The DOI matches its Crossref record; 130 of the 131 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Many Chemistries Could Be Used to Build Living Systems
Abstract
It has been widely suggested that life based around carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen is the only plausible biochemistry, and specifically that terrestrial biochemistry of nucleic acids, proteins, and sugars is likely to be "universal." This is not an inevitable conclusion from our knowledge of chemistry. I argue that it is the nature of the liquid in which life evolves that defines the most appropriate chemistry. Fluids other than water could be abundant on a cosmic scale and could therefore be an environment in which non-terrestrial biochemistry could evolve. The chemical nature of these liquids could lead to quite different biochemistries, a hypothesis discussed in the context of the proposed "ammonochemistry" of the internal oceans of the Galilean satellites and a more speculative "silicon biochemistry" in liquid nitrogen. These different chemistries satisfy the thermodynamic drive for life through different mechanisms, and so will have different chemical signatures than terrestrial biochemistry.
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“Therefore, silicon can match carbon in terms of chemical flexibility and functionality, albeit not by using the same chemistry to achieve the same goal (Bains, 2004).”
From The Astrobiology Primer v2.0 (2016) · cites this paper as Bains, 2004
In the citing paper
“Silicon-based life has been proposed as a potential alternative to carbon-based life because silicon has several chemical properties similar to carbon.”
From The Astrobiology Primer v2.0 (2016) · cites this paper as Bains, 2004
In the citing paper
“Silicon is part of the same group in the periodic table (column 14) and, like carbon, is able to form stable polymers with itself (silanes); with carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and oxygen (silicones); as well as with many metals (Bains, 2004).”
From The Astrobiology Primer v2.0 (2016) · cites this paper as Bains, 2004
In the citing paper
“Silicon polymers can become large enough to form large molecular backbones and ring structures analogous to those in the molecules that encode information in known organisms.”
From The Astrobiology Primer v2.0 (2016) · cites this paper as Bains, 2004
In the citing paper
“Liquid ammonia shows some striking chemical similarities with water, with the added advantage of dissolving most organics as well as, or better than, water (Bains, 2004).”
From The Astrobiology Primer v2.0 (2016) · cites this paper as Bains, 2004
In the citing paper
“In such environments, the greater reactivity of silicon-based chemicals could be an advantage, enabling living processes to occur (Bains, 2004).”
From The Astrobiology Primer v2.0 (2016) · cites this paper as Bains, 2004
In the citing paper
“Alternative solvents include sulfuric acid, ammonia, methane, ethane, nitrogen, each of which would be stable at the surface for different star-planet orbiting distances.”
From The Astrobiology Primer v2.0 (2016) · cites this paper as Bains, 2004
In the citing paper
“Other, less abundant solvents that have been considered as potentially life-supporting include methyl alcohol, hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen fluoride, hydrogen cyanide, and hydrogen chloride (Bains, 2004).”
From The Astrobiology Primer v2.0 (2016) · cites this paper as Bains, 2004
In the citing paper
“Other solvents suggested for extreme cold environments include dinitrogen (N2) and supercritical dihydrogen-helium mixtures (Bains, 2004; Benner et al., 2004).”
From The Astrobiology Primer v2.0 (2016) · cites this paper as Bains, 2004
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Metadata
- Authors
- Bains, W.
- Affiliations
- Rufus Scientific, Melbourn, Royston, Herts, United Kingdom
- Corresponding author
- Bains, William
- ORCID
- Bains, William
- Venue
- Astrobiology
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2004-06
- Volume
- 4
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 137-167
- ISSN
- 1531-1074 (ISSN-L)
- 1557-8070
- OpenAlex
- W2014424809
- Cited by
- 193
- References
- 131
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 26 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 9
- FWCI
- 2.95
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Astrobiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Origins and Evolution of Life
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Earth Systems and Cosmic Evolution
- Keywords
- alternative biochemistry, liquid nitrogen, silicon-based life, Galilean moons, origin of life, thermodynamics of life
- MeSH terms
- Biochemical Phenomena, Biochemistry, Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Silicon, Thermodynamics, Solar System, Life
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