Is this idea feasible?

Question

Ok, so we've pretty much found a lot of the same organic components in the universe as we have on earth. Obviously, these organic components have, through time, mananged to create life. These organic componets have created humans. So, with this in mind. Is it possible that the only life we might encounter would be similiar to life that has and is existing on earth? Similar being ... skin, eyes, organs. I'm not basing this similiary on exact appearence.

I say this with careful attention to our hospitable environment, assuming that life can only form and evolve in a similiar environment. But, this is where my error could occur with the idea i've proposed.

Maybe water connects are similarites.
???

I just assume that in order for life to exist in has to be in the forms that have been created on earth, because this creation is the only definate proof that life has been created and created in such a way.

OrionA,
Is it possile to breath anything other than Nitrogen/Oxygen? We don't know, maybe not, right?
That is my point.
If that's the only thing that you can breath, then wouldn't the life forms in the universe be similiar?

Answer 1

>So, with this in mind. Is it possible that the only life we might encounter would be similiar to life that has and is existing on earth?

That depends what you mean by 'similar'.

Right now, it appears that carbon is the only element capable of forming the complex molecules required for life, and water is the best suspension medium. Carbon-based life using ammonia or methane as a suspension medium might possibly exist, but it wouldn't work as well as our own life. And as for life using silicon or sulfur as a basic element instead of carbon, scientists don't believe it's reasonably possible.

That said, as you get more specific the chances of alien life forms being different than our own increase. For example, it was only in the past 1.2 billion years or so that multicellular organisms developed, and only about 600 million years ago that bilateral (that is to say, side-to-side symmetric) organisms arose. It is quite conceivable, then, that alien life might be composed of vast algae and bacteria mats that lack organs, or that it might be as advanced as our own but entirely formed of radial organisms like starfish. However, this seems unlikely. The evolutionary advantages that organ systems and bilateral forms give to organisms seem to be quite large, as our modern world is dominated primarily by such creatures.

Once you get any more specific, though, things really do break down. Other than the great success of bilateral creatures, the forms of terrestrial animals cover a vast array, from cuttlefish to donkeys to oysters and just about everything inbetween. Over the period of the fossil record, animals have had pretty much every number of legs and eyes you can think of, and some probably have multiple mouths on top of that. In fact, the Earth itself boasts such a magnificent collection of different life forms that the forms of alien creatures might no longer be able to surprise us!

But of course, the biochemistry of alien life would still be extremely interesting. And you never know, there might still be some forms life can take that we haven't thought of yet.

Answer 2

I would say it is feasible. We are always told by scientists that if a single parameter was a slight bit off then life would have not been created on earth. That if earth was anything but a fraction of a degree hotter or colder the first organisms wouldn't have survived and so on. And if the time period the bing bang happened over then the stars would have become too hot to form any compounds etc etc.

However if you believe in evolution then it kind of skews the idea. If life does exist anywhere else then any climatic differences that happened over the years in any way would for certain mean a different evolution of species. Meaning that infact other human life forms may not come about.

Human life is believed through evolution to have come about through chance, so the idea of similar human life elsewhere seems unlikely. Who knows though.

Answer 3

Not sure what the question is. But if you are looking for life in the exact form of the human being, yes, the process that led the human being could happen again elsewhere in the universe. Then you have to worry about the probability of the process. It is very very low, since any slight deviation would throw the whole process off track.

You might have a better chance to find other forms of life if you expand the definition a bit broader. Does it have to be carbon-based? Does it have to breath oxygen?

Answer 4

no.

look at the many different types of life here on earth and the
thousands different subsets they have each.

bacteria, viri, fungus, invertebrates, plants, insects, reptiles, birds, fish, mammals, furry and not.

then add in a different environment with changes in pressure, gravity, atmosphere, temp ,chemical composition, day cycles and such whatever elses.

nasa assumes humans if living in 0 g in space for 2 generations will start evolving their legs into limbs more like arms, their lungs will require less oxygen and their brains might not form the same was as on earth, plus their immune system will be effected as well

we don't even know if carbon based life is the only type of life possible ..... (yet).

anyway, thats the same kind of egocentric thinking the church set up long ago (stating god shares the same image as man and that the earth was the CENTER of the universe) and we keep fighting till this day against.

so far we learned we are NOT the center.

*I'd assume breathing hydrogen or methane might be possible for some forms*

Answer 5

well not necessarily. i mean yes we find organism that are able to exist in freezing temperatures and ones that live in boiling oceans. so to a certain extent yes, basic life would be similar anywhere. but once you get past a single, or maybe a small multi-celled organism you get into a much more complicated system. Humans, and all other animals, have adapted almost perfectly to live on earth, where the temp is moderate, we have plenty of oxygen and water, and moderate gravity and atmospheric pressure.

but think about another planet. look at venus. the temperatures would scorch any complex organism and crush it under the massive atmosphere. complex life developes only to suit one specific planet and its own climate. so any other planet, maybe with more gravity, more atmospheric pressure, different food sources, different atmospheric composition, maybe without any water at all, maybe its not even carbon based. life on other planets depends so much on the variables involved that human like life most likely doesnt exist in many places in the universe.

its definitely possible that there is another planet almost identical to earth. on which humanoids, maybe even homo sapiens, have formed. the universe is so vast that i doubt well ever find it.

Answer 6

The thickening of the Martian atmosphere would be the easiest part. Build factories that can produce loads of carbon dioxide as a by product. The surface of Mars is practically a dessert of ferrous oxide. Vegetation would be the next stage to convert CO2 to Oxygen. This all could maybe take 1,000's of years and sack loads of money, but the result would be a warm wet planet. Gravity is another problem because of its mass and the atmosphere could be swiftly stripped away by the solar wind. The only way is to increase this mass and that wouldn't be easy, but feasible. A liquid core would produce a magnetic field which would also help. Maybe Nuclear heat would work. It would also make Mars geologically active and add to its atmosphere.

Answer 7

Nobody could answer this question satisfactorily, everybody expeculate with fantastic ideas, however, there is a natural law, any living spice which cannot adapt to its environment, perish, Charles Darwin affirmed that all the species evolve according to their environment, suposedly, it is an universal law of survival.
Regarding the chemical components we are made, that doesn't change. the periodic table say that. It is logical to think some living species in other worlds have a different look and adaption to their environment. Surely would be so.

Answer 8

Life based on water and carbon, yes. There is ample evidence to suggest this. We just haven't found any yet, though I really really really want to find out what's under the ice on Europa.

Life that looks like us? Highly unlikely. Look at life on our own planet - the only thing in common is the tube-within-a-tube layout, and even that gets stretched.

Life based on other chemistry (e.g. silicon)? Maybe. But you have to start somewhere, and the best bet for finding *and recognizing* life is carbon and water based.

Answer 9

Look at all the different forms of life that exist now, from single cell organisms to blue whales. If you include life forms that we know of only thru fossils, you have a huge variety of life that probably all evolved from a single life form eons ago.

So I agree that it is very unlikely that they would look like us.

Answer 10

Three things are necessary for life like ours,chemistry time and environment,all are abundant in all areas of the universe.
Eventually DNA would emerge and be able to specify life in any way you could imagine.
Aliens would parallel us in many ways,intelligence and technology
We may never get proof of their existence but no doubt they are out there,and they speculate about us as we do about them.
You seem to have figured it out pretty well.