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Unconventional composition; Life dominated by unusual groups
Topic Started: Jun 5 2008, 12:35 PM (1,767 Views)
ItHasTeeth
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When ever people think of alien life, it's almost (almost) always an animal of one form or another (or a heap of rocks... or a crystal... or bad special effects). But what if the dominant group to drive a planet's environment aren't fauna per say... but something else. Some authors have speculated the idea of sentient unicellular life (though this I find hard), and (more common) is the idea of plants taking on animal-like roles.'

If these were/are possible, how would they work?
How could you end up from encrusting pond scum to a vegetable that can build vessels of transport between the stars? :blink:
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Saxophlutist
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Actually, non-analogous kingdoms are probably more realistic that what most people do. (Having an animal analogue, a plant analogue, a fungi analogue... etc.)
In reality having exact analogues is unlikely. In reality there will be kingdoms with different homologies and electron transfer methods and biologies than what we could come up with.
It's just easier to come up with animal analogues than to come up with original kingdoms and domains of life.
I've been making an attempt at a non-analogous kingdom myself for my own exobiology project.
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Livyatan


Everything Saxo says is true. It is very unlikely that other planets will develop analogues to Earth biology.
The grand Livyatan on deviantArt: link

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seadrinker
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Jun 7 2008, 04:32 PM
Everything Saxo says is true. It is very unlikely that other planets will develop analogues to Earth biology.
This is such a good point but one that is almost completely ignored in SF and Speculation! It kills me how many speculation creatures are just 'a rabbit with deer slapped on' to abuse the Rabbuck as an example. Sure, terrestrial creatures compete for certain niches, but the niche is formed by ecological interplay! *rant*

And aliens are worse! Bipedal homonid body shape? Not even common on Earth! The biological life expectation is a huge fallacy also. Its just as likely that any alien life we encounter would be incorporeal psychic chaos or incomprehensible fractal-based chemical reactions.

What I like about SF and spec is that they do more as sociological tools than as whatever else they're supposed to be.
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Saxophlutist
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I REALLY despise humanoid aliens very very much. (Also a major reason the existence of Greys is highly doubtful)
It's a long shot for just the terran vertebrae to evolve, much less the exact same body plan Primates happen to use. [/rant]
It's hard to really imagine other types of life from organic, having no knowledge of any other mediums which will respond in life-like manners, so I ten to stay with organic life.
There's a chance though that we made be able to find a possible non-organic medium for life in the nearby universe: http://astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2434

Also, another idea for a non-classical medium for life would be AI. If we were to, say, create an intelligent machine with the ability to reproduce itself, we could then, leave it alone on a planet with lots of resources it could use to reproduce. (Say, another iron-nickel planet like Earth or Mars.) After millions of years, it should be able to evolve itself in theory.
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Livyatan


seadrinker
Jul 15 2008, 08:09 PM
Paleognath
Jun 7 2008, 04:32 PM
Everything Saxo says is true. It is very unlikely that other planets will develop analogues to Earth biology.
This is such a good point but one that is almost completely ignored in SF and Speculation! It kills me how many speculation creatures are just 'a rabbit with deer slapped on' to abuse the Rabbuck as an example. Sure, terrestrial creatures compete for certain niches, but the niche is formed by ecological interplay! *rant*
But with future Terran species having analogues is justified because convergent evolution on Earth seems almost patterned in its randomness, as in different species come to a similar plan because it is the most efficient as far as the planet.
The grand Livyatan on deviantArt: link

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ChumZar
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Saxophlutist
Jul 15 2008, 08:31 PM
I REALLY despise humanoid aliens very very much.
Well, supposing 4 legs were to develop on a planet, bipedal organisms would use less energy, so they would be evolutionary superior. That's one of the major factors that led to human intelligence.

