Re:Scientists Debate Signatures of Alien Life
by lutusp on Monday February 08, 2016 @01:00PM
(#11059696)
> How about life without oxygen?
It's thought that life began here in the absence of oxygen, and only over time did oxygen begin to play a part in cellular life. As another poster points out, there are still some cellular organisms here that do without oxygen, indeed they would find it toxic.
> I always wonder why alien life or any other life cannot happen without it.
But that's not true, not even here. Oxygen is regarded as a sign of life, but its absence doesn't suggest the absence of life, only the kind of life that requires it.
It's thought that life began here in the absence of oxygen, and only over time did oxygen begin to play a part in cellular life. As another poster points out, there are still some cellular organisms here that do without oxygen, indeed they would find it toxic.
> I always wonder why alien life or any other life cannot happen without it.
But that's not true, not even here. Oxygen is regarded as a sign of life, but its absence doesn't suggest the absence of life, only the kind of life that requires it.