Jeremy Pallant

Agreed. The problem with xenobiology is that it is biased towards carbon based life forms. Did you read Robert L. Forward's Dragon's Egg? A fascinating "hard science" approach to alternate forms of life.

Answerer

Well, if life existed on Venus, those creatures are sure to be hostile. To be able to survive in such an hostile environment such as Venus, I tend to think that those creatures had evolved into highly dangerous beast or insect if there are really life there in the first place.

Doubting Didymus

You are overlooking the fact that, if life evolved on venus, it will have evolved to cope with the venusian conditions, so there is no guarantee that it will be something nasty.

Besides, what if it's not a carnivore?

Answerer

Well, with such a tough environment like Venus, I feel that those creatures had to stay very competitive in order to survive. And as all of us know, competitve nature usually brings out a nasty attitude out of a being. As for herbivore, most of them could be easily aroused to anger because of the fact that they used to defending themselves against predators. Anyway, I don't think there is life in Venus in the first place, even though, it will be wonderful for me if live in Venus do exist.

Valentine Pontifex

Try <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/news/812955.asp?0dm=C17MT&cp1=1" target="_blank">this one</a>.

Bad jokes have already started on this one.

This argument for life in this case is "we don't understand how it could happen without life therefore life." This is not a very strong argument. Until a much better case can be made, I really don't see much reason to get excited.

Doubting Didymus

Everything has to stay competitive in order to survive, but competitive does not mean 'nasty'.

Moths are extremely competitive, but not very frightening.

More to the point, you just can't predict evolution like that. It's totally unpredictable. About the most confident prediction I can muster is that, if it has directed movement, it will probably have a head. That's about the limits of evolutionary prediction.

For example, what if no predators ever evolved on venus? what if everything metabolises from volcanic vents, or the chemichals in the atmosphere, or photosynthesises? Nothing would even need to get a mouth!

Answerer

Well maybe you are right, but I'm still curious to the kind of creatures that could be evolved in Venus.

Jeremy Pallant

Odd. It still works for me.

Doubting Didymus

The best answer? Practically anything. Let your imagination run wild.

Jesse

Answerer:
Well, if life existed on Venus, those creatures are sure to be hostile. To be able to survive in such an hostile environment such as Venus, I tend to think that those creatures had evolved into highly dangerous beast or insect if there are really life there in the first place.

According to the article, no one is suggesting that life exists on Venus's surface. In fact the surface is so hot that it might be that no stable complex molecules could exist there, making life impossible (my understanding is that carbon and silicon are the only elements which form really complex molecules--it's possible that silicon-based life could exist at higher temperatures than carbon-based life, I'm not sure). In any case, what the article suggests is that life may exist in Venus' cooler upper atmosphere, presumably single-celled organisms rather than multicellular ones.