what “carbon based” life means
In: Biology
It means that the atom that is used for the base of nearly all of the ‘life sustaining’ molecules is carbon. Carbon forms the basis for nearly every important molecule in the body – our proteins, DNA, cell walls, etc all use carbon as the base scaffolding.
All life we know if is carbon-based, but it is theorized that other atoms (like silicon) with similar properties to carbon could potentially fill that role in other lifeforms. It is just theory, as we have never found any living thing that uses anything but carbon for the base.
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