[TXnMA]

There is an ineresting recent article here on FR entitled, Ocean Hidden Inside Saturn's Moon " [Enceladus} with speculation that it might provide an environment suitable for life...

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That reminds me: I have been reading scientific reports about a planet on which life forms have been discovered, living in conditions that would be instantly fatal to most known earthly organisms:

• extreme pressures akin to those deep in the atmosphere of Jupiter

• high temperatures typical of the surface of Venus -- or inside the deadly chamber of a sterilizing autoclave

• a poisonous liquid "soup" environment -- with high concentrations of toxins like heavy metals and sulfides

• absolutely zero sunlight (photosynthesis is impossible)

• microbes that convert heat and sulfides (instead of sunlight) to energy

• several varieties of symbiotic, sessile larger organisms that derive their energy from the microbes.

The bottom line is that the environment would be instantly fatal to most terrestrial organisms -- even bacteria.

It is difficult to see how such a biome could have evolved from organisms with which we are familiar...

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(In case you still haven't recognized the planet and location, check here...)

'-}

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you for sharing your insights and thank you for the link, dear brother in Christ!

[betty boop]

That reminds me: I have been reading scientific reports about a planet on which life forms have been discovered, living in conditions that would be instantly fatal to most known earthly organisms.

Which leads to a curious question: How do we know these are life forms? Or the better question: What criterion was used to classify these entities as life forms in the first place? Especially since biology doesn't seem to know how to define "What is life?" At best, on the basis of what is now known, the most we are entitled to say (IMHO) is, maybe these are life forms; but we really don't know. Based on our experience of the earthly biosphere, they do not look like anything we would here describe as "living."

In short, its seems we need a precise definition of living organism before we can start classifying entities as such. At least if we're doing science.

Or is this a baseless quibble?

Thanks ever so much for writing, TXnMA!