Proctors_Gambit

If bacteria or any actual life was found on another planet I'm assuming we would expect this life to be completely different than anything found on earth.

Obviously this would be due to the evolution of the life having been affected differently over time in terms of environment, mutation, necessity etc.

The question is...

If we found life on another planet that was exactly the same as life on ours, would it give credance to the concept of a creator?

-Gambit.

NearNihil Experience

"If bacteria or any actual life was found on another planet I'm assuming we would expect this life to be completely different than anything found on earth.

Obviously this would be due to the evolution of the life having been affected differently over time in terms of environment, mutation, necessity etc. "


I don't know for sure, but aren't the basic building blocks for life all the same? Can't say for sure since noone has ever found "other"life. Don't believe that movie "silicon based life form" stuff if you've ever heard it. Any silicon being would need immence amounts of Helium(?) or Oxygen(?) to breath and would exhale silicon dioxide, basically sand. But,specific conditions are necessary for propogation of life. Life doesn't necessarily have to develop on a planet either. Theoretically comets or asteroids could be space-germ bombs. Guess we won't really know anything til something comes along...probably a very long time from now.
I can't recommend Sagan and Asimov enough on these subjects of speculation.

"If we found life on another planet that was exactly the same as life on ours, would it give credance to the concept of a creator?"

exactly like ours? Just humans? similarity in develpoment would probably not convince anyone who wasn't already convinced about a Creator.
An entire same ecosystem (oceans and trees and animals etc)I don't think would edge too many unconvinced folks either.

And the Bible doesn't mention Aliens...or other planets...or electricity...or North America...or Nukes etc




Again Asimov.

later

lpetrich

An alternative hypothesis is seeding and engineering by visitors from some other planet. Or time travelers from our future or some other planet's future.

ps418

Or that life in the form of bacteria was transmitted from one planet to another via a meteorite or some such during the early heavy bombardment period.

Completely different? No. I'd expect living things anywhere in the universe to share some properties in common -- the properties that define life. Also, it may be that evolutin is bound to stumble upon certain biological solutions/optimums no matter where and how it starts out. But sure, you'd expect many differences as well.

Patrick

SULPHUR

I believe some carbonaceous meteorites have shown evidence of fossils thought to be bacteria.

SULPHUR

A good link is

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/pi/meteorites/life.html

AdamWho

I have always thought that there are just a few solutions to surviving in the universe, so all life would have some similar properties. Even macroscopic beings would have to have similar solutions, for instance, how many different ways can something move through water, move on land, or fly through the air? I would bet that symmetry in body types is universal.

beausoleil

The link didn't work for me. The fossils I remember hearing about years ago in carbonaceous chondrites turned out to be pollen, though there is an enantiomeric excess in amino acids in some of those meteorites.

I think the link might be ...

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lpi/meteorites/life.html

...but that's about the martian meteorite ALH84001.

Wounded King

I seem to remember someone found evidence of glycine in interstellar space.

Gooch's dad

Lots of amino acids have been found in the Murchison meteorite that fell on Australia in the 60's.

Grrrr.....I tried to post a Google cache URL but it doesn't post, since the URL contains tags in it too. Oh well.