Alien life, unlike humans, may not be carbon-based, suggests new study

In a new study, self-sustaining chemical reactions were discovered which carry the potential to support alien life, which is very different from the elements present on Earth.

The biology of Earth hinges on organic compounds which comprise carbon along with elements like phosphorus, sulphur, nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen. Scientists believe that alternative chemical frameworks can lead to the existence of alien life forms.

Forlong, scientists have wondered if alien life might evolve on the basis of significantly different chemistry. Researchers have speculated if silicon may work as a backbone for biology.

"It's important to explore these possibilities so that we have an idea of what all forms of life can look like, not just Earth life," study senior author Betul Kacar, an astrobiologist, bacteriologist and evolutionary biologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison said while speaking to Space.com.

A type of chemical interaction which is key to life on Earth is called autocatalysis. These reactions are self-sustaining and can produce molecules which encourage the same reaction to take place again.

"One of the major reasons that origin-of-life researchers care about autocatalysis is because reproduction — a key feature of life — is an example of autocatalysis," said Kacar.

"Life catalyses the formation of more life. One cell produces two cells, which can become four and so on. As the number of cells multiply, the number and diversity of possible interactions multiplies accordingly,” the astrobiologist added.

An autocatalysis beyond organic compounds

In the new study, researchers were in search of an autocatalysis which is beyond organic compounds. They said that such a reaction may exist as autocatalysis can help drive abiogenesis, which is the origin of life from lifelessness.

The scientists emphasised what are known as comproportionation cycles which can create multiple copies of a molecule. Such products can be used as starting materials to help these cycles reoccur, resulting in autocatalysis.

"Comproportionation is arguably unique because it is a single reaction that produces multiples of an output — it looks a lot like reproduction," said study lead author Zhen Peng, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, while speaking to Space.com.

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To discover such reactions, more than two centuries of digitised scientific documents, which were written in different languages, were analysed by scientists.

"With effective language search and translation tools, we were able to design and conduct this first-of-its-kind assessment of the pervasiveness of autocatalytic cycles," said study co-author Zach Adam, a geologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, while speaking to Space.com.

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