Inorganic dust with life-like qualities

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the discovery of helical structures formed from inorganic dust that may exhibit life-like qualities. Participants explore the implications of these findings, including the potential for inorganic life in space, the mechanisms behind the self-organization of these structures, and the ongoing research related to this topic.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants highlight that under specific conditions, inorganic dust can form organized helical structures that may interact in ways similar to organic compounds.
  • One participant expresses excitement about the potential discovery of inorganic life in space, questioning whether the findings have been confirmed or remain speculative.
  • A participant shares details from a paper discussing the self-organization of complex plasmas into helical structures, noting features typically associated with living matter, such as self-duplication and thermodynamic properties.
  • Another participant inquires about the availability of the research paper and expresses interest in whether these findings could be investigated experimentally.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express enthusiasm about the findings, but there is no consensus on whether the structures can be classified as living matter or if the research has reached a confirmed status. The discussion remains open with various viewpoints on the implications of the research.

Contextual Notes

Some limitations include the dependence on specific conditions for the existence of these structures and the ongoing nature of the research, which may affect interpretations of the findings.

Ivan Seeking
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...Now, an international team has discovered that under the right conditions, particles of inorganic dust can become organised into helical structures. These structures can then interact with each other in ways that are usually associated with organic compounds and life itself.

...So, could helical clusters formed from interstellar dust be somehow alive? "These complex, self-organized plasma structures exhibit all the necessary properties to qualify them as candidates for inorganic living matter," says Tsytovich, "they are autonomous, they reproduce and they evolve". [continued]
http://www.physorg.com/news105869123.html
 
Biology news on Phys.org
Very cool. Will they be updating the article as more research is done?
 
WOW! ... wait.. ok, just checking that it's not april 1st :biggrin:

that's amazing! I would really like to read more as the research develops! (what would I search for? ... "plasma dust cluster?" ... is there a more specific name?)

if these computer models turn out to be true, this could be one of the most amazing discoveries... well, ever.— Not only life outside of Earth, but inorganic life outside of Earth floating in the middle of outer space! :eek:

has this been confirmed yet? or is it still in the speculative stage?


kind of reminds me of God from Futurama. I miss that show.
 
I've had a deep look through IoP and New Journal of Physics papers published in the IoP database and I cannot for the life of me find this paper.

Anyone have any ideas? :o
 
I found it! Score!

New Journal of Physics Abstract said:
Complex plasmas may naturally self-organize themselves into stable interacting helical structures that exhibit features normally attributed to organic living matter. The self-organization is based on non-trivial physical mechanisms of plasma interactions involving over-screening of plasma polarization. As a result, each helical string composed of solid microparticles is topologically and dynamically controlled by plasma fluxes leading to particle charging and over-screening, the latter providing attraction even among helical strings of the same charge sign. These interacting complex structures exhibit thermodynamic and evolutionary features thought to be peculiar only to living matter such as bifurcations that serve as 'memory marks', self-duplication, metabolic rates in a thermodynamically open system, and non-Hamiltonian dynamics. We examine the salient features of this new complex 'state of soft matter' in light of the autonomy, evolution, progenity and autopoiesis principles used to define life. It is concluded that complex self-organized plasma structures exhibit all the necessary properties to qualify them as candidates for inorganic living matter that may exist in space provided certain conditions allow them to evolve naturally.

http://www.iop.org/EJ/abstract/1367-2630/9/8/263
IoP papers are free for a month from publication, right?

It was only published yesterday, so that's why I couldn't find it!

Very interesting, do you think that this could be investigated experimentally at present?
 
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