Are we right to think there can't be life without water?
by 
picsintrees
ANSWERS: 13
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I don't think so. Scientists believe in evolution...we EVOLVED into being Dependant on certain things. Life on other planets may evolve into being Dependant on other things
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I don't believe this to be true. It is a very limited view of the Universe. I believe, don't know, that scientists today are sticking with what they know.
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No most of the body is made of water.. no water we dry up.
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Nothing grows without water, therefore nothing to create an alternative from, and were not going to evolve into something that can survive without it, so yes we are right to believe there can't.
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I do not believe so. There are organisms on the planet that can survive in the harshest of conditions. For instance: there are organisms that live on the bottom of the ocean, and ingest sulfur, and other hazardous chemicals for sustenance. This leads me to believe that life can evolve in many ways that we thought impossible, just a few years ago.
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Well I'm sure some things could survive without water, but not many.
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Sorry, but you won't get a definitive answer to this or other speculative questions. We *don't know* of any life without water. However, a few years ago we didn't know about extremophiles living in acidic hot springs in Yellowstone National Park or in hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extremophile
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May be Scientists are looking only for similar organisms which are in earth in near future. after all its all commerical in the end. How intresting would it be if a rock in saturn is alive for million of years and that doesnt move like the organisms in earth? u r question is intresting though.(+2)
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Not concerning humans. Our body is compiled of 75% water. Humans cannot survive without water.
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All life on Earth requires water -- cellular metabolism cannot proceed without it. Plant seeds, bacterial spores & the like are capable of withstanding years of dormancy in a dried-out state before eventually completing the reproductive cycle once water is available. As far as we know, there is no life anywhere but on Earth. Speculating on extra-terrestrial life, if it exists: Without water (aqueous solutions mixing many kinds of molecules) it's hard to imagine "life as we know it", meaning the usual biochemical reactions of carbon-based molecules including proteins and nucleic acids. Could some kind of organic life be supported by liquid methane, ammonia, carbon dioxide, etc rather than water? I don't think anybody knows. But they don't call water the 'universal solvent' for nothing! In any case I'd expect some kind of LIQUID to be required. What about non-carbon based life? Silicon-based, perhaps. Nobody knows.
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I believe on other planets there may be some sort of 'water-equivalent' in which the living species in question may not even need water.
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Water is the universal solvent. Most of the chemicals that are behind the process called life are in solution. I can't prove this of course, but I would be willing to bet that if life is ever discovered elsewhere, it will be full of organic compounds in water solution.
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The answer to this question will be different for most people, because it depends on your definition of the term "life." Life as we know it cannot exist without water as many others have stated. Machines can right now be built that satisfy almost all criteria we use to define life, but I doubt anyone would call these alive. The one criterion that machines have not been successfully designed to meet is intelligence - though this is getting closer and closer. So, would you define a sentient machine as alive? If so, then that is an example of life without water. As for carbon based life, it almost certainly COULD have evolved in another solvent. How often it WOULD is another question entirely that is much more difficult to answer. The basic building blocks would have to be drastically different, but it is most definitely possible.
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