Monday, June 22, 2009
Extremophiles
I have always found the existence of extremophiles immensely consoling. These are creatures that live in environments previously thought incapable of sustaining life. Their discovery, among other things, reignited speculation about the existence of extraterrestrial life because they broadened the range of conditions in which we could expect life to exist. Deinoccocus radiodurans, a bacterium able to survive radiation levels once thought to be destructive of all life, is the extremophile star. But now, Wired tells me, it radiation-resistance has been surpassed by Halobacterium NRC-1. Then there's desulforudis audaxviator which, basically, eats rocks and if, therefore, entirely independent of other organisms. It is the only known single species eco-system. What is consoling is, I suppose, the tenacity and creativity of life. But I also like the way they refute our anthropocentric conceptions. Living things don't have to be anything like us and staring hopelessly at the stars looking for 'earth-like' planets may be a nasty case of missing the point. If there is intelligent life out there it may be a rock-eater dwelling in a nuclear explosion and he might not even want to say hello.
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A blog about, among other things, imaginary ideas - What ifs? and Imagine thats. What if photographs looked nothing like what we see with our eyes? Imagine that the Berlin Wall had never come down. What if we were the punchline of an interminable joke? All contributions welcome.
yeah, I saw that star trek episode. consoling? not really. unless you like living on the edge.
ReplyDeleteso, whose god are we celebrating today? not the white beardy fella in our own image.
Living things don't have to be anything like us and staring hopelessly at the stars looking for 'earth-like' planets may be a nasty case of missing the point.
ReplyDeleteTrue, but if they aren't anything like us, what's the point in discovering them? If the only aliens we found were rock eating bacteria it would be a crushing disappointment and we'd have to keep on hopelessly looking.
pfft. Unless aliens are all hot pneumatic blondes with american accents and pointy silver bras I would say that the entire space programme is a catastrophic waste of time.
ReplyDeleteQuite right, Worm.
ReplyDeleteDid they really put a man on the moon?
Odd they've never done it again.
Extremophile: what an excellent word. Could be adapted to describe people who aren't fussed as to where they appear on the political spectrum, they just like being extreme. Peter Hitchens for example.
ReplyDeleteGetting them to the moon is relatively easy, it's getting them back that's tricky. Otherwise we'd be on Mars by now.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite bit was when they returned to the module and removed their helmets and could smell ash - was that the smell of the moon?! probably the smell of burnt moon soil from the rockets. it hangs around, no atmosphere. now it has an atmosphere comprising 100% man-made pollution.
Who, I wonder, is going to speak up for the extremophobes?
ReplyDeleteRemember, if one wants to be an academic or modern science writer, one needs to re-write that final sentence as follows:
ReplyDelete"If there is intelligent life out there it may be a rock-eater dwelling in a nuclear explosion and she might not even want to say hello."
I just finished an article in American Scientist containing a delightful quote from Albert Szent-Györgyi: "Life is nothing but an electron looking for a place to rest."
ReplyDeleteI wish to read it...
ReplyDelete