Life Form Found on Saturns Titan Scientists say they have discovered hints of alien life1 on the Saturns moon2. The discovery of a sort of life was announced after researchers at the US space agency,NASA3,analyzed data from spacecraft Cassini4,which pointed to,the existence of methane-based form of life on Saturns biggest moon. They argue that hydrogen gets absorbed before hitting Titans planet-like surface covered with methane lakes and rivers. This,they say,points to the existence of somebugs5 consuming the hydrogen at the surface of the moon less than half the size of the Earth. To date,scientists have not yet detected this form of life anywhere,though there are liquid-water-based microorganisms on Earth that grow well on methane or produce it as a waste product. On Titan, where temperatures are around 90 Kelvin6,a methanebased organism would have to use a substance that is liquid as its medium for living processes, but not water itself. Water is frozen solid on Titans surface and much too cold to support life as we know it. The absence of detectable acetylene on the Titans surface can very well have a non-biological explanation,said Mark Allen,a principal investigator7 of the NASA Titan team. 词汇: methane n.甲烷,沼气 acetylene n.乙炔 conservatism n.保守主义,守旧 |