"Ye Old One" <usenet@mcsuk.net> wrote in message 
news:th6da41fsts5bu8c661cj3us32p1ves6vt@4ax.com...

On Sat, 16 Aug 2008 00:37:10 -0700, Timberwoof
<timberwoof.spam@inferNOnoSPAMsoft.com> enriched this group when s/he
wrote:

In article <K5ednc0cW6yDrznVnZ2dnUVZ_uSdnZ2d@comcast.com>,
Charlie Siegrist <none.active@this.time.check.back.later> wrote:

On Wed, 13 Aug 2008 18:50:06 -0700, Timberwoof wrote:

This suggests that the formation of such a molecule is a very rare
event.

No, it suggests that once a particular chemical basis of life gets
established, another one won't.

That is the conclusion, if I recall correctly, of a recent Scientific
American article about this subject.  There is an effort afoot to try to
find some evidence of a different form of organic material still on 
Earth.

That's going to be tough to find. I'd start by asking a geologist where
to look. Probably on land, for anywhere in the ocean would be touched,
chemically, by everywhere else, and there's no ocean floor old enough.

My amateur guess is it would have to be on some isolated old continental
interior. But like Arlo Guthrie, there's no place untouched. Some
ancient fossilized tidal pool?

It could be that the only place we will find any evidence is on the
Moon.

-- 
Bob.

There is a serious suggestion that one motivation for returning to the Moon 
is to look for chemical or physical evidence of other civilizations who are 
using fusion drives, etc in their own system.  Apparently there may be a few 
atoms here and there in such an exhaust that could not be created any other 
way and might have travelled across space and been deposited.

Sorry, no references that I can think of, just something I heard being 
discussed "seriously".

-- 
Mike Dworetsky

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