David S Stevenson The Nature of Life and Its Potential to Survive Astronomers’ Universe More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/6960 David S. Stevenson The Nature of Life and Its Potential to Survive David S. Stevenson Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, UK ISSN 1614-659X ISSN 2197-6651 (electronic) Astronomers’ Universe ISBN 978-3-319-52910-3 ISBN 978-3-319-52911-0 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-52911-0 Library of Congress Control Number: 2017932377 © Springer International Publishing AG 2017 This work is subject to copyright All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations Printed on acid-free paper This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland This book is for my wonderful wife, Nikki, without whom this work would not have been possible Her encouragement and ideas have kept the development of this book in motion and made me consider possibilities that would not have otherwise come to mind I am a very lucky man Preface Why is life so tenacious? After all, we find it in virtually every environment Earth can provide Life occupies every niche within each broad canvas of rainforest, clinging to the sides of branches high in the canopy; or lurking under the frozen topsoil of Antarctica’s dry valleys Life is found in acidic hot springs and alkaline Rift Valley lakes Life seems boundless This book explores the nature of life on Earth and questions whether we can extrapolate its terrestrial characteristics to life elsewhere in the universe Here, we assume life is universal, but is this a valid proposition? Is Earth somehow unique in the cosmos— and from our anthropomorphic viewpoint—is intelligent life so incredibly improbable that Fermi’s paradox may be addressed with an affirmative, “Yes, we are alone”? In The Nature and Potential of Life, we attempt to apply what we know about terrestrial life and extraterrestrial chemistry to extrapolate biology to other worlds, both those we know and those we imagine Although there must by definition be speculation, these idlings of the mind are underpinned with solid chemistry and physics By the end of this book, we aim to demonstrate that not only is extraterrestrial life a certainty in the universe but that intelligent life will, by necessity, arise on particular planets We conclude our adventure with an exploration of the planets we have already encountered and those we only imagine at present Within this fold come the tidally locked worlds of the red dwarfs; these are likely to be the most numerous habitable worlds in the cosmos The question we consider is whether such worlds, habitable for a broad range of living things, will ever host complex life, and life that may, like ours, ponder its own existence Moreover, can life survive the rigors of its environment? Can the universe ever sterilize a planet with a single asteroid strike or a nearby supernova? As we set about terraforming our world into something vii viii Preface a lot less habitable than nature intended, will there ever come a moment when humanity brings about its own extinction? The Nature and Potential of Life considers biology in all its complexity, but by grounding it within a solid chemical and physical framework we describe and develop a rigorous set of tools we can use as we probe ever deeper into the cosmos The book is by definition multidisciplinary in nature, but irrespective of your background, whether scientist, layman, or student, you will find something about life that you may not have considered before Enjoy Nottingham, UK David S. Stevenson Contents What Is Life? Introduction Beyond the Six Kingdoms How Do Our Genes Work? The Shifting Landscape of Our Genes Genes on the Move 11 The CRISPy Side of Evolution 21 How MRS GREN Became MRS GREEN 22 The Deep Biosphere 25 Life, the Universe and Maybe Everything 29 Conclusions 31 References 32 Life’s Grand Themes 35 Introduction 35 The Replication and Transmission of Information 35 The Persistence of Cells 38 Photosynthesis and the Oxygen Revolution 52 Of Peroxides and Perchlorates 59 Sex and Sexuality 62 From Unicellular to Multicellular Life 66 Sensation 68 Neurons, Brains and Integration 70 Are There Reasonable Alternatives to Multicellular Central Nervous Systems? 78 In Silico: The Future of Intelligence Everywhere? 