Does life exist elsewhere in the universe? And if it exists, would be similar to Earth life or could it be something of an entirely different nature? These are questions that people have pondered for centuries. Most importantly, our understanding of life’s biochemical limits has important implications for humanity’s search of life elsewhere. Current thing holds that life biochemistry must be based on carbon and that only water can serve as a cell’s internal solvent. This is the basis for NASA’s “follow the water” strategy for evaluating where to focus its search for life. But what about life that is not like what we currently know? That would be a major game changer.
Weird life describes hypothetical life that is fundamentally different from all known life. The two main types would be silicon-based life and life that does not use water as its internal solvent. Both of these ideas are popular in science fiction. Starting in the 70s and 80s, scientists have serious investigated the possibility of such life. Just what can we conclude after more than 50 years of research?
In Weird Life: Must Life Be Based on Carbon and Water?, join me on a journey to uncover what we currently understand about carbon’s fundamental role in life biochemistry and how alternatives, like silicon, compare. Also explored water’s virtues as life’s internal solvent. Can ammonia or another solvent fill the same role?
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