New Study Finds Alien Life Must Be Similar To Us

[@user-zj8ze9ho6w]

When the doors to the alien spaceship open, odds are a crab walks out.

[@cyniqueetsérieux]

or some probe

[@Odin029]

Yep

[@jimliu2560]

Similar does Not mean “Chirality”-Similar… …therefore all alien life is toxic to humans…. This is something that movies, talk shows, social- media never talks about…

[@bartsanders1553]

It would be a crab-dolphin that flies.

[@jambec144]

Or something vaguely resembling a centaur. Here on Earth we have: Mantids, mantsiflies, diving bugs, ambush bugs, assassin bugs, pelican spiders, stomatopods, dragonfly nymphs, scorpions, lobsters, raptorial amphipods, and elephants. A set of walking legs coupled with a grasping organ up front is a very common bauplan.

[@schubschub]

01:00 "..because parasites are an inevitable consequence of social media, excuse me, I mean evolution." Haha 🙂

[@petrkinkal1509]

Parasites are an inevitable consequence of evolution of social media.

[@stickplayer2]

Leon Skum is a perfect example of a sociological parasite.

[@sonsofjorge7730]

this made my day!!!

[@sillyshitt]

Loved that 😅

[@TheFriendOfLucifer]

Indeed. For that truth alone the video was worthy of a like. 🤣

[@TheDaveRout]

On form there Sabine , “buys twitter” “watches KZbin “ 10/10

[@oliverhorvath8013]

I started watching Sabine since yesterday, the fun : science ratio is very good!

I suspected this to be the case. There are different kinds of animals that look and function similarly because they are in the same environment. The environment dictates the optimal design.

[@goncalovazpinto6261]

That's convergent evolution, however, most evolution is divergent. When thinking of "the environment" in a more simplistic way, it would make sense that convergent evolution would be the norm. But environments are full of different niches, and species naturally try to explore them. That's what drives divergence. I guess every species is the product of both types, they're not mutually exclusive, they just represent different constrains or needs. Personally, I find this paper a bit of a nothing burger. Recognizing overarching principles and then saying they would produce similar outcomes is easy. I was expecting a more concrete argument based on biochemistry for carbon based life being the only way to go, or something like that...

[@scroopynooperz9051]

Depends on the range of environments that can support complex life. We only have a current sample of 1

[@golantrevize0]

I think we can go even further because civilizations need strong hands to build things, technology evolves by physical rules like stone age, iron age without water and rust, and so on, and in the future will be making more technology but constrained by the laws of physics and knowledge, until maybe we reach space and know other similar aliens or cultures, it makes sense.

@@goncalovazpinto6261 right, it's mainly guessing until we meet them. 🙂

[@intotron6708]

@@goncalovazpinto6261Carbon based is a must, but that does not dictate the outcome. Just compare on earth, we have snakes (no limps), us and many others (4 limbs), insects and spiders, but there are also centi- and millipedes. Here on earth all complex life breathes oxygen, but possible life on Titan could be much different. Even a three-sided symmetry is an idea. Start with an novempus (nine arms), then add a third eye, add evolution, there you are.

[@stevenwilgus5422]

4:39 "...or, buys Twitter..." DELICIOUS SNARK! WELL DONE, SABINE.

[@TysonJensen]

I thought she said "or likes Twitter" but the call with Elon confirmed I heard it wrong.

[@polska905]

Free speach hater

[@picksalot1]

For approximately human level intelligence, I would not be surprised by alien biology being carbon based, having bilateral symmetry, with an assortment of senses for the most common states of matter and their characteristics over a range of temperatures.

[@Skyl3t0n]

Agree with everything except the carbon base. There are just endless combinations of molecule to achieve the same thing

[@earthwormscrawl]

And it will speak English -- or Klingon.

[@JTH-xl1kd]

Bilateral symmetry seems completely arbitrary, why would it need that?

[@picksalot1]

@@Skyl3t0n The reason I mentioned Carbon specifically is that: "Carbon has the ability to form more molecules than any other atom due to its unique property of having four valence electrons, allowing it to form stable bonds with many other elements, including itself, creating a vast array of complex molecular structures." "Carbon is considered the fourth most abundant element in the universe by mass, following hydrogen, helium, and oxygen; meaning it is relatively common." And we have direct evidence that it is the main building block for all life on Earth due to its versatility complimented by its relative abundance.

[@Skyl3t0n]

@ It's not arbitrary. If you read a little into evolution it seems almost as obvious as the progression from single cell to multi cell organisms.

[@GaryLeckie]

BRILLIANT Sabine ............keep up the great work!!

[@duncan94019]

Your talking about life in space reminded me Fred Hoyle (yes the astronomer) wrote a book that suggested that. It's called "The Black Cloud"

[@ThomasPalm-w5y]

It´s a good book, but the idea of Panspermia is a lot older than that. Still, science fiction is a good way to flesh out how exotic life could be like beyond dry, scientific papers.

[@waylandsmith8666]

A really great book (a novel, by a Nobel prize-winning physicist): very penetrating and very prescient (written in 1957!). The most relevant point here is that Hoyle's cloud doesn't HOST living organisms, it is ITSELF alive and intelligent (more so than us). I don't think the authors of the paper have considered such possibilities seriously enough.