81 The Idea of an Intelligence Window 84 A Few Final Scenarios 90 Conclusions 92 References 95 ix x Contents The Origin of Life on Earth 97 Introduction 97 The Dark, Young Earth 97 What Do Astrochemists Know About Life? 104 Southern Fried Chickens and Poached Eggs 115 Before the RNA World 120 The Rise of Modern Genetics from Molecular Goo 126 How Might Life on Earth Compare to Its Rise Elsewhere? 138 The Emergence of Photosynthesis 141 Conclusions 151 References 153 Life as the Evolution of Information 157 Introduction 157 The Entropy Illusion 157 The Lady’s Not for Turning—Why Evolution Never Goes Backwards 165 Hypermutation 169 Redundancy and Degeneracy: The Lifeblood of Evolution 171 The Genetic Code 173 Hox Genes 174 Gene Networks and Genetic Learning 177 Redundancy, Entropy and the Major Transitions in Evolution 182 Epigenetics: Add a Dash of Lamarckian Unpredictability 184 Conclusions 188 References 190 Life Jim, But Not as We Know It 193 Introduction 193 A Recap 193 Using the Deep Biosphere as a Guide to Alien Life 195 Signs of Life 200 Life Under a Crimson Sun 202 Insurmountable Problems? 202 The Rhythm of Life 208 Contents xi The Color of Spring 210 ET - From the Familiar to the Sublime 214 Sub-glacial Life 214 Living Rocks 217 The Blob 218 Dustballs, Tumbleweeds and Self-assembling Organisms 219 Planet-Wide Microbial Consciousness 220 In Silico Life: A Reprise 221 Can a Star Be Alive? 222 Nebular Life? 224 Life on Nearby Shores 226 The Signatures of Life 229 Metabolism 229 The Great Pump 230 Biological Impact on Planetary Atmospheres 231 Conclusions 233 References 233 6 Extinction 237 Introduction 237 Humans as Mass Killers 237 The Five Major Extinctions 241 The Ordovician Extinctions 244 The Devonian Event 248 The Great Dying 251 The Fall of Pangaea and the Rise of the Dinosaurs 256 The Rise of Mammals 257 Take-Home Messages from the Mass Extinctions 260 Can Life Be Defeated? 267 Conclusions 269 References 270 Agents of Mass Destruction 273 Introduction 273 Our Own Worst Enemy 274 Global Warming 275 Nuclear War 279 Overpopulation 286 Pestilence 292 442 The Nature of Life and Its Potential to Survive Macroevolutionary speciation rates are decoupled from the evolution of intrinsic reproductive isolation in Drosophila and birds (2013) Daniel L. Rabosky and Daniel R. Matute PNAS, 110 (38), 15354– 15359; available at: www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1305529110 Hochner B, Shomrat T, Fiorito G (2006) The Octopus: A Model for a Comparative Analysis of the Evolution of Learning and Memory Mechanisms Biol Bull 210: 308-317 Sergey V. Buldyrev, Roni Parshani, Gerald Paul, H. Eugene Stanley & Shlomo Havlin Catastrophic cascade of failures in interdependent networks. Nature 464, 1025-1028 On the decrease in entropy in a thermodynamic system by the intervention of intelligent beings (1929) Leó Szilárd Available at: http:// www.sns.ias.edu/~tlusty/courses/InfoInBio/Papers/Szilard1929.pdf An actin-based cytoskeleton in archaea (2011) Ettema TJ, Lindås AC, Bernander R, Molecular Microbiology; 80(4):1052–61 doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2011.07635.x Epub 2011 Apr Asgard archaea illuminate the origin of eukaryotic cellular complexity (2017) Zaremba-Niedzwiedzka K, Caceres EF, Saw JH, Bäckström D, Juzokaite L, Vancaester E, Seitz KW, Anantharaman K, Starnawski P, Kjeldsen KU, Stott MB, Nunoura T, Banfield JF, Schramm A, Baker BJ, Spang A, Ettema TJ Nature, 541 (7637), 353–358 doi: 10.1038/ nature21031 Epub 2017 Glossary Abiotic Without life This is most commonly used in the context of factors that influence the distribution and abundance of organisms Aerobic With, or in the presence of, oxygen Aerobic respiration is a series of chemical reactions that culminate with the reduction of oxygen to water Allele A version or form of a gene The classic example concerns eye color, with brown and blue alleles contributing to the final color of human eyes Amasia A proposed supercontinent that may be formed through the closure of the Arctic Ocean basin some 200–300 million years from now Anaerobic The opposite of aerobic, meaning an absence of oxygen There are many different kinds of anaerobic respiration, including some ending with ethanol, lactic acid, or with the reduction of nitrate Anoxic An environment lacking oxygen Aqua-planet A planet where all or most of the surface is covered by oceans, a waterworld Archaean A period in Earth’s history extending from the end of the Hadean at 4.0 billion years ago to the beginning of the Proterozoic at 2.5 billion years ago ATP Synthase