BBC Focus Magazine

[Thinker]

I know of no organism that can exist from birth to death without water. And as far as a google search is concerned, neither does anyone else!

[Isee]

Tardigrades anyone? Or Water Bears if you prefer, been around for some 530 million years (so they have survived a few major extinctions) and apparently capable of tolerating temperatures from +151 to -328 degrees Centigrade whilst being immune to most levels of radiation considered harmful to other life forms along with the ability to survive 1000 times more UV, they have even been exposed to the vacuum of space at 260 kilometres altitude and survived.
Tough little multi-celluar critters if you ask me.

That kind of answers the question is there life out there other than on earth, non?

If we have already contaminated non terrestial systems with organisms. how long until we contaminate a non solar system in this way and it happens to have acceptable to life conditions (I am not saying perfect, just acceptable. water inliquid form and an energy source). This is nigh on certainty right now. Leave the contamination alone for another billion years and presto- complex life. Maybe even complex enough to build a rocket and contaminate another solar system or a galaxy?

It doesn't answer where the original life came from but in my opinion makes the odds of other active/alive life out there are .99

[MikeG]

About a year ago (maybe more) a Science story claiming a new arsenic based life form was discovered. This is now disputed. The new study claims that the bacteria just lives in an arsenic rich environment (as opposed to arsenic comprising part of its DNA genetic makeup). Whatever the case may be, its certainly indicative that life is more robust than we previously believed.

http://www.nature.com/news/study-challe ... ife-1.9861