Follow the Nitrogen to Extraterrestrial Life

When searching for life, most researchers have been hunting the Solar System for signs of liquid water; past and present. But geobiologists from the University of Southern California think that more effort should be spent looking for evidence of nitrogen. Since nitrogen isn't a major component in rocks and minerals but an essential component of life, any concentration of this element would strongly indicate life's fingerprint. They hope that next generation spacecraft will have advanced nitrogen sampling capabilities.

Full story published 4th May 2006 at http://www.usc.edu/uscnews/stories/12380.html

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I totally agree!

No one really knows what ET may need to live, we just THINK it's water, but not necessarily....

And I really liked this sentence :

"It’s hard to imagine life without water, but it’s easy to imagine water without life"

It's a little bit pessimist, but anyway, I'll put it as my signature, haha.

This is a great article David, and good news too!

No one really knows what ET may need to live, we just THINK it's water, but not necessarily....

But where did all the water come from? Why does this planet have so much and other planets have just about zero or not at all?

A squirrel hoards its nuts in one or more particular place. Maybe we will go nuts when the alien squirrels return and take their very damp nuts back.

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Hi!!! Good to see you here!!

But where did all the water come from? Why does this planet have so much and other planets have just about zero or not at all?

I found this forum which talked about it. I found very interesting the 3° post (what "Euler" said).

But, you know, we have so many questions and few anwers ( that sentence was on the forum too, hahahahha).

Tiare.-

Hi!!! Good to see you here!!

Hi Tiare, nice to see you here also.

I found this forum which talked about it. I found very interesting the 3° post (what "Euler" said).

Yes, I heard about asteroids bringing ice to Earth. But why just to Earth and Europa? Why not to Pluto or Ganymede?

Who knows? We are an oasis in a desert and might just as well enjoy the figs as to worry why a well is here and not some place else.

Or did we come here because Earth is a well?

Maybe we are the nomad aliens after all :)

Bye T, iX

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