Re: starship-design: germs in space

[Zenon Kulpa <zkulpa@ippt.gov.pl>]

> From owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu Thu Jan 24 04:13:33 2002
> From: Curtis Manges <clmanges@yahoo.com>
> 
> Say, you recall some mention here recently of alien viruses or
> whatever, and how they might like us (for dinner) or not?
> 
> Well, it looks like we'd better be careful out there . . .
> 
> http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/23jan_cellwars.htm?list503653
> 
> I was going to try to get some comfort from the notion that they'd
> probably not like us. Things are amazingly complex at the cellular
> level, and a few molecules difference in transmitters, receptors,
> etc., and you've just got nothing going on, and I think this would be
> a likely scenario.
> 
> It might not stay that way, though; those things usually display very
> high rates of reproduction, which means they can evolve faster, and
> they're probably almost as opportunistic as we are.
> 
Note, however, that _before_ they would be able to achieve
these high rates of reproduction, they should find something
edible and nutritious to them...

-- Zenon Kulpa