework in which life has evolved. The four basic interactions (strong, weak, electromagnetic and gravity) and the fundamental particles (quarks and leptons) are introduced as the fundamental building blocks of nature. The history of the Universe from the Big Bang model of its beginning, the origin of matter, the synthesis of heavy elements, the age of the Universe and our Solar System are briefly described. Local astrophysical disturbances such as supemovae, collisions, and solar variations which could affect the Earth and its life at any time are discussed. From these immediate but improbable (at any given time) extraterrestrial sources of biotic crises, the ultimate future of the Earth is considered when the Sun becomes a red giant in about 5 billion years. The ultimate fate of the Universe is finally considered with respect to two models: a big crunch or an asymptotic and continuous expansion. Will the Universe end as abruptly as it began or will it slowly and infinitely expand through time long after matter itself has disappeared? Finally, what are the implications of these two models to living systems.
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