[@MarksElectricLife]

I thought the same thing.

[@Peter-y5y9i]

I'm old enough to have read the book, and forgotten what it was about.

[@allanfifield8256]

Read it when I was very young. Interesting premise. I wonder how it will hold up on a reread.

[@brianamon817]

A kinda nerdy science lady that's also funny without changing her tone or pace is a rare find. I subscribed after the first video. I might be in love.

[@WonkyWiIl]

Sabine, this is the best and most provocative video yet. It leaves us with many questions to investigate and some ethical ones too. Well done! The most interesting question you pose and one with immediate implications is what sort of ethical position should humans take to other life forms including synthetic life. And the same question needs consideration for virtual synthetic life. Thank you for a great video. ❤❤❤

[@dbramley]

Thanks!

[@Ken00001010]

Assumes a system that is of similar age. If aliens show up, they could be from a place a billion years older, and could have evolved, or self-modified into nothing like us, such as machines.

[@noelwass4738]

Self-modified into machines? Machine organic life form hybrids? I hope not, but that cannot be ruled out.

[@Ken00001010]

@@noelwass4738 That is, if self destruction is not the answer to the Fermi Paradox.

[@stanleyshannon4408]

​@@Ken00001010 4B is the most likely answer to the fermi paradox. Intelligent females finally figure out how unfair evolution was to them.

[@SakasaHigure]

Age wouldn't impact anything rather the environment is what dictates evolution. The paper, I believe, argues that the environment needed for life has similar properties this yields similar results. DNA is the way it is because it's meant to survive in its environment.

[@CountCocofang]

@@noelwass4738 Doesn't need to be hybrid, necessarily. Could be wholly inorganic. You'd need a machine that can imitate the way a brain works and from that you could build any body you like.

[@Fuckyoutube-gz6gu]

“Maybe alien life is made of cells like us, but has 7 legs or breathes fire, or buys Twitter” 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 This is a lovely lecture, I very much enjoyed it. I have seen lately quite a lot videos about the possibility of alien life (or maybe it is just KZbin’s algorithm which fills me in with that) - interestingly none has yet talked about the question of the past light cone like Paul Davies pointed out in one his great books. Anyways, thank you so much for this cool and intelligently funny video!

[@Miloche-t6d]

They're far away. We get it. You're not that clever.

[@mecha-sheep7674]

I'm happy that the telephone did ring once again. I missed it.

[@tedmoss]

I am going to tell Elon to stop calling Sabine.

[@lightlegion_]

Your work really stands out!

[@Opinionerded]

Subtly, and sporadically roasting Twitter intermittently throughout this video just made you my favorite scientist for the start of the year. Lol

[@mirkovragovic]

Phone is back!! I love it :) And as always, very interesting video Sabine!

[@ajogar]

sabine is RUTHLESS in this video and i love it

[@hydraulic_presses]

Thanks a lot!🎉😂 Love your way of delivering colplex things and your brilliant sense of humor!

[@davebeery_youtube]

I love your content and humor. Thank you!

[@lightlegion_]

Your creativity is incredibly refreshing!

[@rgutbrod]

Thank you for having a great source of humor. Without that, there is no purpose in learning. You must always be willing to laugh, even at yourself. Thanks again for making sure science is NOT a deadly form of seriousness.

[@Everyman.0314]

Sabine, your'e exactly what's been missing - a mix of Quantum and Classical theories, deadpan social commentary, all wrapped up into intelligent satire... If you get some time, would be great to hear more of your thoughts on the similarities b/w galaxy filaments and neural connections. Was the title of the other video but, 'think,' there's more there. Anyway, keep it up. We're watching :)

[@sonsofjorge7730]

Doc Sabine is getting better with sarcasm.. hehehe... love it

[@pedroemn]

Sabine always brightens my day!

[@vvoid8416]

Intelligent life can look wildly different to us, but life as a whole won't. Makes perfect sense to me.

[@kensmith5694]

If you expand "us" to mean all life on earth then maybe it won't be that different. A giant squid that build space craft would not be like us if you mean humans.

[@Izumi-sp6fp]

@PrivateOrdover I disagree. Water is the medium, but _chemistry_ is the hard drive.

[@-danR]

All that matters is that whatever steps out the spaceship door, it better be based on _right_ -handed amino acids. Glurp: Everything on this godforsaken planet is entirely inedible. Glorp: Let's try Mars...

[@gregor-samsa]

Looking at Orange Jesus: no. Same for the German Schnitzel der Schande.

[@noelstarchild]

If a squid steps out of the spacecraft, its' brain has realised fast than light space travel and may yet consider us mere prawns for consuption. Or just fly on by and not bother with the simpletons of Earth.

[@RobardoHughes]

2:30 - The claim which you quote that the path forward of least resistance is to evolve incremental changes on top of already stable organisms is equivalent to saying that ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny.

[@matthiasvanrhijn280]

Sabine's humour is absolutely great sometimes 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I love this channel!