A wonderful biological machine that spins around as it combines ADP and inorganic phosphate to make the cellular energy molecule ATP Biotic The complement to abiotic This term usually is used to describe the biological factors, such as competition between organisms, that affect their distribution and abundance © Springer International Publishing AG 2017 D.S Stevenson, The Nature of Life and Its Potential to Survive, Astronomers’ Universe, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-52911-0 443 444 Glossary Cambrian (era) The geological era extending from 485.4 to 541 million years ago, in which complex multicellular life underwent its greatest radiation Columbia A proposed supercontinent that formed between 1.3 and 1.8 billion years ago The collisions that formed it happened in its first 100 million years, but the continent continued to grow outwards until it dispersed 500 million years later Deinococcus radiodurans The planet’s most hardy organism, able to withstand lethal doses of radiation, desiccation, and other environmental shocks Ediacaran (era) A short geological period, spanning the gap between the end of the Proterozoic, 635 million years ago, and the beginning of the Cambrian In this era many unusual forms of multicellular animal life arose only to become extinct at the beginning of the Cambrian Electrochemical gradient A chemical gradient found across a partially permeable layer, or membrane Biological systems use such gradients to store energy in much the same manner as a battery, or chemical cell The two most common biological gradients involve sodium or hydrogen ions Electron transport chain A series of chemical carrier molecules and metal-containing complexes that escort electrons from biological molecules (usually small organic acids) to an electron acceptor The acceptors include oxygen, nitrate, sulfate, or ferric iron In doing so, electron transport is used to generate a chemical gradient across the cell membrane Entropy A measure of the number of microstates particles can occupy In its classic, thermodynamic, form entropy relates this to temperature Epigenetics Loosely defined as hereditable changes in gene expression, this is a collection of interconnected mechanisms that serve to regulate the functioning of genes in different organisms These processes are ancient, and in some cases they deliver modifications in gene activity that are inheritable Euxinic An anaerobic or anoxic environment that is also rich in hydrogen sulfide Glossary 445 Evolution Loosely described as an increase in the complexity of organisms over geological time, this word is generally applied to any system where the information contained by it increases in complexity Gene The functional unit of inheritance, these are sections of genetic material that code for one or sometimes more hereditable traits Genotype The total genetic content of an organism Gondwanaland One-half of the latter continent Pangaea and a survivor of the earlier Pannotia supercontinent This large block of continental crust included South America, Africa, India, Antarctica, and Australia, as well as a host of smaller blocks that welded onto Eurasia during the Mesozoic era Greenhouse gas Any gas that absorbs infrared radiation and delays its subsequent release to the vacuum of space through internal vibrations and other chemical machinations Hadean The geological period describing the first 550 million years of Earth history Heterozygous In organisms with two copies of their genome (one from each parent), a heterozygous state is where there are two different alleles of a gene Homozygous In organisms with two copies of their genome (one from each parent), both alleles are identical (or have identical effects on the organisms phenotype) Hox gene(s) A family of genes that determine the broad physical patterning of animals from insects to humans Hydrogen sulfide A noxious gas (to us) that consists of two hydrogen atoms, linked to one sulfur by covalent chemical bonds Kenorland (supercontinent) A proposed supercontinent, which existed from 2.7 to 2.45 billion years ago Its internal composition and size are controversial Locus (of gene) The location of a genetic trait (effectively a gene or family of genes) on a chromosome 446 Glossary Meiosis The complex process of cell division that gives rise to gametes (sex cells), where sections of maternal and paternal DNA are swapped around, either as chunks of chromosome or as whole