![]() But we find that even for the simplest organisms, many of the molecular interactions are facilitated by water in an extremely fine-tuned way. The more we understand about biological water, the more we see that its unique ability to form a three-dimensional, hydrogen-bonded network enables it to participate in biochemical processes and not just to act as a passive backdrop.Īt a somewhat crude level, life is about molecular processes, such as templating, molecular recognition and replication, which can be duplicated in non-aqueous solvents. PB: I think that the discussion about this, with its attendant charges of "terra-centricity," generally fails to acknowledge what is really unique about water. Q: Do you think liquid water is necessary for life to exist on other worlds? Alternatively, what do you think of suggestions that life elsewhere might evolve without liquid water, and instead make use of liquids like sulfur? Interview with Philip Ball, consultant editor of the journal "Nature" and Writer in Residence in the Chemistry Department of University College, London: (An excerpt from his book follows the interview.) In an interview with Astrobiology Magazine, Philip Ball recently discussed his thoughts on the role of liquid water for life on Earth and on other worlds. Liquid water is a universal solvent, a mediator of life's chemical reactions, and it has a structure unlike that of any other liquid. Philip Ball, author of the book, " Life's Matrix: A Biography of Water," says that liquid water is essential for the kind of delicate chemistry that makes life possible. Solid water can't act as a lubricant for the molecular processes of life, so the search is on for liquid water - a commodity that is far more rare in the universe. ![]() One of NASA's guiding policies in the search for alien life is to " follow the water." Water is fairly common in the universe, found everywhere from vast interstellar dust clouds to the orange-red fields of Mars, but most of this water is in the form of ice. ![]() ![]() Water (Dihydrogen Oxide, H2O) is a truly remarkable chemical compound and is fundamental to life on Earth. ![]()
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