Silicon-based lifeforms: the key to unlocking a new frontier?
Carbon is the building block of life on earth because of its ability to readily form bonds with other atoms and itself. This gives flexibility to the form and function that biomolecules can take, such as DNA and RNA, which are essential for the defining characteristics of life: growth and replication. In fact, there are nearly 10 million carbon-based compounds in living things.
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Without carbon, life as we know it would not exist. A compound found mainly in living things is known as an organic compound. Organic compounds make up the cells and other structures of organisms and carry out life processes. Carbon is the main element in organic compounds, so carbon is essential to life on Earth.
Without carbon, life as we know it could not exist.
The millions of organic compounds based on carbon can be grouped into four major types: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids which are essentials of life.
I am not an expert in chemistry but my conjecture is silicon very similar to carbon and could be the basis of life on other planets. Let’s conjecture away :)
