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October 16, 2012
The Panspermia Paradox
There should be stuff on the Moon, Mars, Europa, Ganymede, Titan, Enceladus, even minor planets and cometary nuclei. Every icy nook and cranny in our solar system should be a veritable paradise for these ultra-tough lifeforms, honed by natural selection to make the most of appalling conditions. So if galactic panspermia exists why haven't we noticed it yet? -- | Life, Unbounded, Scientific American Blog Network
Posted by gerardvanderleun at October 16, 2012 8:16 AM. This is an entry on the sideblog of American Digest: Check it out.
Your Say
That whole theory reminds me of the woman who said the world is on the back of a turtle, because it has to be sitting on something. When asked about what the turtle is on, she said "oh no, I know what you're trying to pull, its turtles all the way down!"
Saying life came from somewhere else is just another layer of turtles.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at October 16, 2012 9:48 AM
Because we haven't looked - with the possible exception of Mars, and on that planet what we have done so far is a rough equivalent to looking for viable bacteria in the bottom of a bleach vat illuminated by an X-ray machine and a 50-kilowatt UV sterilising lamp.
We haven't looked anywhere else in the Solar System yet. And in any case, finding life in the Solar System is suspect because of the known fact that material is transferred between the different bodies.
Posted by: Fletcher Christian at October 16, 2012 11:28 PM