chromosomes during cell division Mitosis The process of cell division in eukaryotes where DNA is duplicated then one copy is partitioned to each daughter cell Mycorrhiza The fascinating and as yet poorly understood collection of soil microbes that comprise a dense and critical network linking plant roots These microbes—mostly fungi—help in the acquisition of nutrients and in communication between neighboring plants Natural selection (Lamarck) The process through which changes in the environment direct changes in organisms, which are then passed on between generations This largely discredited idea has found a little favor in recent years where some organisms appear to be able to transmit environmental information across generational divides Natural selection (Darwin, Wallace) The process by which differences in organisms are selected by environmental changes This may lead to their extinction, survival, or prosperity depending on the mutation, or other genetic difference, that underpins the variation Although Lamarckian evolution has little to offer directly, Darwinian process is strongly supported by a myriad of different observations and can be recreated in the laboratory Niche The location in an environment where an organism lives but also has unique abiotic and biotic characteristics Oxidation The chemical process involving the loss of electrons (antonym—reduction) Pangaea (supercontinent) The classic supercontinent in everyone’s imagination that formed around 300 million years ago and slowly dispersed after 200 million years Pannotia (supercontinent) A short-lived supercontinent primarily consisting of Gondwanaland and pieces of what would become Eurasia This continent formed when Rodinia turned itself inside out Glossary 447 Perchlorate A chemical consisting of chlorine surrounded by four oxygen atoms This strong oxidizing agent forms when ultraviolet light acts on chloride salts in an oxidizing environment, such as the Atacama Desert or the surface of Mars Peroxide A potent oxidizing agent consisting of two oxygen atoms linked by a single bond and tied to another atom, such as hydrogen Frequently employed in the fashion industry Photosynthesis The biological processes that use light energy to combine carbon dioxide with hydrogen to produce biomolecules such as glucose Polymerase Any enzyme that builds up DNA or RNA (nucleotide polymers) from their building blocks (nucleotide monomers) Porphyrin A complex nitrogen-containing organic molecule that traps (chelates) a metal ion and exploits its ability to gain or lose electrons Hemoglobin contains a ferrous iron ion, vitamin B12, a cobalt ion, and chlorophyll, a magnesium ion Promoter (gene) The portion of a gene, usually near its start, that tells the enzyme RNA polymerase where to begin reading the genetic code of the gene Proterozoic (era) The long geological period from 635 million to 2.5 billion years ago Recombination The process through which segments of genetic material are swapped around to produce new combinations Red dwarf A low mass star shining with less than one hundredth the luminosity of our Sun, a red color, and a mass less than 60% that of our star Reduction The chemical process through which chemicals gain electrons (the antonym of oxidation) Respiration Chemical processes that operate in all living things that release usable chemical energy from other molecules, such as glucose These reactions may or may not involve molecular oxygen Ribosome The cellular machine, consisting of RNA and a protein, that orchestrates the interpretation of the genetic code and the assembly of proteins 448 Glossary Tardigrade A lovable and utterly resilient standard bearer for terrestrial life This little animal is ubiquitous across the surface of the planet and can withstand conditions that would be utterly lethal to most other organisms Terminal electron acceptor A compound or other substance that accepts electrons from a chemical substance used in the respiration of an organism In the process, this substance becomes chemically reduced Terminator (gene) The portion of a gene that tells RNA polymerase where to stop reading the genetic code in a gene Terminator (celestial body) The divide between day and night, lit and unlit, hemispheres on a planet or satellite Tidal locking The process through which a planet’s rotation is slowed until it completes one full rotation for every rotation around its parent star (or, if it is a natural