[@jgrenwod]

Me too, except when she goes off on her global warming screed.

[@matthiasvanrhijn280]

@@jgrenwod Yeah there she sometimes seems to be too unworried / unconcerned about the catastrophe that is looming in front of us. At the same time, her unconventional way to also sometimes critisize or mock her own scientist friends such as some climate scientists may make her channel more attractive to science-deniers or to the millions of people (especially among westeners) that believe that the human-made climate crisis is a hoax. Which would bei a good thing because Sabine may be able to restore some trust in some of them towards empirical evidence based science, which would be a very good thing 💚🌹💪🏼

[@halloundwillkommenmvr3298]

@@jgrenwod Yeah there she sometimes seems to be too unworried / unconcerned about the catastrophe that is looming in front of us. At the same time, her unconventional way to also sometimes critisize or mock her own scientist friends such as some climate scientists may make her channel more attractive to science-deniers or to the millions of people (especially among westeners) that believe that the human-made climate crisis is a hoax. Which would bei a good thing because Sabine may be able to restore some trust in some of them towards empirical evidence based science, which would be a very good thing...

[@richarddavis2605]

Good to see the telephone is back! I miss the old format ❤ (but i understand you had good reasons to change it)

[@Thomas-gk42]

The format did not change so much though, her very old videos, three years ago and more were about as long as today, and the weekly science news included a bunch of different topics in short. I like it, she brings up more content in seven minutes than others in a boring hour, and even finds place for joking.

[@airONAIR]

Convergent evolution is a fun idea that supports ideas in this video. Another good place to start when investigating this.

[@okinasevych]

thank you, friend.

[@PhoneOwner-e5p]

Excellent topic and video Sabine. The best part, as always, is your weird sense of humour. Keep it up. Love it.

[@ThatBoomerDude56]

Humor? She might actually get in trouble for exposing the fact that Elon is from Mars.

[@PhoneOwner-e5p]

@@ThatBoomerDude56 Mr Ego Must should stop talking and reign in his out of control ego! Or maybe just go to Mars.

[@SushiAddiction]

One of the biggest issues scientists on Earth have is that they assume the psychics on this world is exactly the same for any other world capable of supporting life. Even something as simple as water has completely different states of existing in any world. Even just changing the makeup of our atmosphere by a little would change so much.

[@halporter9]

This Elon call was a classic! “I told you not to call me at work!” “;Stop trying to take over this world and return ….”

[@LuisSierra42]

PLOT TWIST: Elon is actually a lizard and his hometown is underground

[@__christopher__]

But Elon is trying to return to his home planet! What do you think he founded SpaceX for?

[@CountCocofang]

Too unrealistic. Elon doesn't have time for phone calls, he has to argue on his social media platform.

[@71kimg]

Totally fake - it’s scientifically proven that Germans don’t have humour /s - nah - I love it.

[@jendabekCZ]

@@__christopher__ For his ego and money.

[@meereslicht]

Thank you for bringing this very interesting and very philosophical article to our attention, Frau Hossenfelder!

[@Yeaitsej]

6:16 I have completely given up social media. Haven't been on Facebook in months and don't even have a twitter or tic tok. People are fake and memes get old, there's no humanity building. Instead we are dumbing ourselves down

[@jerkchickenblog]

you are, at least. some of us use the tool in the best way it can be used

[@bodeeangus9957]

Same here. These social media sites have been co opted into propaganda mechanisms that are extremely efficient at manipulating people to do all sorts of insane things. I don’t use anything besides KZbin and Reddit these days, and even then I’m skeptical that these sites aren’t being used for similar purposes.

[@bluedotdinosaur]

I have long felt there are two likely possibilities. 1. Life is in fact incredibly rare, due to the circumstances that allow for it being freakish and obscure. Because of this, there would not be much similarity between different instances of life - each would require those rare and unique circumstances. 2. Life is in fact incredibly common - and in order to be so common, it would need to be an expression of foundational rules that work the same everywhere. Creating similar results with nuanced variation.

[@allanfifield8256]

Narrows it right down!

[@Thomas-gk42]

"Just checking if you ´re listening" - these attention checks are lovely. Interesting stuff and a surprising return of the red phone, superb💚🌻

[@lightlegion_]

Wow! Your work is fantastic!

[@thirstyCactus]

1:07 "Parasites are an inevitable result of evolution", then cuts to small children🤣

[@harbinger6562]

Good evening Sabine ♥️🇩🇪🌍🌌🦾😇🌹

[@Maeniel83]

Hey sometimes humans get off the couch, cheetos won't refill themselves (yet).

[@tomschmidt381]

Interesting post. When I saw the title wrote it off because I thought it would argue for the SciFi meme where humans could interbreed with aliens, I think that is a stretch. Instead the paper is focused on underlying characteristics of life that sounds plausible to me.

[@DataIsBeautifulOfficial]

So, just another species arguing over AI.

[@MinedMaker]

Once life gets going there is also convergent evolution which is the idea that similar environmental pressures tends to produce similar evolutionary outcomes independently of each other like has happened many times on earth. Even more reason to think that alien life may very well look like us. Exciting to think about!

