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Science

Super-Sensitive Motion Sensor Could Be Used To Hunt For Extraterrestrial Life 38

Posted by Soulskill from the it's-life,-jim,-but-not-as-we-know-it dept.
Zothecula writes: People often state that certain planets are too hot, cold or toxic to support life. The catch, however, is that those people are really just talking about life as we know it here on Earth. By that same token, when rovers exploring other planets seek out chemical signatures associated with life forms, they're only able to identify chemicals that we know to look for. That's why Swiss scientists from the EPFL research center have created a device that identifies microscopic life based on nanoscale movements instead of chemistry (abstract).
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Super-Sensitive Motion Sensor Could Be Used To Hunt For Extraterrestrial Life More

Super-Sensitive Motion Sensor Could Be Used To Hunt For Extraterrestrial Life

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  • We have trouble with defining life on earth. (Score:3)

    by jellomizer ( 103300 ) on Wednesday December 31, 2014 @12:01PM (#48704935)

    Life: Grow, Reproduce, Consume Energy.

    Virus cannot reproduce on their own.
    Crystals seem to show many properties of life.
    Fire can Grow, Spread and it consumes energy.

    What about individual cells that are part of a larger organism...

    It still kinda comes down to Ill know if it I see it.

     

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by gatkinso ( 15975 )

      Revisit contemporary definitions of life. Chemical reactions (crystals, fire) comprise only a part of that definition.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L... [wikipedia.org]

      • I raise you another link: http://www.popsci.com/science/... [popsci.com] ;-)

        The point being, we don't know what's out there. There universe is literally infinite. If crystalline life is possible... and it certainly looks like it is... then it has to be out there somewhere. The question is how common is it?

        • If crystalline life is possible... and it certainly looks like it is... then it has to be out there somewhere. The question is how common is it?

          we better keep an eye out for the Crystalline Entity. That thing is a bitch and a half.

          • "we better keep an eye out for the Crystalline Entity. That thing is a bitch and a half."

            Her name is Karma.

    • Life: Fight, Eat, Fuck, Sleep

      It doesn't get any simpler...

      • Life: Fight, Eat, Fuck, Sleep

        It doesn't get any simpler...

        Not necessarily in that order. Also, I have married friends that have replaced sleep with offspring, and fucking with more fighting. Apparently there is wiggle room.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by dissy ( 172727 )

      We have trouble with defining life on earth.
      Life: Grow, Reproduce, Consume Energy.

      Fortunately science doesn't much care about our definition of life (or the lack of definition, in this case)

      Virus cannot reproduce on their own.

      But discovering a thing acting similar to a virus but doesn't operate by any of the methods we know would still be an amazing discovery and a wealth of knowledge to research.

      Crystals seem to show many properties of life.

      Discovering a thing similar in structure to a crystal where no known methods of crystal growth are apparent would also be an amazing discovery and a wealth of knowledge to research.

      Fire can Grow, Spread and it consumes energy.

      Discovering a chemical reaction that is different

  • "Micro changes in air density, my ass."

    -- Ripley [imdb.com]

  • A super sensitive detector. And the first thing that comes to mind is hunt for extraterrestrial life? Not smuggling people in shipping containers or improving earthquake monitoring or something?

    • You don't need a super sensitive detector to find people in shipping containers, and certainly not to detect earthquakes

      so yes, people with more practical sense than you thought of other things.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by ledow ( 319597 )

      Quote at the bottom of Slashdot:

      It's hard to think of you as the end result of millions of years of evolution.

      Nobody says it's the first thing that comes to mind.
      Nobody says it's even USEFUL in those jobs.

      (To be honest, finding extraterrestrial life is probably ALWAYS going to be of more priority to scientists than finding some guy who's fled his country under persecution and hidden in the back of a shipping container.)

  • The reason we search for C life is simple (Score:3)

    by aepervius ( 535155 ) on Wednesday December 31, 2014 @12:26PM (#48705139)
    Barring utterly unknown chemistry, other atoms offer limited chemistry, bonds too strong, bonds too weak, limited atoms to which they can bond. That's why we concentrate on carbon based chemistry, with Oxygen or sulfure. Sure we could be missing something, but is it likely ? We have to concentrate on what we know we CAN find, as we can't send too many intruments out there like on the mars rover.

    If the approach followed here allows for a good detection of KNOWN organic life with p0.05, then it sounds a good approach.

    • Can the problem with bonds being too weak or strong be overcome by living at a different temperature?

      • See if you increase the temperature to overcome some bonds which are too strong, you get confronted that other bonds become too weak (remember for any kT you have a temperature gaussian spread so your bonds are likely not surviving the high end) and you seriously limit some of the chemistry we know (oxy/reduction, what most likely any life is based on). C is good because it allows for a zone of relative stability which can still be broken. I am not a high pressure or high temperature chemist, but the few I
  • A motion sensor would find the motion that matches the motion of life on earth. Isn't that the same trap?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by ceoyoyo ( 59147 )

      It finds motion. Rocks don't wiggle.

      The idea is that if you've got a bit of something that don't settle down to equilibrium, but rather keeps wiggling, it's more likely alive. Maintaining active processes is part of a reasonable definition of life, and those active processes imply movement.

  • We're going about this all wrong. Develop laser pistols before motion scanners. Doesn't help to know where the aliens are if you're shooting lead at them. I suppose you could load up on grenades... And don't bother with medkits until you get power armor.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Nyder ( 754090 )

      We're going about this all wrong. Develop laser pistols before motion scanners. Doesn't help to know where the aliens are if you're shooting lead at them. I suppose you could load up on grenades... And don't bother with medkits until you get power armor.

      True story.

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