| Title |
The prospect of alien life in exotic forms on other worlds
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
The Science of Nature, March 2006
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s00114-005-0078-6 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Dirk Schulze-Makuch, Louis N. Irwin |
| Abstract |
The nature of life on Earth provides a singular example of carbon-based, water-borne, photosynthesis-driven biology. Within our understanding of chemistry and the physical laws governing the universe, however, lies the possibility that alien life could be based on different chemistries, solvents, and energy sources from the one example provided by Terran biology. In this paper, we review some of these possibilities. Silanes may be used as functional analogs to carbon molecules in environments very different from Earth; solvents other than water may be compatible for life-supporting processes, especially in cold environments, and a variety of energy sources may be utilized, some of which have no Terran analog. We provide a detailed discussion of two possible habitats for alien life which are generally not considered as such: the lower cloud level of the Venusian atmosphere and Titan's surface environment. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profile of 1 X user who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| France | 1 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 1 | 100% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 112 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | 2 | 2% |
| Germany | 2 | 2% |
| United Kingdom | 1 | <1% |
| India | 1 | <1% |
| Unknown | 106 | 95% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Researcher | 23 | 21% |
| Student > Master | 16 | 14% |
| Student > Bachelor | 16 | 14% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 16 | 14% |
| Professor | 5 | 4% |
| Other | 12 | 11% |
| Unknown | 24 | 21% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 31 | 28% |
| Earth and Planetary Sciences | 15 | 13% |
| Chemistry | 10 | 9% |
| Physics and Astronomy | 9 | 8% |
| Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 7 | 6% |
| Other | 15 | 13% |
| Unknown | 25 | 22% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 11. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 04 May 2022.
All research outputs
#2,980,871
of 23,794,258 outputs
Outputs from The Science of Nature
#378
of 2,195 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#6,631
of 71,429 outputs
Outputs of similar age from The Science of Nature
#4
of 21 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 23,794,258 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done well and is in the 87th percentile: it's in the top 25% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 2,195 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 13.5. This one has done well, scoring higher than 82% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 71,429 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 90% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 21 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done well, scoring higher than 80% of its contemporaries.