10 Ways Alien Life Could be Radically Different from Earth

TL;DR

There are various ways in which alien life could differ from life on Earth, including alternative chirality, different solvents, arsenic-based biochemistry, non-green photosynthesis, and even potential life on neutron stars and in plasmas.

Transcript

One of the great grey areas of astrobiology is just how alien biochemistry might work. Conventional wisdom would be to look at life on earth, we know for a fact it can exist, and then imagine how that might apply to life in the universe. And while there doesn’t seem to be any reason to doubt that carbon-based biochemistry couldn’t be common in the ... Read More

Key Insights

• 🛟 Alien life could have different chirality than life on Earth, using mirror image configurations of biomolecules.
• 👽 Solvents other than water, such as ammonia or hydrocarbons, could potentially support alien life.
• 👽 Arsenic-based biochemistry might be possible for alien life in regions where phosphorus is scarce.
• 😒 Photosynthesizing plant analogues on exoplanets might not be green and could use different pigments like retinal.
• 💁 Alternative life forms, such as azotosomes, could exist in extreme environments like Titan.
• 👽 Alien life might experience long periods of dormancy, hibernation, or temporary death to survive adverse conditions.
• ⚾ Silicon-based and even metal-based life forms are hypothetical possibilities in different environments.
• 🤩 Life on neutron stars and in plasmas are highly speculative but intriguing concepts.
• 🛟 The existence of a shadow biosphere, with alternative biochemistry or RNA-based life, is a possibility on Earth.

Questions & Answers

Q: Could alien life have a different chirality than life on Earth?

Yes, it is possible that alien life could have alternative chirality, using mirror image configurations of familiar biomolecules.

Q: What are some alternative solvents that could support life?

Besides water, possible solvents for alien life include ammonia, formamide, hydrogen fluoride, hydrocarbons, and even mixtures of water and other liquids.

Q: Is arsenic-based life a possibility?

While arsenic is typically considered poisonous, it is chemically similar to phosphorus and could potentially be used in the biochemistry and DNA of alien life, especially in regions where phosphorus is rare.

Q: Could alien photosynthesis be different from green photosynthesis?

Yes, plant analogues on exoplanets might not absorb green light and could use different pigments like retinal, resulting in yellow, red or even black colored organisms.

Q: Is it possible for life to exist on neutron stars or in plasmas?

Life on neutron stars is highly speculative, but if it were to exist, it would be very tiny and experience life at an accelerated pace. Plasma life, though still debatable, has exhibited life-like behavior in laboratory experiments.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Alien life could have alternative chirality, with biomolecules existing in mirror configurations different from those found on Earth.

• Solvents other than water, such as ammonia or hydrocarbons, could potentially support alien life.

• Arsenic-based biochemistry could be possible for alien life in regions where phosphorus is scarce.

• Photosynthesizing plant analogues on exoplanets might not be green and could use different pigments like retinal.