Okay, awesome!!
I wasn't expecting this, but hey, beggars can't be choosers when it comes to the universe!!
I wasn't expecting this, but hey, beggars can't be choosers when it comes to the universe!!
NASA Discovers New Life
- Thread starter Andy Chalk
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So this whole time we were just assuming that life on other planets had to have the same biological structure as life on ours? And and now that we've found that it doesn't even have to have the same biological structure as ours to live on Earth we don't believe it any more? Okay.
I reckon this is going to be awesome whether the planet kills us or not.
I reckon this is going to be awesome whether the planet kills us or not.
Well, the way that the media makes it seem like every time there is a slight chance that a planet may or may not have water, and may or may not be possible for life, it seems like scientists are more interested in looking for planets with a few gallons of water as opposed to the bounty of other planets.ZephrC said:
Maybe it's not NASA, perhaps it's just the way the media is reporting it; they never talk about NASA looking for life elsewhere.
It doesn't help that I first heard news of possible arsenic based life from this very lake 2 years ago from TIME magazine, so getting everyone all hyped up about something we already knew about...
Ufortunetly, the extent of my biological knowledge is 7th grade life science. So I don't qualify as a life science geekalbino boo said:
My real disappointment lies in what most people see in reading this. They don't see just how incredible it is that a lifeform on our own planet made of something that kills most life exists.
This is like the bacteria found growing in nuclear reactors/on the rods.
It's ground breaking in itself because it shows just how flexible and amazing life is and the sheer fact that something like these lifeforms can exist says that it doesn't take an earth like planet to host life.
It goes further and really shows that we might not know where to look in the grand scheme of things.
Life is a very stubborn thing, it finds a way to exist, it always does. And this coupled with the sheer size of the universe just flat says: There is life out there in space, it's more and more impossible for there NOT to be life off this world, we just have to find it.
This is like the bacteria found growing in nuclear reactors/on the rods.
It's ground breaking in itself because it shows just how flexible and amazing life is and the sheer fact that something like these lifeforms can exist says that it doesn't take an earth like planet to host life.
It goes further and really shows that we might not know where to look in the grand scheme of things.
Life is a very stubborn thing, it finds a way to exist, it always does. And this coupled with the sheer size of the universe just flat says: There is life out there in space, it's more and more impossible for there NOT to be life off this world, we just have to find it.
Good job showing your ignorance there.Digikid said:
This is HUGE. You may not give a rat's ass, but to anyone who has a fairly decent grasp of what were once called 'the fundamentals of life,' this is a big deal. A super big deal. Like, astronomically big deal (c wut i did thar).
This literally changes everything.
Very cool. Can't wait for idiots to use this as the new Herald of Armageddon for when the Mayan Calendar runs out.
"The microbes are breeding! Soon, we'll be breathing arsenic! We will all die!"
Uh, yeah. There are already trace amounts of Really Bad Shit in the air we breathe already.
Also, if our environment is already pre-conductive towards phosphorics, why are we worried about Arsenics breeding out of control?
...Sorry. I slipped a few months into the future for a second. I'm back in the present now.
"The microbes are breeding! Soon, we'll be breathing arsenic! We will all die!"
Uh, yeah. There are already trace amounts of Really Bad Shit in the air we breathe already.
Also, if our environment is already pre-conductive towards phosphorics, why are we worried about Arsenics breeding out of control?
...Sorry. I slipped a few months into the future for a second. I'm back in the present now.
This is the big announcement? I recall this being on the Science Channel some months ago. It's neat to see further proof of something we already knew, but it didn't amaze me then and it doesn't amaze me now.
If we found a similar specimen on another planet, that's big news. This, though, is just another tiny step in documenting life.
If we found a similar specimen on another planet, that's big news. This, though, is just another tiny step in documenting life.
Gonna have to disagree with you. I can't imagine what this changes. Maybe we add arsenic to the list of the fundamentals of life, but nothing life-changing here.Flying-Emu said:
I have to admit, this is really a huge let down. I know it wasn't going to be like the "aliens" on show's like Doctor Who or the Stargate shows but really? This is the huge thing you teased us all with? I'm sure it's a big deal but to me they really didn't explain why this is so special at all.
This is just the rising action. Next the mars colonist will discover the mass effect technology and we will use it to find methane based life on titan, have it evolve into a mars friendly skin and have it help the mar's colonist make mars more livable on. Then we discover Asari and commander Shepard is born o;
Being a future biochemist myself I have to say I THINK THIS IS SO INSANELY AWESOME! This doesn't just prove that they can replace phosphorus with arsenic, it also means that maybe some of the other supposedly necessary elements could be replaced! (Except hydrogen, there really isn't anything remotely similar to that...) Biology just got a whole new turn to it, this could mean so much, and after I get out of college, I could be part of it! =D
This is one of those things where I feel like it should've been common sense but due to the way science works it has to be proven before it can be assumed. I mean, why is it such a shocker that life can have traits and attributes that we don't know of, even down to its very molecules? The universe is a huge, huge place, and we don't exactly have complete knowledge of even our own planet. This shouldn't have been such a shocker.