satellite, the planet it orbits) In some instances both objects can tidally lock to one another so that they both always show the same face to their partner (such as Pluto-Charon) Transposon A piece of DNA that can move between locations on a chromosome Virus A mobile piece of genetic information wrapped in a protein (and sometimes lipid) envelope These occupy the divide between the living and nonliving, displaying some, but not all, of life’s characteristics Index A Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans, 26 Adenosine triphosphate (ATP), 6, 49, 50 Aerobic respiration, 44, 60 Airbursts, 321 Alien life, 195–200 ALMA See Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) Alpha centauri, 82, 308 Amino acids, 138 Amphibole, Anaerobic sulphate-reducing bacteria, 42, 43 Andromeda collide, 316 “Andromeda strain”-like event, 141 Anthropocene, 238 Antibiotics farm animals, growth of, 13 genes functions, 13 life-threatening infections, 13 mobile pieces of DNA, 13 resistance genes, 14 Apollo microbes, 363 Aqua-planet, 420 Arabidopsis plants, 10 Archaea, Archaean, 263 Asteroid, 317, 318, 322 Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), 105 Atmosphere, 238, 250, 266 Atmospheric heating and erosion, 423 ATP See Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) B Bacillus subtilis, 77 Bacterial consumption, 389 Bacterial viruses, 15 Bacterial wires, 47 Baryons, 326 Battle of the Planets, 219 “Battlestar Galactica”, 378 Beta globin gene family, 11 Binary systems, 373 Black holes, 305, 306, 308, 325, 327 Black swans, 274 The Blob, 218–219 Blood cells megakaryocyte, types, B-lymphocytes, 170 Brown planet, 349 C Cambrian explosion, 240, 269, 414 Carbon dioxide, 345, 369 Carbonate ions, 27 Carbonate rocks, 370 Carbonate-silicate cycle, 87 Carboniferous period, 242 Cardiff Centre for Astrobiology, 352 Cas9 Repetitive Interspersed Sequence Resistance (CRISPR) description, 21 RNA copies, 21 RNA interference and, 20, 22 Castel Bravo nuclear test, 317 CCAUGG sequence, 132 Cells persistence biological systems, 38 glycolysis process, 39, 40 respiration, 39 valuable minerals, 38 Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP), 257, 265 Cephalopod invertebrates, 78 Chelyabinsk meteor, 322 Chemical energy, 374 Chemical NAD, 51 Chemosynthesis process, 56, 57 Chicxulub-Deccan-driven mass extinction, 268 Chromatographers, 226 Claude Shannon’s principle, 405 © Springer International Publishing AG 2017 D.S Stevenson, The Nature of Life and Its Potential to Survive, Astronomers’ Universe, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-52911-0 449 450 Index Coded protein-based enzymes, 136 Coded proteins, 133 “Cold-blooded” (poikilothermic) vertebrates, 75 Collapsar model, 313, 314 Collapsing economies, 296–298 Color of Spring, 210–214 Complex organisms, 94 Complex tissues formation, 85 Constant jiggling motion, 367 Copious seafloor volcanism, 103 Cosmic collisions asteroids, 317, 318, 322 bolides, 320 Chelyabinsk meteor, 322 city-killer scale, 321 comets, 316 greenhouse gases, 322 humanity, 319 cosmological materials, 390 C3 photosynthesis, 348 “Cricket Graph” data program, 73 CRISPR See Cas9 Repetitive Interspersed Sequence Resistance (CRISPR) Cyanobacteria, 387, 389 Cyclic photosynthesis, 143 Cytochromes, 47 D Dark oligotrophic volcanic ecosystems, 199 Deep-sea hydrothermal vents, 227 Deinococcus radiodurans, 359, 362 Desulfobulbaceae bacteria, 47, 48, 76 Devonian event amphibians, evolution of, 248 land plants, 248, 249 marine transgressions, 249 protein poor diets, 251 shrinking effect, 250 warm-water species, 250 DNA and RNA molecules carbon atoms, 36 in interstellar space, 35 non-identical, 36 protein machine, 36 replication, 36, 37 three-dimensional structures, 36 DNA genome, 359 Doomsdayers, 324 Double-stranded RNA regions, 20 Dowry-based marriage systems, 288 Dwarf stars/rogue planets humanity, 309, 310 Oort Cloud, 308, 312 red dwarfs, 309, 310 tidal interactions, 311 E Earth acquire energy, 194 Earth, origin of life absorption spectra, 101 aerobic E coli, 122 ALMA, 105 amino acids, 106 ammonia, 108 bombardment timing, 114 carbon isotopes, 114 carbon monoxide, 108 cells, odd materials, 111, 113 chemical bonds, 100 citrate-metabolizing strains, 122 clouds, role of, 102 cofactors, vitamins, 118 comets and asteroids, 98, 111 continued natural selection, 111 cyanate, 121 double-helix (duplex), 125 early solar system development, 110 energy-liberating reactions, 111 