Лазал по нету, значит...
Нашёл статью того самого
Стивена Беннера, который придумал синтетическую биологию.
(из Википедии о его интересах:
Astrobiology.
The exploration of planets other than Earth seeks signs of non-terrean life. The Benner group has worked to identify molecular structures likely to be universal features of living systems regardless of their genesis, and not likely products of non-biological processes. These are "bio-signatures", both for terrean-like life and for "weird" life forms . As a member of the NASA Astrobiology Institute (with the University of Washington), and in collaborations with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the University of Michigan, the Benner group is designing the next generation of probes to Mars.)
Статья здесь
http://www.ffame.org/people/sbenner.html
Называется - "Is there a common chemical model for life in the universe?"
Абстрактс:
A review of organic chemistry suggests that life, a chemical
system capable of Darwinian evolution, may exist in a wide
range of environments. These include non-aqueous solvent
systems at low temperatures, or even supercritical dihydrogen–
helium mixtures. The only absolute requirements may be a
thermodynamic disequilibrium and temperatures consistent
with chemical bonding. A solvent system, availability of
elements such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen,
certain thermodynamic features of metabolic pathways, and
the opportunity for isolation, may also define habitable
environments. If we constrain life to water, more specific
criteria can be proposed, including soluble metabolites,
genetic materials with repeating charges, and a well defined
temperature range.
Я статью не читал (а если бы прочитал, всё равно мало что понял бы, т.к. не биолог и не химик), решил вам рассказать, кажется, статья в тему.