Is there life elsewhere in the universe? It is the one question of many people’s mind regarding our existence that we are yet to solve. However, new studies conducted by Dirk Shulze-Makuch, a Washington State University astrobiologist, look to show what he thinks may be existing on other planets and moons by using our own planets evolution model.
Teaming up with William Bains, a biochemist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the pair demonstrated that wherever life originates, as long as it’s within a suitable environment and given enough time, its evolution will follow the same pattern as to the plants and animals on Earth.
As part of their research, the team first looked into they key evolutionary innovations that were the catalysts for the development of life on Earth as we know it today. This included examining the journey of evolution from that of a single celled life form to multicellular life, the process of photosynthesis, the rise of intelligent life forms and the evolution of macroscopic life. They then determined which of these occurred several times in different organisms and which were isolated occurrences. Shulze-Makuch and Bains soon discovered those that were most critical to evolution were those that occurred and were reinvented over and over, like that of photosynthesis where it has originated four different times throughout history.
Drawing up their conclusions to the studies, the team are confident that if life has been known to exist, in whatever form, and energy is still present, then the likelihood is that there will be an animal life of some form present. Conducting research into the possible existence of life on other planets in our universe is never an easy task, but every little piece of information we do uncover gets us one step closer to uncovering the big mysteries of the universe.
The Cosmic Zoo: Inevitability of the Evolution of Complex, Macroscopic Life / Article by William Bains
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