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Saturn's moon Titan could harbor life, but only a tiny amount

(news.arizona.edu)
61 points geox | 1 comments | 07 Apr 25 21:31 UTC | HN request time: 3.432s | source
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bpodgursky ◴[10 Apr 25 14:26 UTC] No.43644126[source]▶
> The researchers specifically focused on one organic molecule, glycine, the simplest of all known amino acids.

This is such a goofy assumption. That any life on Titan would use the exact same amino acids as earth-based life. If you have no clue whether something is possible, sometimes it's better to predict nothing at all.

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1. Tagbert ◴[10 Apr 25 14:43 UTC] No.43644293[source]▶
It’s not goofy. We find these amino acids in meteorites and it is clear that they are widespread in space. Glycine being the simplest is probably the most common and most likely to be incorporated by life. It is a good proxy for an estimate.