Thaths wrote: > Could extraterrestrial life be made of corkscrew-shaped particles of > interstellar dust? Intriguing new evidence of life-like structures > that form from inorganic substances in space are revealed today in the > New Journal of Physics. The findings hint at the possibility that life > beyond earth may not necessarily use carbon-based molecules as its > building blocks. They also point to a possible new explanation for the > origin of life on earth.
Something that I am still mulling over, Thaths...thanks for the food for thought! Deepa. On 8/15/07, Thaths <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > via bOingbOing > > Original paper: > > http://www.iop.org/EJ/article/1367-2630/9/8/263/njp7_8_263.html > > Press release: > > http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-08/iop-mb081007.php > > It might be life, Jim...', physicists discover inorganic dust with > lifelike qualities > Inorganic life > > Could extraterrestrial life be made of corkscrew-shaped particles of > interstellar dust? Intriguing new evidence of life-like structures > that form from inorganic substances in space are revealed today in the > New Journal of Physics. The findings hint at the possibility that life > beyond earth may not necessarily use carbon-based molecules as its > building blocks. They also point to a possible new explanation for the > origin of life on earth. > > Life on earth is organic. It is composed of organic molecules, which > are simply the compounds of carbon, excluding carbonates and carbon > dioxide. The idea that particles of inorganic dust may take on a life > of their own is nothing short of alien, going beyond the silicon-based > life forms favoured by some science fiction stories. > > Now, an international team has discovered that under the right > conditions, particles of inorganic dust can become organised into > helical structures. These structures can then interact with each other > in ways that are usually associated with organic compounds and life > itself. > > V.N. Tsytovich of the General Physics Institute, Russian Academy of > Science, in Moscow, working with colleagues there and at the > Max-Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, Germany > and the University of Sydney, Australia, has studied the behaviour of > complex mixtures of inorganic materials in a plasma. Plasma is > essentially the fourth state of matter beyond solid, liquid and gas, > in which electrons are torn from atoms leaving behind a miasma of > charged particles. > > Until now, physicists assumed that there could be little organisation > in such a cloud of particles. However, Tsytovich and his colleagues > demonstrated, using a computer model of molecular dynamics, that > particles in a plasma can undergo self-organization as electronic > charges become separated and the plasma becomes polarized. This effect > results in microscopic strands of solid particles that twist into > corkscrew shapes, or helical structures. These helical strands are > themselves electronically charged and are attracted to each other. > > Quite bizarrely, not only do these helical strands interact in a > counterintuitive way in which like can attract like, but they also > undergo changes that are normally associated with biological > molecules, such as DNA and proteins, say the researchers. They can, > for instance, divide, or bifurcate, to form two copies of the original > structure. These new structures can also interact to induce changes in > their neighbours and they can even evolve into yet more structures as > less stable ones break down, leaving behind only the fittest > structures in the plasma. > > So, could helical clusters formed from interstellar dust be somehow > alive? "These complex, self-organized plasma structures exhibit all > the necessary properties to qualify them as candidates for inorganic > living matter," says Tsytovich, "they are autonomous, they reproduce > and they evolve". > > He adds that the plasma conditions needed to form these helical > structures are common in outer space. However, plasmas can also form > under more down to earth conditions such as the point of a lightning > strike. The researchers hint that perhaps an inorganic form of life > emerged on the primordial earth, which then acted as the template for > the more familiar organic molecules we know today. > > > -- > Homer: He has all the money in the world, but there's one thing he can't buy. > Marge: What's that? > Homer: (pause) A dinosaur. > -- Homer J. Simpson > Sudhakar Chandra Slacker Without Borders > >
