Tantalising sign of possible life on faraway world
Nasa's James Webb Telescope may have discovered a molecule thought only to be produced by life.
www.bbc.co.uk
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Sign of possible life on faraway world
- Thread starter Friendly Engineer
- Start date
We just need confirmation now, which will hopefully come next year.Tantalising sign of possible life on faraway world
Nasa's James Webb Telescope may have discovered a molecule thought only to be produced by life.www.bbc.co.uk
It would be one of the most important discoveries humanity has ever made if verified. Answering "Are we alone?" with a resounding "No" would have repercussions for all of humanity.
I hope that we would band together and realise we need to stop having petty squabbles over this planet and move the heck out.
We're like a 30 year old living in their parent's house. Well it's about time we man up and move the hell on!
I listened to an interesting book “Project Hail Mary” same person who wrote the Martian.
A large portion of the books story line was the possibility that sentient life will likely not be H2O based life. It’s was of course fiction but it was thought provoking. One of the most obvious problems with this if two different life forms met was that they could never directly interact. Or that the chances of them even recognizing each other a sentient was slim.
Not only that they don’t speak the same language. But are they communicating with sound, light or electrical. What if their communication is carried out via chemical interaction alone. Even if they communicate with light or sound do so in a spectrum the other can perceive.
A large portion of the books story line was the possibility that sentient life will likely not be H2O based life. It’s was of course fiction but it was thought provoking. One of the most obvious problems with this if two different life forms met was that they could never directly interact. Or that the chances of them even recognizing each other a sentient was slim.
Not only that they don’t speak the same language. But are they communicating with sound, light or electrical. What if their communication is carried out via chemical interaction alone. Even if they communicate with light or sound do so in a spectrum the other can perceive.
I suppose it's possible that solvents other than water could sustain life. It's far out there but hey, the universe is a big place.
Solvents other than water aren't available in the universe in any meaningful quantity.
Well that's just it, the most likely solvent is water.
Common Examples of Solvents include
- Water
- Ethanol
- Methanol
- N-propanal
- Butanol
- Ether
- Dichloromethane
- Carbon disulfide
- glycerol
- Acetone
- Carbon tetrachloride
- Cyclohexane
- Formic acid
- Toluene
- Anisole
- Pyridine
- Acetic Acid
- Hexane
- Xylene
- Trifluoroacetic acid
- Dimethyl sulfoxide
- benzene
- Nitrobenzene
- Quinoline
- Dibutyl phthalate
- Dimethylformamide
- Cyclohexane
- Anisole
- Tetrahydrofuran
- Petroleum ether
Even on earth we have a division of life based simply on the salinity level of water and pressure of water.
I’m not saying there is weirdly exotic life forms out there. Only it is certainly a possibility.
Arctic ground squirrels have a system that while In hibernation their bodily fluids there blood in fact their whole bodies even the brain temperature drops below freezing yet does not freeze.
It’s a wondrous world and universe out there and the only honest statement is we know so little about it.
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Consider possibility of silicon based life. How different would it be. "It's life Jim but not as we know it."
I'm not super excited about this. Two examples of compounds that are usually associated with life on earth occur in the universe regularly in conditions that it is extremely unlikely to have life. The ones I can think of are methane and alcohol, both of which occur in dead zones. There are giant clouds of alcohol in the universe, where it is extremely unlikely life occurred in those clouds, and several dead planets in our solar system have methane. Just because we associate the compound with life doesn't mean it automatically can only come from life.
Keep in mind that life itself came from random naturally occurring chemicals. Very complex molecules are needed for life, and somehow they just popped up!
Keep in mind that life itself came from random naturally occurring chemicals. Very complex molecules are needed for life, and somehow they just popped up!
Yes and somehow….