[@skelingtonrick]

This is something I have always thought of in the context of scifi, it would make sense for life forms capable of building an interstellar craft to have hands with dexterous fingers instead of like, say tentacles. would creatures that live in a deep ocean ever design rockets that burn? could they even have a concept of fire/plasmas ? I think its more probable than not if we ever meet a galactic neighbor, they might look disappointingly similar to us

[@joepetrucci4908]

exactly, I have thought the same for at least a decade.

[@bzuidgeest]

The deep ocean had thermal vents, lava flows and a lot of chemical reactions. Also they could be amphibians. Or be like some species that are born in water and live on land as adults. I agree with the premise, to make tools you need some kind of dextrous appendages. But like Sabine said, that still leaves a lot of wiggle room for the exact shape and form. I think we would find life everywhere we least expect it if we had a decent interstellar engine.

[@melodymonger]

So Star Trek was right after all 😃🖖

[@avsystem3142]

Tentacles can be exceptionally dextrous.

[@naamadossantossilva4736]

I think an aquatic species will never reach our level of intelligence,because you can't throw rocks well underwater.Throwing rocks is very important to us,it allowed us to fend off predators,hunt with lower chances of getting harmed by prey and get fruits that were inacessible.It is the skill that starts the snowball of IQ advantages that led to us. Throwing rocks is so important for us that we even made some elapids develop poison spit as a counter.

[@myaunteffy1440]

OMG, I have always enjoyed the intellectual stimulation of your content but now you make me laugh too. LOL

[@CyberCradle]

Social media comment at 1:10 deserves its own like.

[@ThisDique]

That's why I'm here, her humor is just 🗿 -> 🎉 The science is cool too. Good work.

[@stanislemovsky5590]

Just watched your latest video on free will, where you mentioned emergent properties. That part somehow reminded me of the term "qualia" (Thomas Nagel's claim that empiricism is fundamentally flawed because it can never describe "how it feels/is to be something" and similar things). If you ever get the chance, I'd be very interested in what you think about this from the perspective of a physicist.

[@tinkmac]

Honestly if an alien ship lands I expect to see you when the doors open, Sabine.

[@Thomas-gk42]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/hKPWqJ98raqcjJYsi=OXvHyJ0_HzMlBS6-

[@supremepartydude]

Great stuff Sabine

[@gameboardgames]

I find it funny to consider theorizing about all life in the universe when we only have a lot of data on it from one planet in somewhere between 40 quintillion to 100 sextillion planets. This is like making theories about all forms of matter with a sample size of one particular hydrogen atom. Not dissuading theorizing or science of course, it's just something amusing to consider.

[@powerandpresence5290]

You are not wrong. We don’t know shit. It’s scary, but that’s the truth. Almost every point in the argumentation here is founded on unexamined presuppositions. And we don’t even know what those unfounded presuppositions are. Because you can’t know what you don’t know. By definition.

[@icecold9511]

But we do understand biochemistry very well. And there are practical realities that can't be avoided. Tool users need manipulative digits and appendages. A dolphin can never accomplish that. Chemistry for breathing is again limited. O2 and CO2 chemically re cycle one to another, and have specific chemical properties. You can't replace them with Argon or methane.

[@gameboardgames]

@icecold9511 Even if we suppose all life is based on carbon and has some sort of DNA, the possibilities are of variance and are next to unlimited. Regarding tool users: manipulative digits of any form could possibly evolve, certainly hands aren't inevitable on the evolution of all planets' life. Even just here on Earth, cephalopods like the octopus have 8 muscular hydrostats that could easily use tools (and already do in limited forms actually) without manipulative digits. A hyper intelligent octopus could develop superior tools to ours that use their suckers instead of fingers. Chemistry for breathing is also not a universal constant. Not even on Earth. For example some bacteria have the chemosynthetic ability to use sulfur as energy, or even methanopyrus that uses methane. There's no reason why on some far away planet with no atmosphere this type of bacteria could not eventually develop into an advanced form of life.

[@richarddean2532]

I watch the tube sitting at my desk lol. I love these very informative videos.

[@TheOneTonHammer]

I expect to see Thermians from Galaxy Quest...

[@archonix]

Mmmmnever give up, never surrender!

[@Waldemar_la_Tendresse]

Nope, definitely Vogons from Hitchhiker's Guide.

[@allanfifield8256]

"Sabine! You are our only hope!"

[@TheIgnoramus]

This is one of the most important concepts for us to understand. Thank you for sharing.

[@mikedunn7795]

I have read that many exobiologists think aliens will look much like we do,as a successful animal would likely walk erect on legs that lift the eyes and brain to better find prey over vegetation,or avoid predators.Arms and hands would be placed on the torso to carry/manipulate tools/weapons. So a Star Trek universe with aliens mostly with humanoid bodies might be reasonable.

[@johnkooy5327]

Yes exactly!...................... And they will all talk English....