eons subduction, 102 family of chemicals, 104 folding process, 125 fossil raindrop impact, 102 gas chromatography, 109 GMCs, 107 H3+, CO and NH3, 106, 107 high temperatures, 99 hydrothermal vents/tidal pools, 121 inorganic materials, 111, 112 intermittent impacts, 104 iron sulfide minerals, 118 liquid water, 110 multicellularity process, 123 The Murchison meteorite, 106 nitrogen and ammonia gas, 100 nucleobases, 118 peptide-nucleic acid (PNA), 124 planetesimals and asteroids, 101 poison hydrogen cyanide, 106, 108 polymerase enzyme, 117 protein manufacture, 115 purines and pyrimidines, 125 radiation, 110 redundancy, 122 Index replication and mutation, 123 ribose, central molecule, 109 RNA, multi-functional tool, 115 RNA validation, 118 secular cooling, 97 self-sufficiency, 111 simple organic acids, 104 small organic acids, 112, 120, 129, 131, 134 solar system's infancy, 104 subduction forms, 99 sulfurous gases, 100 terrestrial atmospheric pressure, 98 terrestrial biology, 105 tidal forces, 98 trihydrogen cation, 106 ultraviolet radiation, 121 vitamins, 116 volatile elements and compounds, 98 volcanic springs and vents, 120 volcanism, 103 zircons, 113 Earth’s orbit, 344 Earthfall, 329 EBV See Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) E.coli bacterium, 16 Ediacaran period, 243 Education and behavior management, 429 Electrically-conducting fibres, 45, 48 Electron transport process, 49 Enceladus, 226 Energy generation mechanism, 42 Entropy, 264, 394 “available states”, 167 amino acid, 159 biologists grapple, 161, 188 boiling water in kettle, 159 chemical reactions, 159 clustering of particles, 189 coffee cup analogy, 158, 163 conventional relationship with energy and temperature, 162 DNA sequences, 166 epigenetics, 184–188 eukaryotes, 168 evolutionary tree of life, 168 gene networks and genetic learning, 177–181 genetic code, 173–174 habitation, 161 Hox genes, 174–177 hypermutation, 169–171 level of DNA, 167 life and non-life, 164 particle “microstates”, 160 451 redundancy and degeneracy, 171–181 redundancy and transitions, 182–184 re-examine evolution, 189 replication, 164 respiration, 163 Shannon entropy, 188 single-celled organism yeast, 189 speculation, 190 in society, 157 thermodynamics, 157, 158 triplet codes, 165 water droplets, 160 water molecules, 160 Environmental complexity, 398 Enzyme reverse transcriptase, 137 Enzymes, protein machines, 93 Eocene hyperthermals, 266, 275, 277 Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), 18 Error-prone system, DNA and RNA, 24 ESA JUICE mission, 228 Eukaryote cells, 5, 19, 168, 173, 175, 185, 393 Eukaryote DNA, Eukaryote’s flexible membrane, 414 Europa/Enceladus, 139 Eutrophication events, 350 Evolution of language, 74 Evolutionary pathways, 25 Exogenic electron transport, 46 Exo-Weather Report, 353, 354 Extreme Explosions, 246 Extreme ultraviolet radiation (EUV), 203 F FAD See Flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) Fall of Pangaea, 256–257 Fashion bottlenecks autistic trait, 300, 302 eocene mammal, 299 humanity, 299 intellectually demanding programs, 301 neurotypical traits, 300 Fermi’s paradox, 91 Five Ages of the Universe, 311, 378 Flagellum, 49 Flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD), 46 Flavin mononucleotide (FMN), 46 Folic acid (vitamin B9), 126 Free-floating manganese bicarbonate, 147 Fruit fly Drosophila, 10 452 Index G Gaian process, 89 Gametes, 168 Gamma ray bursts (GRBs), 246, 247, 313 collapsar model, 313, 314 cosmic ray, 315 long bursts, 313 Ordovician extinction, 314 principle, 316 UV radiation, 315 Wolf-Rayet star, 314 Ganymede, 226–228 G-class stars, 90, 91 Genes chromosomes, disruption, 17 flow method, 18 terrestrial cells store information, 7, Genetic code, 173 Genetic drift, 168 Genome, 165, 167, 169–172, 176 Geological electron transport, 386 Geological processes, 391 Geology’s great incubator, 45 Geothermal sources, 421 Giant molecular clouds (GMCs), 107 Gibbs free energy form, 407 Global bioterrorism attack, 295 Global dimming and cooling, 299 Global dust storms, 282 Global glaciations, 392 Global temperatures, 350 Global warming carbon dioxide levels, 278 eocene hyperthermals, 275–277 methane, 276 Glycolysis process, 39, 40, 51, 56 GMCs See Giant molecular clouds (GMCs) Gravitational potential energy, 375 GRBs See Gamma ray bursts (GRBs) Great dying carbon dioxide, 253, 255 chlorine and fluorine gas, 255 dimetrodon, 251 hydrogen sulfide, 255 methane clathrates, 252 