Alien Life?

[Tunnelcat]

They've discovered a bacterial life form that substitutes arsenic for the phosphorous in it's DNA, and it lives in California's Mono Lake, on Earth!

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/ ... life-form/

This opens up the possibility that life may exist on other planets with a different DNA chemical makeup.

Hypothetical Biochemistry

[CDN_Merlin]

I always believed that all life can't all be like ours. There has to be some planet out there that has a completely different makeup than earth and life is different.

[Neo]

Oh, look. It's THIS thread again. x_x

[Alter-Fox]

I always believed that all life can't all be like ours. There has to be some planet out there that has a completely different makeup than earth and life is different.

That is the same thing that I thought.

BTW it was probably an Archean and not a bacteria, people (even scientists) sometimes tend to group the two together (because they were considered one group in the past) but they are actually separate. Archea are thought to be the direct ancestors of eukaryotes like ourselves, while bacteria that were consumed by the archeans became the type of organelles that are like mitochondria (at least this is the current theory).

Regardless Archeans are the organisms that tend to do radical things like this.

[Avder]

Theres a real possibility were all descended from Martian bacteria that hitched a ride from there to earth billions of years ago.

The theory is that Mars would have cooled and became hospitable to life long before Earth because its a lot smaller, and at some point and impact threw some biological matter off mars and eventually landed on earth as it was starting to become habitable.

[Neo]

Whatever lets you sleep at night. ^_~

[Avder]

Whatever lets you sleep at night. ^_~

Well with all the multitude of different opinions of where life came from, I think its kinda neat to think of myself as a Martian.

[Alter-Fox]

lol x2

[woodchip]

Well if life can incorporate something so toxic to us as arsenic is, then I'd have to say NOT finding life on other worlds is highly unlikely.

[snoopy]

Well if life can incorporate something so toxic to us as arsenic is, then I'd have to say NOT finding life on other worlds is highly unlikely.

I'd think that temperature tolerance would be a more difficult jump to make than substance tolerance.

I'd believe life on planets surrounding other stars with similar temperature conditions. I think the options for life on other planets in this solar system are quite limited.

[Descer]

There are some which doesn't fulfil any current criteria. Human imagination's too limited.

[Neo]

Whatever lets you sleep at night. ^_~

Well with all the multitude of different opinions of where life came from, I think its kinda neat to think of myself as a Martian.

Why do your martian ancestors have to be less complex than we are? Is that like how pink is the new black?

[woodchip]

Well if life can incorporate something so toxic to us as arsenic is, then I'd have to say NOT finding life on other worlds is highly unlikely.

I'd think that temperature tolerance would be a more difficult jump to make than substance tolerance.

I'd believe life on planets surrounding other stars with similar temperature conditions. I think the options for life on other planets in this solar system are quite limited.

You are evidently forgetting about living organisms thriving in super heated black smokers:

"In contrast to the approximately 2°C ambient water temperature at these depths, water emerges from these vents at temperatures ranging from 60°C up to as high as 464°C.[2][3][4][5][6] Due to the high barometric pressure at these depths, water may exist in either its liquid form or as a supercritical fluid at such temperatures. At a barometric pressure of 218 atmospheres, the critical point of water is 375°C. At a depth of 3,000 meters, the barometric pressure of sea water is more than 300 atmospheres (as salt water is denser than fresh water). At this depth and pressure, seawater becomes supercritical at a temperature of 407°C (see image). However the increase in salinity at this depth pushes the water closer to its critical point. Thus, water emerging from the hottest parts of some hydrothermal vents can be a supercritical fluid, possessing physical properties between those of a gas and those of a liquid.[2][3][4][5][6] Besides being superheated, the water is also extremely acidic, often having a pH value as low as 2.8 — approximately that of vinegar."

[Alter-Fox]

I think I actually understood that.

