AST-1002 Chapter Notes - Chapter 19: Hertz, Astrobiology, Wu Xing
Document Summary
Astrobiology combines all of the natural sciences in an effort to understand the formation, evolution, and future of life here and throughout the cosmos. To build a physical foundation for astrobiology, let us begin by considering some of the fundamental requirements for the existence of life as we know it. First is the presence of liquid water. Water, which is neither acidic nor basic, enables many kinds of atoms and molecules dissolved in it to bond to one another or separate from one another in large numbers. While water molecules combine with some atoms and molecules, water also allows many interactions to occur in it without chemical interference. Such diverse activity is essential for the creation and evolution of the complex molecules and systems of molecules that function in living organisms. Given all of these factors, biologists believe that life on earth began to develop in primordial bodies of water.
