Life – but not as we know it – space – 06 June 2007 – New Scientist.
The Limits of Organic Life in Planetary Systems
These two, a “New Scientist” article and a short National Academies Press book, contain some of the more interesting concepts to hit astrobiology in a very long time. They discuss, in understandably limited terms, the limits of what Life might be like without the usual requirements of water, oxygen and even organic compounds – for example, gas-phase enzyme activity, life-in-sulfuric-acid, life using methylforamide, life in super-critical CO2 and life based on silicon in cryogenic conditions.
Let’s step back a bit. A certain Ph.D in Chemistry, one I. Asimov, also had a modest career as an SF writer. A short essay by him appeared in a SETI related magazine, in which he discusses possibilities for life-as-we-don’t-know-it…
…to which we can add some more possibilities now.
All this speculation, about which I will elaborate later, does make the Fermi Paradox seem a tad lame.