[Nightshade]

What's unfortunate (or actually, fortunate) is that most life in our universe is probably simple like pond scum- simply due to the fact that conditions are not nearly as stable or hospitable as Earth's for as long as Earth has had a relatively stable existence as an abode for life.

This is, of course, in spite of the fact that earth has gone through giant impacts and climate shifts that have caused mass extinctions. In fact there is evidence that gamma ray bursts from supernovae have also killed off life in the past- well beyond anything we could ever hope to control or shelter from.

Our planet is a relative paradise- just think of life trying to develop on planets in globular clusters or near the centers of galaxies.

Intelligent life probably does exist elsewhere- but it is so rare and far between that it is likely we will never find evidence for it; unless we survive the death of our own star- and that's only if we don't destroy ourselves first.

[Burlyman]

Or the alienz will find and destroy us first. x_x

[Avder]

Or the aliens will find us and be like \"Holy crap, cool, we thought we were the only ones in this universe? So what do you guys all do for fun? Hey, here's our superadvanced medical technology and spacefolding tech, you should come swing by our place sometime!\" And then WE enslave THEM. I think this happened in the mirror universe in Star Trek. Mirror Kira and Hoshi were both HOTTTTT.

Too bad they'll probably be evil like in all the hollywood films.

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst!

[Spidey]

After looking at Washington D.C. they will decide there is no intelligent life here, leave…and have a good laugh on the way home…


Lol, did they actually say “free health care“…lol

[Neo]

Oh, look. It's THIS thread again. x_x

Don't you guys get tired of politics? :P

Or the aliens will find us and be like "Holy crap, cool, we thought we were the only ones in this universe? So what do you guys all do for fun?

Great. Not only are our ancestors alien, they're also naive. :P

[roid]

http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2010 ... d_life.php
"...Then the stories calmed down, and instead it was that they had discovered an earthly life form that used a radically different chemistry. I was dubious, even at that. And then I finally got the paper from Science, and I'm sorry to let you all down, but it's none of the above. It's an extremophile bacterium that can be coaxed into substiting arsenic for phosphorus in some of its basic biochemistry. It's perfectly reasonable and interesting work in its own right, but it's not radical, it's not particularly surprising, and it's especially not extraterrestrial. It's the kind of thing that will get a sentence or three in biochemistry textbooks in the future."

Lol, did they actually say “free health care“…lol

heh, I stopped watching V as soon as i heard that line. I was all like "oh boy, they're implying free health care is an alien plot to overthrow America. Was this show written by Sarah Palin?" and i decided i had better things to do with my precious time.

Posting in the same thread? In case anybody here doesn't know this:
Neo, Burlyman and Blaze
are all the same person.
They are all Samus.

Oh, look. It's THIS thread again. x_x

Don't you guys get tired of politics?

I'm curious if you thought you were actually logged in as seperate people here and thought it looked like you were quoting someone other than yourself...

But no, Biology is not Politics.
It's Science, the search for truth.

[Neo]

LOL... You're just like bubbalou. Saying fire is hot like it's some profound revelation. I wasn't talking about biology when I mentioned politics, I was replying to a joke someone else said.

A word to the not-so-wise: I don't care what you say. So keep your \"truth\" to yourself and leave science to people who don't get their information from wikipedia or whatever's on the Internet.

[Isaac]

LOL... You're just like bubbalou.

Omg you're just like Burlyman! :p

[Spidey]

Hey roid…or should I just call you Julian? Is ratting out people some kind of down under thing or something? I know you probably think you’re some kind of hero or something, but hey…guess what…everyone here already knows Neo’s other nicks.

Real bad behavior for a Mod as far as I’m concerned, don’t you think that would be something you would settle in private…using a little discression? Here in America rats get their balls cut off, I guess down under they just give you a medal, or photochop your picture.

Now please explain what a millimeter is again, you condescending little…

[Isaac]

…using a little discression? Here in America rats get their balls cut off, I guess down under they just give you a medal, or photochop your picture.

errr... Hulk mad?

[Neo]

Sure, why not? ^_~

LOL... You're just like bubbalou.

