Rather, the work of folding is done by much smaller water molecules, which surround proteins and push and pull at them to make them fold a certain way in fractions of a second, like scores of tiny origami artists folding a giant sheet of paper at blazingly fast speeds.
Hmm... not that there aren't other molecules that'll do that, just that they tend to be fluid at much lower temperatures and thus much less energetic, making it much harder to fold carbon chains. It could be that organic cellular life is of necessity water based, due to the laws of physics.
Which limits the range of possibilities somewhat. Although all bets are off if something other than carbon is used.
I am aware that there are other options besides water and carbon for life. However, knowing more about water-based life may provide an interesting basis for comparison-contrast with those other options.
Agreed... heck, magnetic vortices in a charged plasma can act like cellular life, so I'd imagine there's more options. But like you say, the more we understand how a familiar system works, the more we can infer about other systems.
Different ends of the size scale, but indeed somewhat alike. Although, I imagine we'd have a hard time convincing them that life could form on the unimaginably cold surfaces of solid matter worlds...
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dancing_serpent
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(no subject)
Date: 2016-06-21 05:21 pm (UTC)(End quote)
I heart that image with all the hearts!
Yes...
Date: 2016-06-21 05:37 pm (UTC)Re: Yes...
Date: 2016-06-21 06:37 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-06-21 12:39 pm (UTC)Which limits the range of possibilities somewhat. Although all bets are off if something other than carbon is used.
Yes...
Date: 2016-06-21 05:09 pm (UTC)Re: Yes...
Date: 2016-06-21 05:17 pm (UTC)Re: Yes...
Date: 2016-06-21 05:18 pm (UTC)Re: Yes...
Date: 2016-06-21 05:25 pm (UTC)Kind of weird to look up at the sun, and realise there could be kilometres long beings living there...
There be Dragons, indeed..
Re: Yes...
Date: 2016-06-21 05:36 pm (UTC)Ah, but is the matter a body or just an environment ...?
>>Kind of weird to look up at the sun, and realise there could be kilometres long beings living there...
There be Dragons, indeed..<<
And now I am thinking of the Cheela.
Re: Yes...
Date: 2016-06-21 08:43 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-06-21 02:25 pm (UTC)