[@I_am_Raziel]

​@@johnkooy5327😂

[@ThomasPalm-w5y]

Life is in many ways conservative. Vertebrates have four limbs ever since the first fish that walked up on land happened to evolve four legs. It´s not something that can be easily changed. Is there any reason why you couldn't start with six limbs and end up with creatures more like centaurs? Just to take an example.

[@mikedunn7795]

@@ThomasPalm-w5y For planets like Earth,we won the body design lottery for practical reasons. Crab like bodies couldn't move as fast as two legged upright models,and couldn't see over obstructions if scurrying around on crab limbs. Two arms are symmetrical,as are two legs.

[@doublepinger]

@@ThomasPalm-w5y The problem is any more than two and you become more efficient at dying. Four legs takes more energy, two lets you move without falling over when you get big. Let's you brace kicks at the same time as kicking, compared to one-legged. Two points of arms let's you keep energy while moving in three dimensions, and although more arms gives you more freedom, two is a most efficient when resources get scarce. One is even more efficient resource-wise, but a cycle of "none" and "some" prioritizes having the advantage.

[@omot4372]

Thank you for your superb work and sometimes even hilarious moments in it. Great job!!!!

[@victorkrawchuk9141]

If multicellular life exists on Europa, my bet is for something like Anomalocaris with even bigger eyes. Not that I'd want to meet it. The Cambrian had the most fun with the available DNA, perhaps the rest of the universe dreams up lifeforms in the same way.

[@benmcreynolds8581]

I dream that we became capable of sending ROV's to Europa that allows us to explore it's oceans under the ice and I like to imagine we discover weird deep sea like Life there but with crazy bioluminescence

[@fishygaming793]

I'm sure they do too, many of them.

[@p0lydaedalus]

Why would it need eyes?

[@a.forbes133]

​@p0lydaedalus To perceive the emergent bioluminescence of other organisms. Evolution is such that light sensitive cells that eventually turn into eye structures randomly emerge before the organism is even aware that there is any light to sense and then natural selection makes those light sensitive cells stick around after emerging simply because they confered a survival advantage to a lineage of organisms.

[@victorkrawchuk9141]

@ As a.forbes133 mentioned, also to give me even worse nightmares...

[@eonasjohn]

Thank you for the video.

[@MotherShipMedia]

I think that there likely are certain "rules" for life and advanced life. To get to a technological intelligence that builds spaceships and other widgets, life likely requires some form of fine manipulation tool - our hands are excellent for that, but I can equally see something like an elephant's trunk or an octopus's tentacles serving a very similar purpose. And I think we discount the "intelligence" presence in "colony creatures" like ants or bees who, individually likely aren't intelligent, but collectively do some pretty amazing things that look similar ...

[@PhysioAl1]

Great content 👌

[@NeoRetroX]

This would be interesting, if life indeed started multiple times on earth, and we falslely attribute it to a common ancestor but what was actually happening is that life evolves so similar that it’s indistinguishable from a common ancestor

[@ThomasPalm-w5y]

You can look at DNA to see how it uses the same codes in all different organisms, proving they have a common ancestor. (Unless there is some sort of rule saying the way our DNA works is the only one possible)

[@galaxia4709]

Exactly

[@EthelredHardrede-nz8yv]

@@galaxia4709 Unlikely. The first self or co-reproducing chemicals would soon use up the resources needed for life to start.

[@NokiaTablet-pl7vt]

Maybe new life starts every day here on earth. But then quickly gets taken out by way more evolved life.

[@EthelredHardrede-nz8yv]

@@NokiaTablet-pl7vt Maybe you have some supporting evidence that no one else has. However the reality is that the resources need for life to start simply no longer exist. It was eaten long ago.

[@SN-tt4ym]

I was enjoying my Sunday morning on the couch watching KZbin. 😅

[@stefanklass6763]

There’s a very fine line between parasitism and symbiosis. Sometimes it’s hard or even impossible to judge. I‘d say that what we call parasitism is actually rare, because it’s usually unsustainable. When it happens to be sustainable, it evolves into being symbiotic.

[@AstroGremlinAmerican]

So some day lawyers will become somewhat helpful?

[@mikemondano3624]

If it is sustainable, it is already symbiotic. It doesn't "evolve" into anything else necessarily, though one possibility is that one part of the symbiotic pair becomes dominant and assimilates the biological uniqueness of the other, like the Borg, or human cells and mitochondria.

[@Sim-q9t]

is it a fine line? either they are supposed to be there or not. Like I can basically say dogs are actually parasites for humans. You might argue they are symbiotic but the problem being that humans don't need the dogs in order to replicate, while now the dogs more or less do need the help from humans which makes it a not so mutual thing. or like plants. we are totally plant parasites. if u think of maple syrup, even ketchup is basically like a spider mites wet dream. we eat ketchup and if spider mites like it that basically makes us spider mites, who are parasitic. Bam. logic ftw.

[@allanfifield8256]

@@AstroGremlinAmerican You dream too high!

[@tudomerda]

I know there are aliens on this planet, my cat demonstrates this on a daily basis.

[@nicole.800]

3:33 me, made of differentiated cells, having metabolic cycles, has DNA, and sitting on the couch watching this very youtube video: HEY!

