Weird Life: The Search for Life That Is Very, Very Different from Our Own
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Dyson’s view of, 132, 135
science’s limited usefulness concerning, 163–64
unlikelihood of, 140–41
of weird life, 144–48, 154–55
see also SETI
extraterrestrial life, xvi–xviii, 21–22, 33, 36–37, 64, 99–122, 123–37, 165–66, 219
comets and, 126, 127–30
in distant future, 130–32, 172
on Europa, 100–102
interstellar chemistry and, 124–29
on Jupiter, 120–22
on Mars, 45, 63, 71, 72–82, 231n
methanogenic, 107, 109
in panspermia theory, 26–27
search for, 44–45, 71–82; see also Viking spacecraft, life-detecting experiments of
stars and, 133–37
on Titan, 106–10
on Triton, 115–16
on Venus, 117–19, 120
see also science fiction
extremophiles, xiii–xiv, 1–31, 40, 42–43, 56, 60, 98, 102
on bell curves, 16
coinage of term, 15
deep-sea, 6–11
defensive adaptations of, 19–28
liquid water and, 16–22
nonsolar energy sources of, 27–28, 43
and origin of life, 26–31
outer planetary habitats for, 63–64
taxonomic classification and, 15–16, 19
temperature limits of, 48–49
tolerable pH levels of, 50
types of, 14–15; see also thermophiles and hyperthermophiles
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, 117–18
Fictitious Beasts (Robinson), viii, 98, 206n
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (Abbott), 207n
float bladders, 119
“floaters,” Jovian, 121–22
Folk, Robert, 57, 58
food chains, 7–8, 40
Forbes, Edward, 7
Forward, Robert L., 168n, 171–72, 173n, 175, 215
fossils, very small, 57
Foster, Alan Dean, 168n
Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution, 49
Freudenthal, Hans, 158
fungi, xiv, 15, 24, 25, 28, 117
Gaia hypothesis, 40, 73–74
Galápagos Islands, 6, 11n
Galileo spacecraft, 63, 100, 101, 119–20
“Game of Life,” 69, 209
“Garden of Forking Paths, The” (Borges), 206n
genetics, xi–xii, 2, 33, 35n, 67, 121
giant squid, ix
Goldilocks zones, see habitable zones
“Grandmother Spider,” ix
Greene, Brian, 184, 205
greenhouse effect, 62n, 115–16
Grinspoon, David, 107
Guam, 3
habitable (Goldilocks) zones, 63, 112, 148
of Solar System, 62, 96, 97, 148, 233n
of stars, 96, 156, 158, 201
for weird life, 96–98
Haldane, J. B. S., 38, 130
halophiles (salt lovers), xiv, 15, 22–23, 101, 231n
Hand, Kevin, 101
Harnik, Roni, 198–202, 215
Harrison, Edward, 197n–98n
Hart, Michael, 146–47
heavy metals, 23–24
Herschel, John, 134
Herschel, William, 104
inhabited Sun posited by, 133–34
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, The (Adams), 166
HiveMind, 214
Hooke, Robert, ix–x
Hooker, Joseph, 32
Hoover, Richard, 55–56
Horowitz, Norman, 67, 68, 75, 76, 79–81
Horowitz, Paul, 142
“hot Jupiters,” 110–11
hot springs, xiv, 52
seafloor, 5, 7–11
of Yellowstone, 12–14
House, David, 149n
Houtkooper, Joop, 81–82
Hoyle, Fred, 172–73, 173n, 175, 189, 215, 221, 239n
Hubble Space Telescope, 104
Huber, Julie, 1–3
Hudgins, Doug, 127–29
“hunters,” Jovian, 121–22
Hussmann, Hauke, 63
Huxley, Julian, xi–xii
Huxley, T. H., 66, 89
Huygens, Christian, 103–4, 219–20
Huygens lander, 104–7, 109
hydrogen, 107, 108, 119–24, 125, 134, 143, 200
hydrogen 2, 200
hydrogen bomb, recovery of, 6
hydrogen fluoride, 85
hydrogen peroxide, 79, 107
as medium for life, 81–82, 85–86, 97
hydrogen sulfide, 9
hydrothermal vent communities, xii, xiii, xiv, 3, 6–11, 20, 28, 32, 42, 48–50, 52, 63–64, 129, 230n
