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Essay by Isaac Asimov considering viable chemistries for life: "Not as we know it. The chemistry of life" http://www.bigear.org/CSMO/HTML/CS09/cs09p05.htm http
by philipswood 6y ago
Essay by Isaac Asimov considering viable chemistries for life: "Not as we know it. The chemistry of life"
http://www.bigear.org/CSMO/HTML/CS09/cs09p05.htm http://www.bigear.org/CSMO/HTML/CS09/cs09p05.htm
I was surprised to realise (that besides being N author) that he was a professor of biochemistry.
- philipswood 6y agoHe ends up with a "list of life chemistries, spanning the temperature range from near red heat down to near absolute zero: 1. fluorosilicone in fluorosilicone 2. fluorocarbon in sulfur 3.*nucleic acid/protein (O) in water 4. nucleic acid/protein (N) in ammonia 5. lipid in methane 6. lipid in hydrogen Of this half dozen, the third only is life-as-we-know-it. Lest you miss it, I've marked it with an asterisk."