[@Thomas-gk42]

hey

[@elesvazul]

I love your sense of humor!

[@halporter9]

Content was excellent, also. This continues, intelligently, a line of competent speculation that has evolved at least back to my childhood, and I’m 77.

[@_wayneman_]

3:39 Haha, you got me! I was typing on my phone barely listening 😅

[@KentoLeoDragon]

I've thought this for a long time. If you want things that fly and swim and crawl, they'll probably look like things that do that on Earth. If you want something that does what humans do, i.e. build spaceships and go out exploring, don't be too shocked if humans is pretty much what you need.

[@noelwass4738]

Why not something shaped like an octopus? I had thought tentacles would be good for gripping things. But then an octopus is best for the marine environment.

[@mecha-sheep7674]

Birds, bats, flies, dragonflies, butterflies pterosaurs, drones, jets... do fly on earth. I can imagine a low gravity planet with a high density atmosphere (like Titan) where something squid-like fly thanks to some kind of syphon.

[@Skyl3t0n]

Well "humans" in the broadest sense. It has to have the capabilities that humans have. Senses to differentiate between matter and their states predominantly, a nervous systems that allows for abstract thinking and dexterous extremities that allow for precise manipulation of matter. How human this would be in the end is a rather open question.

[@JCAtkeson3]

Even tiny changes in environment such as gravity, temperature, atmosphere etc. can be game changers for what body form comes out on top.

[@TheEmpressPalpatine]

I love the humor here. Good one, Sabine.

[@Dankmangolion]

I have always believed that planets supporting carbon based life, with similar resources, would logically evolve life along similar lines. Just look at the plethora of different life here. Evolution is evolution, no matter where it takes place, and finds solutions to succeed. If you want to see what alien life might look like, just look around this planet. We are part of the life in the universe after all. If we were able to get to another planet to see, I bet there would be fish, birds, mammals, reptiles, all of various and similar configurations as here. :)

[@MrAstrojensen]

5:07 "We got to find Zarniwoop." "Why? Is this the time to keep an appointment?" "He's got a whole different universe in his office!"

[@AshtonCoolman]

I have a crazy hypothesis that alien life has to have a similar range of biology that has existed on Earth at some point in time. There's only so many elements and a finite amount of chemical reactions that can happen with those elements. Biology has probably tried every combination at some point in time. The differences will come from differences in sources of energy like the sun and gravity.

[@Vor10min.]

There is one misconception: Why Biology tried every combination at some point? This is not necessarily true, neither if determinism is true nor if randomness is true.

[@BlackRaven-w4e]

​@Vor10min.Many perhaps?

[@jesan733]

@@BlackRaven-w4e when it comes to RNA/DNA, I think life just evolved along the first successful path. No alternatives could be tried, because they were eaten in their very infancy. If other planets have different abiogenesis environments, then the basics could differ and quite possibly be better in some senses.

[@mikemondano3624]

The number of chemical reactions, though not infinite, may as well be. There are nearly uncountably large isomers of some individual chemicals. It's like the 52 cards in a deck which, if fully shuffled, have only 1 chance in 80658175170943878571660636856403766975289505440883277824000000000000 of being in the same order as another deck. The universe is too young for it to have ever happened. Combinatorics is hard and mind-boggling.

[@lightbearer313]

@@mikemondano3624 Except the card hands are totally random, but chemical reactions are restrained by the laws of physics and the environment that they occur in.

[@richarddavis2605]

Life that evolved on a planet with higher gravity might tend more towards a low center of gravity, like a centipede, lower gravity might be floating gas jellyfish, there is a LOT of variety on Earth too, siphonophores, octopus, i expect some patterns would repeat in similar environments, but there might be wildly different "local maxima" evolution gets trapped in

[@IntegralDeLinha]

At least part of it seems like a finite imagination argument, like "if I can't imagine it happening differently, then it can't happen differently," or "my inference rules don't allow, and my inference rules are necessarily correct."

[@Thomas-gk42]

Well, if it happens in many different environments with a lot of different components, we should find it at some places in our solar system, no?

[@SabineHossenfelder]

Yes, indeed I can think of other ways their argument could go wrong. Then again, it seems it's fair enough that this is probably the easiest and fastest way to grow to complexity so at least up to some stage of evolution it's dominant.

[@Guilhfer]

​@@Thomas-gk42like Earth? Haha I think there was a misunderstanding, because it doesn't say that it is easy, but if life occurs it *maybe* uses the same process.

[@attilaszekeres7435]

Not interested in our environment? Will not come to visit our environment. Come to visit and operate in our environment? It will resemble to us. Simple as that.

[@jimliu2560]

@@SabineHossenfelder Hi Sabine. Why didn’t you talk about Biological-Chirality? Since Aliens have different Chirality, ….aliens will be Toxic to humans….therefore Chirality makes the original argument irrelevant! (Chirality= at least two forms: left-hand (L) and right-hand (R) forms. R-Thalidomide is safe and helps with morning-sickness while S-Thalidomide causes severe birth defects. Earth-life is R-DNA,….L-DNA is equally functional but cannot be read by Earth-Life.). etc…etc…

[@John-g6x1h]

Thank you for the laughs! Oh, and thank you for getting me to think about something I hadn't really considered before.

