Shadow biosphere

Shadow biosphere

A team of astrobiologists at the University of Colorado at Boulder have defined a shadow biosphere as, "...a microbial biosphere that is so chemically and molecularly different from life as we know it that it wouldn't be in direct competition with familiar life; familiar life couldn't metabolize it and it would occupy ecological niches that were underpopulated by familiar organisms. Such organisms might have proteins made of completely different amino acids or amino acids with the opposite chirality or it might have nucleic acids whose sugars have the opposite chirality, to name a few possibilities." [http://nai.arc.nasa.gov/year5/year4.cfm?PageAction=5&Section=11&Page=27&Proj=516 1]

The term was also mentioned in the "Jargon" section of the May 2006 issue of "Wired" magazine where it was described as, "alternative microbial life that evolved from chemistry entirely unknown to modern science..."

External links

* [http://nai.arc.nasa.gov/year5/year4.cfm?PageAction=5&Section=11&Page=27&Proj=516 Philosophical Issues in Astrobiology]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Biosphere — The biosphere is the broadest level of ecological study, the global sum of all ecosystems. From the broadest biophysiological point of view, the biosphere is the global ecological system integrating all living beings and their relationships,… …   Wikipedia

  • Hypothetical types of biochemistry — are forms of biochemistry speculated to be scientifically viable but not proven to exist at this time. While the kinds of living beings we know on earth commonly use carbon for basic structural and metabolic functions, water as a solvent and DNA… …   Wikipedia

  • Abiogenesis — Primordial soup redirects here. For the board game, see Primordial Soup (board game). Origin of life redirects here. For views on the origins of life outside the natural sciences, see Creation myth. Pre Cambrian stromatolites in the Siyeh… …   Wikipedia

  • Astrobiology — (from Greek gr. ἄστρον, astron , constellation, star ; gr. βίος, bios , life ; and gr. λογία, logia ) is the interdisciplinary study of life in the Universe, combining aspects of astronomy, biology and geology. [http://astrobiology.arc.nasa.gov/… …   Wikipedia

  • DNA — For a non technical introduction to the topic, see Introduction to genetics. For other uses, see DNA (disambiguation). The structure of the DNA double helix. The atoms in the structure are colour coded by element and the detailed structure of two …   Wikipedia

  • Mono Lake — Landsat image of Mono Lake Location Mono County, California …   Wikipedia

  • Narn — For the J. R. R. Tolkien work, The Tale of the Children of Húrin, see Narn i Chîn Húrin. Narn The Narn Homeworld orbiting a red giant star Notable races Narn Notable people …   Wikipedia

  • climate — /kluy mit/, n. 1. the composite or generally prevailing weather conditions of a region, as temperature, air pressure, humidity, precipitation, sunshine, cloudiness, and winds, throughout the year, averaged over a series of years. 2. a region or… …   Universalium

  • Ecology — For other uses, see Ecology (disambiguation). Ecology …   Wikipedia

  • Colorado River Delta — as seen from space (2004); Isla Montague is the large island in the center. The Colorado River Delta is the region where the Colorado River flows into the Gulf of California (also known as the Sea of Cortez). The delta is part of a larger… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”