Omg you're just like Burlyman! :p

I sea wut yu did thare. >_>

[Gekko71]

...They are all Samus...

I didn't know that - but how is that anyone's else's business?

hey…guess what…everyone here already knows Neo’s other nicks.

See above.

...don’t you think that would be something you would settle in private…using a little discression?

Well said. Roid, I have to agree with Spidey here.

...Is ratting out people some kind of down under thing or something... ...I guess down under they just give you a medal, or photochop your picture.

Kindly confine your criticisms to Roid's behaviour Spidey, not his country of origin. He's not the only Australian on the board.

[roid]

hey spidey

[Avder]

Well, this thread was great...until roid trainwrecked it.

[Isaac]

my god, you guys are a fragile bunch...

[Heretic]

Well, this thread was great...until roid trainwrecked it.

Was it, seems to me it wasn't Extra-Terrestrial in nature at all more along the lines of Terrestrial life.

[Alter-Fox]

Shall we get it back on track? The debate was more interesting than most here.

BTW Spidey, have you watched Saturday Night Live recently? You should see what they've been doing to the first sketch each show for the past few weeks.

[Spidey]

I haven’t watched SNL in years, and nothing personal Gekko.

(just making a dumb reference to Julian Assange being Australian…and a rat)

Oh and Gekko, I would respect your complaint much more if you opened your mouth just once when roid was doing one of his anti American tirades.

[Alter-Fox]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7-MbiixFe0

[Neo]

…using a little discression? Here in America rats get their balls cut off, I guess down under they just give you a medal, or photochop your picture.

errr... Hulk mad?
:P

I sea wut yu did thare. >_>

Maybe we'll get lucky and some aliens will crash land in the Gulf of Mexico next Saturday. :P

Either way, I think it's still interesting to find bacteria with a different chemical composition than here, even if it has nothing to do with the so-called origins of life.

[Gekko71]

I haven’t watched SNL in years, and nothing personal Gekko.

(just making a dumb reference to Julian Assange being Australian…and a rat)

Oh and Gekko, I would respect your complaint much more if you opened your mouth just once when roid was doing one of his anti American tirades.

Apology accepted. And your point about Roid is a fair one - his comments about the US have been unfair in the past, and yes I have failed to comment one way or the other.

If it's any conciliation, if I ever believe that a criticism about my country is well deserved, I am quite happy to say so publicly and will happily support the viewpoint, regardless of its origin. However, in this case you weren't making a reasoned argument on my country's flaws - which is the only reason I commented in the first place.

Enough said - let's move on.

[Neo]

Here's a fair criticism of Australia: all your cars are upside down. =P

I'm starting to forget what this thread is supposed to be about every time I come back here. x_x

[Gekko71]

Here's a fair criticism of Australia: all your cars are upside down. =P

...We were talking about the existence of life in what were thought to previously be inhospitable environments. On that subject, I recently read about a bacterium that lives in oil deposits inside the earth and doesn't need oxygen.

What I want to know is how in the hell did bacteria get through several kilometres of impervious rock to consume the oil in the first place?

[Alter-Fox]

There are lots of bacteria that use carbon dioxide instead of oxygen.

[Tunnelcat]

There are lots of bacteria that use carbon dioxide instead of oxygen.

And sulfur compounds too, via chemosynthesis to obtain organic materials from hydrogen sulfide. Stinky, but they apparently like the stuff! Bacteria are very adaptable.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrothermal_vent

By the way, I think the Aussies are a nice bunch. Not to derail my own thread, but it's the Americans that can get a little bullheaded, arrogant and touchy. We can be so full of ourselves sometimes........

[Krom]

By the way, I think the Aussies are a nice bunch. Not to derail my own thread, but it's the Americans that can get a little bullheaded, arrogant and touchy. We can be so full of ourselves sometimes........

How dare us nasty, bullheaded, full of ourselves Americans have common faults that virtually all humans share.