Paleo-Tethys, 253 Permian crisis, 254 temperature rising, 254 Greenhouse effect, 277, 322 Green non-sulfur Chloroflexi bacterial species, 200 H Halo star, 305 Hangenberg event, 250 Hawking radiation, 327 Helper T-cells, 171 Hemoglobin, 10 Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagram, 365 Himalayan songbirds, 410 Homologous chromosomes, 63 Horizontal method, 18 Hox genes, 174–177, 183, 242, 243 Hubble Space Telescope Julian de Wit (MIT), 205 Human genes, 10 Huronian glaciation, 398 Hydrodynamic drag, 352 Hydrogen peroxide advantages, 59 electron potential (voltage), 59 energetic radiation, 60 Hubble process, 60 molecular structure, 59 oxidizing agent, 59 polar caps, 61 polar lander, Phoenix, 61 Hydrothermal system, 391–392 Hydrothermal vent process, 143 I Ice ages, 303–304 Inanimate (movie), 355 Industrial revolution, 275 In silico life, 221–222 In silico planetary system, 83 Insurmountable problems, 202–208 Inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ), 281 The Ischia Formation in Greenland documents, 84 J James Watts’ engines, 50 Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, 258 K Kill limit, 247 Kingdoms archaea and prokaryotes, “bacterial” life, categories, Index L Labrador Sea, 404 Lactic acid, 51 Large Hadron Collider (LHC), 324–328 Lateral gene transfer, 151 Lateral method, 18 Leptons, 326 Life acquisition of usable energy, 84 atmospheric oxygen, 85 multicellular organisms, 84 storage and perpetuation of information, 84 Listeria monocytogenes, 18 Living rocks, 217–218 Lysis process, 16 Lysogeny process, 16 M Madden-Julian oscillation, 353 Mammalian nervous system, 80 Martian microbes, 358 Martian surface, 359 Mass extinction Cambrian explosion, 240 carbon dioxide, 263, 267 carboniferous period, 242 chemical alteration, 238 Chicxulub-Deccan-driven, 268 climate change, 261 Deccan traps, 266 Devonian evolution of amphibians, 248 land plants, 248, 249 marine transgressions, 249 protein poor diets, 251 shrinking effect, 250 warm-water species, 250 dinosaurs, 244 Ediacaran period, 243 Fall of pangaea, 256, 257 flood basalts, 262, 265, 269 fossil record, 239 great dying, 251–256 microbial world, 262 Ordovician Gondwanaland block, 244 GRBs, 246, 247 greenhouse gas loss, 245 Kill limit, 247 oxygen, 263 paleo-geography, 263 453 Permian eruptions, 264 rise of dinosaurs, 256, 257 rise of mammals birds evolution, 260 carbon dioxide, 259 climate change, 258 dinosaur, 260 Triassic CAMP lavas, 258 vaporized rock, 259 Snowball Earth, 241 speciation, 240 Triassic eruptions, 264 volcanic activity, 267 Messenger RNA, 132 Methane clathrates, 252 Methane gas, 425 Mica, Micro-black holes, 327 Migrating mercury, 323–324 Milancović cycles, 276, 430 Milky Way, 316 Mobile DNA, 13 Monotremes, 14 Moon’s immense tides, 103 Movement, reproduction, sensitivity, growth, respiration and nutrition (MRS GREN), 22, 23 Multicellular CNS cephalopod invertebrates, 78 low temperatures, 78 mammalian, 80 ocean-floor bacteria, 79 Multicellular eukaryotes, 402 Multicellular organisms, 175 description, 66 eukaryote genes, structure, expensive systems, 68 gametes, high energy demands, 68 meiosis, 7, 37 mitosis, phyla of animals, 67 in plants, 68 The Murchison meteorite, 106, 108 Mutually assured destruction black hole, 325, 328 leptons and baryons, 326 LHC, 327 RHIC, 325 strange matter, 326 Mycoplasmas, 25 Mycorrhiza, 81 454 Index N National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), 105 Natural selection, 242, 264 Nature Communications, 389 Nebular Life, 224–225 Neutron stars, 306, 308 Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), 43 Non-cyclic photosynthesis, 144 Nuclear-monsoon, 284 Nuclear war climatic effects, 281 cold War, 280 Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 280 humanity, 286 nuclear monsoon, 283 nuclear powers, 279 ozone layer damage, 282 radioactive fallout, 285 stratospheric winds, 283 temperature changes, 284 toxic gases, 283 Nucleobases, 138, 139 Nucleotides, O Ocean crust subduction, 89 Oort Cloud, 312 Optical microscope systems, 226 Ordovician extinctions, 316 Gondwanaland, 244 GRBs, 246, 247, 314 greenhouse gas loss, 245 kill limit, 247 Organic acids pyruvate, 42 suffice, 42 The Outer Limits TV series, 219 Overpopulation cultural progression, 289, 290 demographic transition, 286, 290 economic imbalance, 291 fertility, 287 gender-biased system, 287 mass migration, 291 principal requirements, 288 western economic and political system, 