| Speculative biology is simultaneously a science and form of art in which one speculates on the possibilities of life and evolution. What could the world look like if dinosaurs had never gone extinct? What could alien lifeforms look like? What kinds of plants and animals might exist in the far future? These questions and more are tackled by speculative biologists, and the Speculative Evolution welcomes all relevant ideas, inquiries, and world-building projects alike. With a member base comprising users from across the world, our community is the largest and longest-running place of gathering for speculative biologists on the web. While unregistered users are able to browse the forum on a basic level, registering an account provides additional forum access not visible to guests as well as the ability to join in discussions and contribute yourself! Registration is free and instantaneous. Join our community today! |
- Pages:
- 1
- 2
| The relationship between biology and geology; A speculative interpretation | |
|---|---|
| Topic Started: Aug 23 2017, 03:04 AM (645 Views) | |
| Greta | Aug 24 2017, 12:15 AM Post #16 |
|
Zygote
![]()
|
Prions (such as Mad Cow Disease) are classed similarly to viruses - in the grey area (personally I'd add stars and planets to the grey area but that's a digression). If the building blocks of life such as DNA or proteins are not utilised by life forms, then they themselves can become competitors or obstacles for life. A similar question might also be asked about computer viruses. Fundamentally what we seem to have is a natural dynamic, ie. agents that spread out, converting other entities into itself/themselves. This dynamic seems to apply all the way from geological breakdown to viruses and prions to moulds, ant colonies and human colonies etc etc. If humans can survive and progress for another few thousand years, perhaps the principle may apply to the Earth itself as its products exert ever more influence on the planet's local environment? Storms also have some lifelike qualities. You and others may already be familiar with an excellent lecture by Eric Smith called "Inevitable Life?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElMqwgkXguw. If not, you will surely love it :) I like to think of the Earth as metamorphsing. It's been through a long "grub period" where the focus was mainly on consumption and growth. Now, towards the end of its life (the Sun), the Earth is in practice moving into a reproductive phase via human space programs. Failing catastrophe, the Earth will be sending ever more packets of its material, along with instructions on how to put it together (printable digitally stored DNA sequences and AI), to other worlds to propagate. It is likely that, if bioforming a planet, AI would need the appropriate viruses. Further, if there is independent evolution of AI/Cyborgs themselves, as many experts see as likely, then there's a question of how they would deal with computer viruses. That is odd about the AAV because if its products are largely non reactive with the host, then what's the point? Maybe they are like musical instrument collectors who just need a place to store their stuff but don't play them? :) Thanks for the informative table. In short, it looks like that viruses can at least help other entities by facilitating reproduction, protecting against pathogens and playing a role in the development of some body parts. Edited by Greta, Aug 24 2017, 12:18 AM.
|
![]() |
|
| kusanagi | Aug 24 2017, 12:27 PM Post #17 |
|
Adolescent
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
It should be no surprise there is no real distinction between life and non-life, merely clade Biota to which alien cellular life could not belong (except from a panspermic origin). Virii at the threshold of life might reside within biota, in which case arguably nonliving things can be within Biota. |
![]() |
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| « Previous Topic · General Spec · Next Topic » |
- Pages:
- 1
- 2






7:50 PM Jul 10