NASA finds planets aplenty

[scowl]

You are talking about Carbon based life right? If so, Life could have arisen more than once and then merged into what we have today or maybe even still exists in a "Shadow Biosphere" as Davies and Wolfe-Simon have hypothesized.

Except we have found no evidence that other life forms "merged" into what we know as life today. It's all just speculation.

There are lots of theories about early forms of life unlike the kind we know. Scientists have been looking for these life forms mainly in underwater volcanoes since those conditions would be similar to early Earth. So far they haven't found any. At this point all evidence suggests a single origin of life on Earth.

[bmk1245]

Hey bmk,

Saying a detectable trace might still exist after 200h @ 300C doesn't really say much when Adenine is known to form abiotically at room temperature and colder even in ice, as opposed to decompose as it does at higher temperatures.

The Author, Ehrenfreund, discusses the paper in this podcast from the Royal Society below.

http://downloads.royalsociety.org/audio/DM/DM2010_01/Ehrenfreund.mp3

I recommend anyone interested in these subjects listen to Ehrenfreund in the mp3 above.

Correction: has been shown, instead of might.

Darn, on the other hand, I'm not sure citation was correct, I'll have to download original paper.

Thanks for link, BTW. I'll listen later, cause its lengthy a bit...

[lost_shaman]

Except we have found no evidence that other life forms "merged" into what we know as life today. It's all just speculation.

There certainly is evidence of this, it is called "symbiogenesis". As lynn Margulis plainly states, "Symbiongenesis brings together unlike individuals to make large, more complex entities.". This certainly happens in nature and could be potentially used to explain very simple life forms arising independently early in Earth's history and then merging to form more complex and diverse prokayotic life that of course is 'life as we know it'.

There are lots of theories about early forms of life unlike the kind we know. Scientists have been looking for these life forms mainly in underwater volcanoes since those conditions would be similar to early Earth. So far they haven't found any. At this point all evidence suggests a single origin of life on Earth.

Probably the reason the Science has come up empty handed to-date is because new evidence shows our previous understanding was likely wrong.

Earth's Early Ocean Cooled More Than A Billion Years Earlier Than Thought

This seems to be consistent with other new evidence that suggest a Hadean origin of life (prior to 4.1 Ga).

[Golden Duck]

Here's a schizo-perception. We are alone in the universe AND life is inevitable elsewhere in the Universe.

Let me explain. Richard Dawkins used an analogy of life being like winning the lottery, in this broadcast, and somebody has to win the lottery.

Granted, all the probabilities, multiplied together, intuitively approaches zero. However, the number of trials in the entire Universe intuitively approaches infinity. If you conduct enough trials, the most remote chance will occur. It is inevitable.

As the universe is seemingly infinite in its vastness, there is no way we can interact with any other posible form of life. For all intents and purposes we are quite alone. Drop two people in two random places in the Pacific Ocean, are they alone? What do guess the chances are that they will swim into each other - almost impossible? They do not have a limitless energy to swim indefinitely.

Theorising about FTL travel and wormholes is fine, but travelling across the Universe comes down to energy.

[DONTEATUS]

Like the energy thats sucked outta this place in times of ever,never,ending **EDIT** -Slapping ! To think that E.T is reading ever word of our post Is in its self A Frighting thing to ponder.

And better yet To Think that they Are even paying attention to us Is even more Frighting !

But Afterall one needs something To think about ! Might as well be E.T`s and there Possibility`s!

**Tone it down, Dont. The filters are there for a reason."

Edited February 9, 2011 by aquatus1