Can Life Travel to Other Worlds From Earth?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the possibility of life traveling from Earth to other worlds, particularly in the context of theories regarding the origins of life and potential contamination of other planets, such as Mars. Participants explore various hypotheses and implications of life existing beyond Earth.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests that life could have originated from extraterrestrial travelers who inadvertently contaminated Earth, proposing scenarios involving bacteria surviving extreme conditions.
  • Another participant raises the question of the origins of the hypothetical travelers' biology, presenting two alternatives: the existence of a primordial bacterium or the concept of closed timelike curves.
  • A later reply emphasizes the uniqueness of Earth as the only known life-bearing planet, questioning whether it could be considered the source of all life.
  • Some participants express skepticism about the implications of these ideas, questioning whether they are exciting or depressing.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express multiple competing views regarding the origins of life and the potential for life to travel between worlds. The discussion remains unresolved, with no consensus on the validity of the proposed scenarios.

Contextual Notes

Some claims rely on speculative interpretations of observations from Mars, such as the presence of green strike marks and the identification of materials. The discussion also touches on the philosophical implications of life’s origins and the nature of existence.

wolram
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can life travel to other worlds from earth?

http://www.nature.com/nsu/040216/040216-20.html
 
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My Physician used to be a woman of "faith". We were talking about why I didn't want my child to have to sing religious songs at school, that there are many theories about the origins of life, that don't include the standards of western faith. I told her that I felt it was entirely possible, that some travellers against all regulations to the contrary, just dumped their porta potty near some warm inland sea, and all of life came from that event. It is more likely that they washed out hot cooking pans, and the bacteria that survived that heat, became the antique bacteria precursor to all life on earth, or the travellers soaked in a hot spring, and left. In the German photos from Mars, there are great green strike marks, and material seems to be ejected from the strike sites across the face of the planet. That stuff is all shown as green. They say that is olivine, but we are struck by ice from space constantly. We could have easily contaminated Mars just now, because we believe that none of our living matter could survive the trip, life is persistent. There is methane present in the Martian atmosphere, maybe it is just waiting for us to give it a little life.
 
As a vision, of course it's possible (as well as amusing), but it raises the question, where did those picnickers come from. What jump-started their biology? Seem to me there are two alternatives:

- Some bacterium was first.
- Closed timelike curves, as in Heinlein's story "All You Zombies".

What do you think?
 
selfAdjoint said:
As a vision, of course it's possible (as well as amusing), but it raises the question, where did those picnickers come from. What jump-started their biology? Seem to me there are two alternatives:

- Some bacterium was first.
- Closed timelike curves, as in Heinlein's story "All You Zombies".

What do you think?

some bacterium (somewhere) being first for this galaxy
or for this arm of the galaxy
has a different feel from
some bacterium being first for the earth, though
 
Dayle Record said:
*SNIP
In the German photos from Mars, there are great green strike marks, and material seems to be ejected from the strike sites across the face of the planet. That stuff is all shown as green. They say that is olivine, ...
References please!
 
this maybe a pointless statement, but as Earth is the only KNOWN
life bearing planet, isn't it possible that it could be the mother to
all life.
 
sure...now is that exciting or depressing?
 

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