of Europa’s ocean, 100
sulfide chimneys of, 10–11, 14
upper temperature limits for, 49–50
hydroxyl, 143
Icarus, 73
If I Ran the Zoo (Dr. Seuss), vii–viii
intelligent design, 18, 197
Intelligent Life in the Universe (Shklovskii and Sagan), 156
interstellar chemistry, 124–29
interstellar dust, 125–26
interstellar medium, 125, 127–28
interstellar travel, 145–47
intraterrestrials, 27–28, 63, 81, 229n–30n
iron, 9, 10, 23–24, 51n, 60
Irwin, Louis, 118–19
Islam, Jamal, 130
Italian Space Agency, 104
Jaffe, Robert, 202–3, 215
Jannasch, Holger, 8–9
Jason remote operating vehicle, 2–3
Jenkins, Alejandro, 202–3, 215
Jupiter, 102, 110–11, 119–22, 133, 219
Galilean moons of, 63–64, 99–103, 109n
hydrogen-helium atmosphere of, 119–21
life on, 120–22, 217n, 220–21
magnetic field of, 101
Kajander, Olavi, 57, 58
kangaroo rat (Dipodomys merriami), 18
Kashefi, Kazem, 20
Keats, Jonathon, 162–63
Kelvin, William Thomson, Lord, 26
Kepler, Johannes, 103, 133
Kepler space observatory, 63, 112–13, 144, 219
Kimchi, Itamar, 202–3, 215
kingdoms, in new taxonomy, 15
Knorr research vessel, 5–9
kraken, ix
Kribs, Graham, 198–202, 215
Kuhn, Thomas, 12–13, 34, 129, 220
Kuiper belt objects, 167, 168n
languages, mathematics-based, 158–59
laser light pulses, 142, 144–45, 146
Laughlin, Fred, 134–36, 215
Le Guin, Ursula, 166
Lem, Stanislaw, 175–76
leptons, 187
Levin, Gilbert, 74, 75, 79, 80, 81, 82
Lewis, David, 206
life:
ambisexual, 166
chemical composition of, 50–51, 125
complex, relatively late appearance of, 140–41
energy source of, 84, 86, 95, 96, 113
extraterrestrial, see extraterrestrial life
first appearance of, 113, 141, 150
limits of, xii–xvii, 21–22, 31
liquid medium needed by, 84–86, 96–98
liquid water and, xiii, 16–19, 63–65, 85, 109, 114
multicellular, 113
need for second example of, 71
needs of, 83–88, 89, 95–98
nonlife vs., 65
probability of, 33, 34
reproductive process of, 87
second genesis of, 33, 35–38, 47, 52, 55
semipermeable barrier needed by, 87–88, 95
theory of, 71–75
trace elements in, 51n
at very cold temperatures, 93–94, 97–98
life, defining, xii–xiii, xvii, 47, 61–82, 83–84, 209–10, 215
by each biology specialty, 64–65
evolution as, 67–71, 83, 209
functions i
n, 65, 66, 67
materialist view in, 66
nonlife and, 65, 67–69
by philosophers, 65, 70, 71
theory of life needed for, 71–75; see also Viking spacecraft, life-detecting experiments of
vital force in, 66, 233n–34n
life, origin of, 26–31, 32–33, 35–37, 47, 123–24, 154
Darwin on, 28, 129, 231n–32n, 234n
extraterrestrial, 26–27, 33, 36–37, 129
“last common ancestor” and, xv, xviii, 28, 30–31, 33, 165n, 231n–32n
on Mars, 37
nonlife-to-life transition in, 47–48, 66
prebiotic molecules and, 28, 51–52, 55, 123–30
life detection experiments, 136–37
see also Viking spacecraft, life-detecting experiments of
life sciences departments, academic, 14
Lilly, John C., 161–62
Limits of Organic Life on Planetary Systems, The (National Research Council), xvii, 20–21, 22, 41, 49, 53, 64, 70, 106–7, 209, 219, 240n
Lindsay, David, 175
lipids, 88, 128
Lovelock, James, 40, 72–74, 78, 108–9
Lovley, Derek, 20
Lowell, Percival, 64n
LUCA (last universal common ancestor), 30–31, 165n
see also life, origin of
Lucian of Samosata, 133
Lunine, Jonathan, 113–14, 145, 147
MacElroy, R. D., 15, 16
machine-based life, 152–55
macromolecules, 88, 90, 95–96
