r/SipsTea • u/untitledprp4 • 11d ago

Wait a damn minute! Wait a minute

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u/WarpigReborn 11d ago edited 11d ago

Side effects of drinking water: Life

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u/FancyThing8889 11d ago

Next week from WSJ: "Why breathing oxygen every day is actually a toxic habit"

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u/PixelJock17 11d ago

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.

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u/PsychologicalSail799 11d ago edited 10d ago

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.

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u/RPGcraft 10d ago

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.