Misguided look for life?

[Nick]

Well for ages now we have been looking for life like us, breathing oxygen, expelling CO2, eating food and drinking beer, well maybe wine ;)
I am a frequent reader of New Scientist, and ive read a few articles that suggest that life is in a different form, perphaps breathing gaseous iodine, and expelling radioactive Einsteinium.
Its a very intersting concept.

[rumples riot]

From how I understand it there can only be two forms of life.

1. carbon based
2. silicon based.

Now we are carbon based and so the search has been focused on stars that have similar conditions to our own sun, in the hope that another carbon based life form may exist out there. This does not mean they are looking for bipeds who are necessarily just like us. In fact it is extremely doubtful that another species of intelligent life would look anything like us. But you never know. If we were to find another carbon life form it may be easier to meet in person if the gases are the same.

As for silicon based, they would most likely breath a different combination of gases that we do. Gases that are extremely toxic to us, in this event meeting might never take place. There is a real chance that this form of life exists out there. Probably more so than our own configuration.

All I hope is that they find something soon, humans are far too cocky for their own good.

Paul