magnesium sulfate, 101
Maher, Kevin, 36
Man and Dolphin (Lilly), 161
Manual of Systematic Bacteriology (Bergey), 40
Marcy, Geoff, 144
Margulis, Lynn, 40, 73–74, 234n
Mariner spacecraft, 77
Mars, xii–xiii, xvi, 16, 26
atmosphere of, 37, 45n, 61–62, 73, 75, 234n–35n
Chryse plain of, 78–79, 80, 99
Earth material traded with, xvii, 37
as extremophile habitat, 63–64
habitable zone position of, 62, 96, 97
landscape of, 78–79
life as originating on, 37
life on, 45, 63, 71, 72–82, 231n; see also Viking spacecraft, life-detecting experiments of
in science fiction, 64n, 89, 177
terraforming of, 64
water on, 61–62, 75, 81–82
Mars Science Laboratory mission, 45, 218–19
Martian meteorite ALH84001, 57
“Martian Odyssey, A” (Weinbaum), 173n–74n
Masada, excavation of, 25
Matter of Gravity, A (Clement), 174–75
Mayr, Ernst, 15, 217n
McConnell, Brian, 158–59
McKay, Chris, 107–9, 114–15
McKay, David, 37, 58
memes, 68, 234n
Mendel, Gregor, xi
metabolism, xii, xv, 10, 18, 25, 27, 30, 51, 60, 65n, 75, 86–87, 107, 118–19, 132, 171, 230n
meteorites, 33, 36–37, 57, 112
aromatic hydrocarbons in, 129
impacts of, 37, 101–2
methane, xv, 2, 21–22, 45n, 73, 90–91, 111, 145, 234n–35n
on Titan, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107–9, 110, 145
Methanosarcina barkeri, 35n
microbes, ix–x, 36–37, 72, 77, 102, 220
arsenic-tolerant, 53
in clouds, xiv, 117–18
culturing of, 41, 46, 48, 53, 56
hydrogen peroxide–using, 81–82
intraterrestrial, 27–28, 63, 81, 229n–30n
scientific ignorance about, 40–42
in seafloor crust, 1–3
symbiotic, 43–44
see also bacteria; extremophiles
microbial communities, 3, 22–24, 42–43
of Dead Sea, 22–23, 231n
diversity of, 43
of Rio Tinto, 23–24
see also hydrothermal vent communities
microbial ecology, 11–17
Micrographia (Hooke), x
microscopes, ix–x, xi, 23, 40–41, 76
electron, 57, 127–28
Miller, Stanley, 28
Minsky, Marvin, 152, 156
mirror chirality, 55–56
mitochondria, 43–44
molecular clouds, interstellar, 125–26, 127, 129, 132
Mono Lake, 52–54, 56
Moon, 76, 103
Moore, Gordon E., 149n
Moore’s law, 149
Morowitz, Harold, 119, 235n
Morrison, Philip, 138–39, 142, 147
multiverse, 179–217
of all possible universes, 206, 207–11
anthropic principle in, 191–92, 198–99, 204–11
branes in, 192–93
different physical laws in, 144n, 186, 187–95, 198–208
dimensionalities in, 192, 194, 195, 204, 207–8
inflationary model of, 191–95, 205, 206
life-allowing universes in, 186, 187–95, 197–208
“many-worlds” approach to, 185–86, 205, 206
metastable vacuum states of, 192–93
other-dimensional life in, 207–8
parallel universes in, 168, 179–80, 184
pocket universes in, 191, 192–94
probability distribution in, 194–95, 197–98
quantum mechanics in, 184–86
quantum states in, 182–83
relative time in, 204–5
simulated life in, 209–11
ultimate-ensemble theory of, 204–6
see also cosmology; universe
Mutch, Timothy, 78
Nagel, Thomas, 159–60, 238n
nanobacteria, 57, 58
nanoparticles, 58
NASA, xii–xiii, xvi, 44, 45, 53, 64, 71–82, 99–122
Ames Research Center of, 72, 75, 107, 123–29, 154
Astrobiology Institute of, 34, 54
Cassini spacecraft of, 102–10
Europa missions proposed by, 100–101
extremophile research funded by, 16
Galileo spacecraft of, 63, 100, 101, 119–20
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) of, 72–73, 101
Johnson Space Center of, 37
Kepler space observatory of, 63, 112–13, 144, 219