But yes, humanoid aliens are very unlikely, one of the reasons I hate star trek, and am annoyed by star wars (also, star wars only uses kingdoms and phylum found on earth)
Edited by ChumZar, Jul 17 2008, 06:14 PM.
"Hard-wired to conceive so much we had to stow it. Even needs have needs; tiny giants made of tinier giants. Don't wear eyelids so we don't miss the last laugh of this show."
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Saxophlutist
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Yes, bipedalism could evolve, but the biologies would still be very different. There are also a lot of homologies also that wouldn't be the same.
There are many traits that helped create contribute to the humanoid body that are unlikely to occur anywhere else. An example would include the infamous tetrapod respiratory-digestive conjunction. There are many developmental things that could also contribute to the humanoid bauplan.
Also, it is good to remember the reality of the possibility that, while these organisms will share the same niche as metazoa, they are by definition not animals as we know them. They may have different needs for organ arrangement due to their own unique biologies.
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CarrionTrooper
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What about space-born spacefaring aliens that don't develop under any sense of gravity? I wonder if they evolve a radiation-eating outer membrane... Giant gobs of ooze or just bacterial fuzz? Those who live untethered.
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Saxophlutist
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Abiogenesis on deviantart has some concepts for organisms in microgravity, I'll pull up a link later.
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Ànraich
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Saxophlutist
Jul 15 2008, 08:31 PM
I REALLY despise humanoid aliens very very much. (Also a major reason the existence of Greys is highly doubtful)
It's a long shot for just the terran vertebrae to evolve, much less the exact same body plan Primates happen to use. [/rant]
It's hard to really imagine other types of life from organic, having no knowledge of any other mediums which will respond in life-like manners, so I ten to stay with organic life.
There's a chance though that we made be able to find a possible non-organic medium for life in the nearby universe: http://astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2434

Also, another idea for a non-classical medium for life would be AI. If we were to, say, create an intelligent machine with the ability to reproduce itself, we could then, leave it alone on a planet with lots of resources it could use to reproduce. (Say, another iron-nickel planet like Earth or Mars.) After millions of years, it should be able to evolve itself in theory.
You've made the entire Zoasapien race sad...They might have a bipedial body shape, but it's nothing like a human at all...
We should all aspire to die surrounded by our dearest friends. Just like Julius Caesar.

"The Lord Universe said: 'The same fate I have given to all things from stones to stars, that one day they shall become naught but memories aloft upon the winds of time. From dust all was born, and to dust all shall return.' He then looked upon His greatest creation, life, and pitied them, for unlike stars and stones they would soon learn of this fate and despair in the futility of their own existence. And so the Lord Universe decided to give life two gifts to save them from this despair. The first of these gifts was the soul, that life might more readily accept their fate, and the second was fear, that they might in time learn to avoid it altogether." - Excerpt from a Chanagwan creation myth, Legends and Folklore of the Planet Ghar, collected and published by Yieju Bai'an, explorer from the Celestial Commonwealth of Qonming

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Saxophlutist
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Sorry Zoasapiens! Don't worry, they aren't exactly what I was speaking of. I mostly mean aliens with the exact same organ placement and homologies as tetrapods. *CoughStarWarsCough*

EDIT: Here is the link for a concept of microgravity life. --> http://abiogenisis.deviantart.com/art/The-Shadow-of-the-Sun-58459821
Edited by Saxophlutist, Jul 26 2008, 08:59 PM.
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PousazPower
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In an environment with that little gravity, I'd think it would be more advantageous for multicellular life to form more diffuse cloudlike agglomerations.
Was your nose discovered or invented?

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Livyatan


Eh, I'm not totally sure about this. Is it not possible for life to develop on land first and then take advantage of the low gravity through flight? I think Abiogenisis's designs also have the advantage of better structure.
The grand Livyatan on deviantArt: link

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Actually, the sentient-plant idea was done here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supox
http://wiki.uqm.stack.nl/Supox

It's interesting to note that the sentient plants recognize that their existence is unexplainable, and therefore posit divine creation.
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