The Drake Equation: Estimating the Prevalence of Extraterrestrial Life Through the Ages by Douglas Vakoch

Author:Douglas Vakoch [Vakoch, Douglas]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781107073654
Amazon: 1107073650
Barnesnoble: 1107073650
Goodreads: 26269645
Published: 2015-05-08T05:19:43+00:00

160

David J. Des Marais

(e.g., Cody and Scott 2007). A cold early surface environment would have allowed prebiotically important species to survive and accumulate (Bada, Bigham, and Miller 1994). Continued investigations of the indicators of early Earthly and Martian environments are essential for characterizing the conditions where life can begin. For example, assessing the relative importance of various organic sources should at least partially constrain the range of plausible prebiotic scenarios.

The Afterword in this volume provides additional perspectives about how the deep mysteries surrounding the origins of life challenge our ability to quantify fl. That chapter also articulates future investigations that might prove to be fruitful.

The evolution of stars and planets follows characteristic trajectories that allow reasonable estimates to be made of the origins and evolution of planetary climates and habitability. Recent discoveries have improved our prospects and strategies for seeking a second example of life. Such a seminal discovery would, in turn, substantially reduce the uncertainty in estimating fl. Biochemists are gaining insights about how assemblages of relatively simple molecules might perform key cellular processes.

Ultimately, coordinated efforts in astronomy, planetary science, molecular biology, and the information sciences will be essential for reducing the large uncertainty that currently surrounds fl.

References

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Chyba, Christopher, and Carl Sagan. 1992. “Endogenous Production, Exogenous Delivery and Impact-Shock Synthesis of Organic Molecules: An Inventory for the Origins of Life.” Nature 355: 125–32.

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Des Marais, David J., Bruce M. Jakosky, and Brian M. Hynek. 2008. “Astrobiological Implications of Mars Surface Composition and Properties.” In The Martian Surface: Composition, Mineralogy and Physical Properties, ed. James A. Bell, 599–623.

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Fraction of suitable planets on which life actually appears, fl, after 1961

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Des Marais, David J., Joseph A. Nuth III, Louis J. Allamandola, Alan P. Boss, Jack D.

Farmer, Tori M. Hoehler, Bruce M. Jakosky, Victoria S. Meadows, Andrew Pohorille, Bruce Runnegar, and Alfred M. Spormann. 2008. “The NASA Astrobiology Roadmap.”

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Golynskiy, Misha V., John C. Haugner III, and Burckhard B. Seelig. 2013. “Highly Diverse Protein Library Based on the Ubiquitous (β/α)8 Enzyme Fold Yields Well-Structured Proteins through In Vitro Folding Selection.

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