Long Duration Exposure Facility spacecraft of, 27
Mariner spacecraft of, 77
Mars Analog Research and Technology Experiment of, 231n
Mars Science Laboratory mission of, 45, 218–19
Office of Life Sciences of, 72
Titan missions proposed by, 109–10
Voyager spacecraft of, 72, 77, 80, 115–16, 121–22
see also Mars; Viking spacecraft, life-detecting experiments of
National Academy of Sciences, 71
National Institutes of Health (NIH), 58
National Science Foundation, 16
Native Americans, ix
Nature, xii, 138–39
Navy, U.S., 5, 6, 8
nebulae, 172–73
Neptune, 111–12, 167
Triton moon of, xvi, 63, 115–16
neutron stars, 134, 170–72, 216
New Scientist, 108, 171
nitrogen, 95n, 97, 115–16, 117, 118, 125, 145
Niven, Larry, 168n
Nozick, Robert, 206
NRC (National Research Council), xvii, 20–21, 22, 41, 43, 49, 53, 64, 70, 83, 84, 85n, 106–7, 209, 219, 240n
nuclear fusion, 134–35
nuclear radiation, 28
oceanography, 1–11, 17
research vessels of, 1–3, 5–11
seafloor mapping in, 5–6
ocean planets, 111–12
oceans, 1–11, 17, 74, 117, 119, 231n
bore samples from, 57
chemistry of, 2–3, 4–5
early formation of, 35
of Europa, 63, 100–101
food chain in, 7–8, 9–10
seafloor hot springs of
, 5, 7–11
species in, 39
octopi, eyes of, 46–47
OH (hydroxyl radical), 143
Oliver, Bernard, 143, 145
On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection (Darwin), xi, 43n, 233n–34n
Oremland, Ron, 53
organelles, 43–44
other-dimensional life, 207–8
oxygen, 7, 9, 23–24, 43–44, 51, 73, 79, 91, 95, 107, 125, 135, 230n
Oyama, Vance, 74–75, 79–81
ozone layer, 129
Pace, Norman, 53–54, 88, 92–93, 215–16, 219
Pacific Ocean, 6, 10
seamounts of, 2–3
PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), 127–28
panspermia, 26–27
Pasteur, Louis, 26
Pearman, J. Peter, 161
Pepys, Samuel, x
Perez, Gilad, 198–202, 215
pH levels, xiii–xiv, 4–5, 7, 16, 24, 50, 101
phosphorus, 51–54
photosynthesis, 9, 230n
phytoplankton, 7–8, 40, 230n
Piccard, Auguste, 8
Piccard, Jacques, 8
piezophiles (pressure lovers), 15
Pikuta, Elena, 56
pillow basalt, 7
Pirie, Norman W., 66
Planiverse, The (Dewdney), 208
plants, 9, 15, 25, 69, 166
algae, xiii, xiv, 23–24, 25, 64, 117
legendary, ix
phytoplankton, 7–8, 40, 230n
seeds and spores of, 25–27, 36–37
travelogue for, 162–63
plate tectonics, 4–11, 201–2
midocean ridges of, 9, 10–11, 14
seams of, 4, 5, 9, 11
Pluto, 63
Pohl, Frederick, 168n
polysilanes, 94–95
prebiotic molecules, 28, 51–52, 55, 123–30
pressure lovers (barophiles; piezophiles), 15
prokaryotes, 15–16, 230n
proteins, xiv, xv, 19–20, 24, 30, 35, 55, 85n, 86–87, 88, 214
Protista, 15
Pseudoryx, 39–40
psychrophiles, see cold lovers
Puget Sound, 20
pulsars, 170
Purcell, Edward, 146
pyrrolysine, 35n
quantum computing, 210
quantum physics, 168, 182–83, 184–86, 190–91, 192, 205
quarks, 187–88, 202–3, 205
quasars, 193–94
radioactivity, natural, 9, 27, 35, 43, 63
radiocarbon dating, 25
radiophiles, xiv, 15, 28
red dwarf stars, 111, 113–15, 147–48
Rees, Martin, 42
Reynolds, Emerson, 89
Rhea, 63
ribosomes, 15, 56–57, 86–87
Riftia pachyptila (tube worms), 11n
Rio Tinto, 23–24, 231n
RNA, 15, 56–57, 86
Robinson, Margaret, viii, 98, 206n
Rosny the Elder (Joseph Henri Boex), 176–77
Sagan, Carl, 73, 76–79, 80, 91, 156, 162, 215, 217n
Jovian life posited by, 120–22, 220–21
Lilly and, 162
“squamous purple ovoids” concept of, 76–78, 146–47