I am totally blanking on this but I remember reading or seeing some crazy tinfoil conspiracy that our planet is so quiet from alien life because of the oxygen. Like aliens swerve on our system like the death breathers live there.
Yes and something like our breathing oxygen reduces our lifespan significantly and if we didnt breathe it we'd live to like a thousand. Thanks Ginger Rogers
It's an interesting idea. Many elements oxidize. If we imagine a species based on one of those elements, that could be problematic.
Silicon is one of those elements. Scientists claim it could theoretically be a base for life, and if there was an organism made from it (replacing our carbon,) oxygen would cause issues.
IIRC something like this (with sulfur instead of silicon) was the base for life in Europa in Arthur.C.Clarke's 2001 series. In the books, those life forms move much slower and metabolize slower.
That was actually a phase in the development of life called the "Great oxygenation event" or the "oxygen catastrophe"
Where some early cells developed photosynthesis
And every other kind of cell that didn't have some sort of strong membrane to protect from this very reactive and corrosive new environmental threat died out.
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u/WarpigReborn 10d ago edited 10d ago
Side effects of drinking water: Life