PA / Star Hero related links about exo / cryptobiology

[Doc]

Hi,

I just felt over this while reading the alternative biochemistry wikipedia page to have ideas about "realist" alien life forms... I was shocked :jawdrop:.


They found some fungi in the remains of the Chernobyl reactor core that can synthetise Beta and Gamma rays into chemical energy, just like plants do with light...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_biochemistry#Alternative_energy_source s
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melanin#Melanin_in_other_organisms

So, beside being shocked :jawdrop:, I thought it could be usefull to some people for some inspiration about space or post-nuclear environments...

[Doc]

Argh... How do I move this to another genre, please?:confused:

[L. Marcus]

Try PMing some mods.

[AmadanNaBriona]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiotrophic_fungus

is another link.

Thanks for posting this, this is really interesting.

Underdark Fungi Forests, anyone?

[Steve Long]

Moved. ;)

Good find! I'll have to save this thread in my SH notes file. :hex:

[Doc]

Thanks, Steve, for moving my thread. :)



And thank you too, AmadanNaBriona, for the positive feedback. I love positive feedback:D!!!

See you.

[ahnen]

Radiation is...radiation. Whether it is the x-ray side of the spectrum or in the visible light end of it, it's merely EM energy. Different, sure...but not THAT different.

[Lord Liaden]

Radiation is...radiation. Whether it is the x-ray side of the spectrum or in the visible light end of it, it's merely EM energy. Different, sure...but not THAT different.

Well, yes and no. Higher-frequency radiation is far more penetrating of organic material than visible light, which is why medical x-rays bypass soft tissues but are scattered by denser bone. You need a different composition to absorb them than anything comparable to cholorophyll.

Also, the Chernobyl example is of fungi absorbing radiation to use as an energy source. Normal fungi derive energy from other decaying organic matter, so this is a pretty impressive adaptive leap. And they're using melanin as the absorption medium, normally a defensive radiation blocker.

[Doc]

If you read all the articles, you see that the melanine derives chimical energy from gamma rays and beta radiations (free neutrons). What's really surprising about this is the fact that those radiations are ionising ones, wich means they usually break molecules they hit.

We already knew that melanine blocked UV rays, but there's a huge difference in destruction potential between UV rays and gamma and/or beta radiations. Anyway, I think this discovery is both "full of hope" (can I say this this way in english???) and terrifying.

Indeed, this confirmes we can't never destroye life one way or another, but, on the other edge, this also means we could really see some radiologically mutated biological horror coming out from the zone...

Anyway... Have fun!:dyn