[@attilaszekeres7435]

I didnt once hear the term most pertinent to the topic: convergent evolution.

[@jimliu2560]

The more relevant issue is “Biological-Chirality”…not convergent evolution… Convergent evolution means “Physically and Chemically the Same”…..but is still “Biologically different and Toxic” to humans…

[@attilaszekeres7435]

There are two schools of thought I am aware of regarding this question. Either selection for left-handed enantiomers occurred in the pre-biotic stages of evolution because chirality is the consequence of fundamental asymmetries in physical reality, or chirality emerged during the transition from abiotic to biotic evolution. Basically, small molecules tend to be achiral, and there is a threshold of complexity beyond which chirality becomes prevalent. It's not just about spatial arrangement but also a temporal directionality in chemical reactions that enables autocatalytic systems. Maintaining consistent chirality requires living systems. Regardless, convergent evolution is taking place within the same chiral framework, and visitors with different chirality (if that scenario is possible at all) would know better than to enter our biosphere. Convergent evolution is the key concept here.

[@jimliu2560]

@@attilaszekeres7435 Incorrect! All molecules with two or more “central carbon” atoms have at least 2 isoforms: 2 central carbon = 2 isoforms… 3 central carbon = 4 isoforms… 4 central carbon = 8 isoforms… etc.. There are billions of molecules and each has different isoforms… All life on Earth has the “Same exact Isoforms for Every single molecule” due to common ancestor… Example of your fallacy: ..All earth-life is Right-handed-DNA (R-DNA)… There is no way for “Convergent- Evolution” to convert R-DNA to L-DNA because to do so would require L-DNA/proteins… (Convergent) Evolution can only change what occurs “Afterwards”…..Not change original isoforms. Even if convergent evolution made Aliens look like us, have the exact organs, the exact cells, the exact “chemical”-molecules….. ….they will still be “biologically different”, hence toxic.. L and R Thalidomide is chemically identical and both equally functional… ….L-thalidomide is a “safe” drug that helps with morning sickness….R-Thalidomide is “toxic” that causes Severe birth defects…because that isoform cannot be read by our cells. People don’t realize this…but the greatest proof of Evolution is the fact that All Earth organism can “Eat” each other…. ie all the “cell machinery” in all Earth cells, are the same isoform and hence “Interchangeable”…and “Readable”! (yes, Even viruses DNA can be spliced into human DNA and vice versa.) Alien will have different isoforms so won’t be interchangeable/ readable…hence toxic..

[@jimliu2560]

@@attilaszekeres7435 No. Convergent Evolution, for example can Not change our R-DNA to L-DNA… Protein molecules transcribed off R-DNA is not compatible by L-DNA… ..hence convergent Evolution is not key-concept….Chirality is key…

[@jimliu2560]

No. Convergent Evolution, for example can Not change our R-DNA to L-DNA…

[@stein1919]

It's life, Jim, but not as we know it, not as we know it.

[@olibertosoto5470]

Makes sense that they are humanoid or we are alienoid. Sometimes I could use an extra hand and eyes in the back of my head so I would expect such variations, but close enough.

[@red.aries1444]

Yes, an extra pair of eyes or extra hands would be practical sometimes. But they also need a lot of energy and you wouldn't need to invent other solutions, therefore I don't think the surviving fittest life form in an evolutionary progress would keep them. I also don't think aliens, which travel through the universe, would look like wookies. One of the biggest factor which drove technical evolution for humans was to make the process of manufacturing clothing easier and more productive. If we would have kept full fur, there wouldn't be any need to invent the spinnig wheel or a weaving loom.

[@lightlegion_]

You have something extraordinary here!

[@RaniaFarislovesRoubi]

👽 👾 Alien....I hope one day they will visit and explain themselves

[@salvador.garcia]

Yeah... the explanation of the cemeteries 😅

[@ZdzichaJedziesz]

Uważam że to będzie AI po cywilizacji której już dawno nie ma 😁

[@numv2]

Aliens come on earth for us to explain them general relativity and the standard model

[@joshuarichardson6529]

Earth is part of the galaxy's most popular reality TV show "Zarthong's most embarrassing probing". Now you know.

[@SakhiKamal-f9j]

I don't think this is a good idea my friend😬

[@lantastic1]

I remember thinking about this more than 20 years ago. I remember thinking there was a strong possibility that, as all kinds of life needs a lot of the same things, and therefore the Star Trek plot/sfx convenience of most sentient life being “humanoid” could actually be right. The bug eyed monster may still be a possibility, but I think when you break it down, you end up consistently with bilateral bipeds.

[@drewdaly61]

Alien biochemistry will be the same DNA, lipids and proteins. But all terestrial life uses the same triplet code for amino acids. There is no way alien life would use the same code to make polypeptides.

