The Cosmic Zoo: The (Near) Inevitability of the Evolution of Complex, Macroscopic Life
Name
Bains-2016-The Cosmic Zoo_ The.pdf
Size
299.57 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
98f5f3f54c4c97225ea710afe1770b51
Author(s)
Schulze-Makuch, Dirk
Bains, William
Date Issued
June 2016
Journal
Life
Publisher
MDPI AG (Basel, Switzerland)
Citation
Bains, William, and Dirk Schulze-Makuch. “The Cosmic Zoo: The (Near) Inevitability of the Evolution of Complex, Macroscopic Life.” Life 6.3 (2016): 25.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Life on Earth provides a unique biological record from single-cell microbes to technologically intelligent life forms. Our evolution is marked by several major steps or innovations along a path of increasing complexity from microbes to space-faring humans. Here we identify various major key innovations, and use an analytical toolset consisting of a set of models to analyse how likely each key innovation is to occur. Our conclusion is that once the origin of life is accomplished, most of the key innovations can occur rather readily. The conclusion for other worlds is that if the origin of life can occur rather easily, we should live in a cosmic zoo, as the innovations necessary to lead to complex life will occur with high probability given sufficient time and habitat. On the other hand, if the origin of life is rare, then we might live in a rather empty universe.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.3390/life6030025