289 Oxidation process, 40, 41 Oxygenic photosynthesis, 150, 388, 389, 420 Oxygen-rich atmosphere, 422 P Paleocene-Eocene Temperature Maximum (PETM), 276 Panspermia, 140 Perchlorates benefits, 61 cold environments, 61 in dry terrains, 61 geological settings, 62 Pestilence Ebola, 292 global bioterrorism attack, 295 HIV, 293, 294 smallpox virus, 294 Phospholipids, Photooxidation process, 142, 425 Photorespiration, 349 Photosynthesis, 88, 89, 351, 391 bacteria and plants, 142 chemicals, 141 chemosynthesis process, 141 chlorophyll, 142 description, 52 earth's troposphere gases, 54 electron transport chains, 142 hydrogen sulfide, 52 hydrothermal vent process, 143 loss of nutrients, 141 organic compounds, 54 photooxidation process, 142 photosystems, 53 simple organic compounds, 143 solar ultraviolet light and lightning, 54 volcanic activity, 54 water molecules, 53 Photosynthetic organisms, 149 Photosystem I (PSI), 144 Photosystem II (PSII), 144, 147 Photosystems description, 53 oxygen, product gas, 53 single protein complex, 53 volcanic activity, 54 Pili appendages, 46 Planet-wide microbial consciousness, 220–221 Plasmodesmata, 80 Plate tectonics, 80, 148, 248, 267 Polypeptides, 133, 136 Prokaryotes, Prolactin, 14 Index Proteins enzymes, 135 machines, receptors, 417 structure analysis, 50 synthesis, Proterozoic atmosphere, 243, 396, 401 Proterozoic era, 404 Q Quantum mechanics, 274 R Random assortment process, 38 Read genes, Recombination process, 37, 63 Red dwarfs, 310, 367 Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), 325 Repeated gravitational tugs, 82 Respiration pathways, 25 Rhythm of Life, 208–210 Ribonucleotide reductase, 136 Ribosomes, 131 Ribozymes, 115 Rise of Dinosaurs, 256–257 Rise of mammals birds evolution, 260 carbon dioxide, 259 climate change, 258 dinosaur, 260 Triassic CAMP lavas, 258 vaporized rock, 259 RNA copy of DNA, RNA polymerase I, 177 “RNA world”, 117 Rous Sarcoma virus (RSV), 18 RUBISCO enzyme, 347 S Science fiction death rays and antimatter, 331–333 earthfall, 330 Von Neumann machines, 334–336 “V”, TV version, 333, 334 Scorpius-Centaurus Association, 247 Seafloor volcanism, 45 Sensation process chemical stimuli, 70 forms, 69 single-celled organism, protist, 69 VOCs, 69 Sensory systems, 432 455 Serpentinization, 227 Sex and sexuality chromosomes, 63 gender, 65 loss of genetic information, 66 mating, 66 meiosis process, 62, 64 plasmids, 62 structured gametes, 65 Shannon entropy, 162, 166, 184, 188, 193, 405, 407, 426, 429 Shewanella oneidensis, 49, 77 Signalling networks, 410 Signatures of Life, 200–202 great pump, 230–231 metabolism, 229–230 planetary atmospheres, 231–232 Silicates, Simple sugars, 138 Single-celled organisms, 71, 72 Snottites, 25 Snowball Earth, 241 Solar system, 356, 358 Spaghettification, 325 Spectrometers, 226 Streptococcus mitis, 364 Stromatolites, 55, 250 Sub-glacial life, 214–217 Sulfate deposits, 398 Sulphate-methane transition zone (SMTZ), 196 Supercontinent cycle, 404 Super-terrans, 90 T Terrestrial life, 247, 261, 418 Terrestrial microbes, 20, 389 Terrestrial tumbleweeds, 219 Thermacetogenium species, 214 Thermodynamic entropy, 420 Transcript ribosome machine, RNA copy, Transduction of genes, 18 Transfer RNA (tRNA), 127, 128, 130 Transposable elements, 136 Transposons, 10, 12, 14–15, 172 TRAPPIST planets, 203, 205 Triassic event, 257, 261 Trihydrogen cation, 106 Triose (three-carbon sugar), 40 Transposons, 12 Tunguska event, 317 Type II diabetes, 186 456 Index U Uranium salts, 55 V Verbal communication, 75 Virus DNA/RNA genome, Pox viruses, Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), 69 Volcanism, 423 W Warm-blooded (homeothermic) organisms, 80 Warren’s Cave, 200 Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars, 313 Y Yersinia pestis bacterium, 18, 31 Z Zero-age main (ZAM) sequence, 371 ... count of individual patents but rather a 22 The Nature of Life and Its Potential to Survive measure of the groups of patents based upon the application they are pursuing At the beginning of 2016 there... out the bulk of the cell’s internal chemistry, and the use of carbohydrates and fats to form structural components such as the cell membrane 28 The Nature of Life and Its Potential to Survive The. .. Stevenson, The Nature of Life and Its Potential to Survive, Astronomers’ Universe, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-52911-0_2 35 36 The Nature of Life and Its Potential to Survive precisely the same materials