[@UniDocs_Mahapushpa_Cyavana]

Depends on the type of alien 👽. Aliens from a non-Earth-like planet, e.g. Venus, would likely do everything extremely different. Aliens in the form of living robots ⚕🤖 (robots built to be ensouled) would be made up of aliens who: • have no biological components • have biological components drastically different, as they are meant to interface with their robotic parts inside them, as they are cyborgs

[@enadegheeghaghe6369]

I don't think it matters that alien "DNA might be different from ours. What matters is that the end result is similar to life on earth. Similar in fuction even if not similar in appearance

[@mikemondano3624]

There is no way it would use DNA, proteins, or lipids, either. That's like telling a judge the suspect is guilty because "Who else could it be?".

[@enadegheeghaghe6369]

@mikemondano3624 it does not matter whether our proteins look the same as theirs, what matters is that the perform similar functions. Neither does it matter if their genetic material looks like our DNA or not, if it is a replicable "genetic" blueprint for the organism, then it is equivalent to our DNA

[@UniDocs_Mahapushpa_Cyavana]

Depends on the type of alien 👽. If they are from a planet very different to Earth e.g. Venus, they will likely do everything/a lot different. If they are living robots ⚕🤖 (machines built to have souls): • some will have no biology at all, being fully machine • some will be cyborgs and their biology will be extremely different, as it has to interface with technology inside them constantly.

[@AtriumPrime]

That's why I tend to be critical as to whether various sci-fi races could truly be spacefaring. Do they have the physical means of manipulting their environment with various challenges to push them through higher levels of technological advancement? Even if a lifeform had some unique trick to dominate an environment, it doesn't automatically give them the ability to transcend it. As brought out in the video though, parasitical lifeforms could hop the stars by latching onto actual spacefaring civilizations.

[@JosBergervoet]

So.. if they are that similar, could all those internet & KZbin personalities also be Aliens?! (We all know about Mark Zuck now, but what about the rest, Sabine?)

[@leighkite1164]

Quality as always, and love the swipes at Elon. 🤣

[@bhangrafan4480]

One much unnoticed fact of biology: parasitism is the most common biological habit. It should not be surprising as parasitism is an easy life, but it can be seen by the fact that every non-parasitic species, (including even bacteria), has at least one or more parasites.

[@philiptaylor7902]

All higher animals are parasitical upon plants.

[@tedmoss]

symbiotic life has an advantage.

[@bhangrafan4480]

@@tedmoss Of course symbiotic forms exist, but they are much less common than parasitism which grossly predominates. Two obvious points though, 1) parasitism has to be sustainable, so parasites need to be well adapted so they do not affect their host populations too badly. 2) There is of course a great interdependence of different species in an ecosystem which also predominates, but it does not mostly manifest as a symbiotic life form such as Lichens etc., more as either food chains etc., or as associations (like mycorrhizae and plants).

[@Steve-co1ic]

Think you nailed it on parasites and social media 😁

[@backyardthinker5996]

some basics like gravity dictates the possibilities of how would a life form can exist. but, we only see what we see, we don't know if there are other possibilities with the existence of elements and reactions we don't yet know of.. our imagination is limited by our knowledge no matter how wild it may be

[@anotherfreediver3639]

Agreed. Because we rely on liquid water, we can only imagine other systems that are more like us than perhaps they need to be. The idea of life in liquid hydrogen is intriguing!

[@mtnphot]

@@anotherfreediver3639 It might be intriguing, however unlikely. Organic chemistry is universal We don't see any chemicals that are analogous to carbon in meteorites for good reason. There are no substitutes for carbon carbon bonds so you are not going to find biochemistries that are different from ours. Our biochemistry is based on essential chemical properties. You might find that like certain bacteria, they may use different sources for energy, but the underlying chemistry is similar.

[@AdamBoozer]

I tend to agree. I once saw a documentary about xenobiology that had evolutionary biologist discussing this topic and how they also thought that bipedal humanoid was most likely on land as well. This makes me think that they would likely look similar but have different enough structures that communication could be difficult. Meaning that smaller adaptations would be where we would likely differ, like the shape of the mouth palette to form words?

[@europaeuropa3673]

If they are not similar, we will never find out.

[@amirsa7140]

I highly recommend reading the nick lane's the vital question book in this regard

[@maxm2639]

Fascinating, funny, and thought-provoking video. Thank you!

[@SabineHossenfelder]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@eeerreeerr-s4v]

Every day, this is my best 10 minutes.

[@MikesterCurtis]

A retrovirus is great at evolving its host. I like the idea that there could be a different unimaginable chemistry - a bit like Andromeda Strain. And us speculating is limited by our limited imaginations.

[@lightlegion_]

It’s lovely to meet you!

[@davidrommel8109]

But what if they are mirrored life? 🤗

[@findingwisdomdotme]

stop it! Don't you EVER play with fire!

[@paulbosse262]

I'm waiting for the day we get some good news . Mirrored ...what a can of worms

[@lightlegion_]

I’m glad to have met you!

[@JohnCane147]

So it makes sense that Superman looks like a human?

[@CedricPETIEU-hh3tk]

The first Superman was a super human from the twin sister of Earth. Krypton was a planet on the other side of the sun.

[@SakhiKamal-f9j]

It make sense to me that Human looks like superman superman is the origine if you want to argue i am here