But we believe evolutionary theory offers a unique additional tool for trying to understand what aliens will be like, and we have shown some examples of the kinds of strong predictions we can make with it. Sam Levin added: ‘We still can't say whether aliens will walk on two legs or have big green eyes. (c) An alien with many intricate parts working together is likely to have undergone major transitions. Even something this simple has sufficient contrivance of parts that it must undergo natural selection. (b) An incredibly simple, cell-like entity. This may or may not undergo natural selection. (a) A simple replicating molecule, with no apparent design. These illustrations represent different levels of adaptive complexity we might imagine when thinking about aliens. The paper also makes specific predictions about the biological make-up of complex aliens, and offers a degree of insight as to what they might look like. Both theory and empirical data suggest that extreme conditions are required for major transitions to occur. These transitions occur when a group of separate organisms evolve into a higher-level organism - when cells become multi-cellular organisms, for example. ![]() Species complexity has increased on the Earth as a result of a handful of events, known as major transitions. Using this idea of alien natural selection as a framework, the team addressed extra-terrestrial evolution, and how complexity will arise in space. This is a useful approach, because theoretical predictions will apply to aliens that are silicon based, do not have DNA, and breathe nitrogen, for example.’ ‘In our paper, we offer an alternative approach, which is to use evolutionary theory to make predictions that are independent of Earth's details. Sam Levin, a researcher in Oxford’s Department of Zoology Past approaches in the field of astrobiology have been largely mechanistic, taking what we see on Earth, and what we know about chemistry, geology, and physics to make predictions about aliens.īy predicting that aliens undergone major transitions - which is how complexity has arisen in species on earth, we can say that there is a level of predictability to evolution that would cause them to look like us. ![]() We only have one example of life - life on Earth - to extrapolate from. But making predictions about aliens is hard. Sam Levin, a researcher in Oxford’s Department of Zoology, said: ‘A fundamental task for astrobiologists (those who study life in the cosmos) is thinking about what extra-terrestrial life might be like. The theory supports the argument that foreign life forms undergo natural selection, and are like us, evolving to be fitter and stronger over time. They show that aliens are potentially shaped by the same processes and mechanisms that shaped humans, such as natural selection. In a new study published in the International Journal of Astrobiology scientists from the University of Oxford show for the first time how evolutionary theory can be used to support alien predictions and better understand their behaviour.
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