Skip to main content
Journal cover image

Thinking outside Earth’s box—how might heredity and evolution differ on other worlds?

Publication ,  Journal Article
Noor, MAF
Published in: Evolution: Education and Outreach
December 1, 2022

Scholars and the public conceive of extraterrestrial life through the lens of "life as we know it" on Earth. However, assumptions based on centuries of study around heredity and evolution on Earth may not apply to life truly independent forms of life, and some perspectives accepted or ruled out in the nineteenth century may need to be re-evaluated for life outside of Earth. In honor of the 200th birthday of Mendel, and to provide raw material for the creativity of storytellers, filmmakers, and the public, this thought experiment essay revisits a handful of classic concepts and approaches, as well as some unusual forms of life on Earth, to posit whether different types of genetics and evolution may exist in truly independent extraterrestrial forms. While fundamental evolutionary processes like natural selection and genetic drift are likely to still apply at least similarly in independent life forms, inheritance may be quite radically different from that envisioned by Mendel and others since.

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

Evolution: Education and Outreach

DOI

EISSN

1936-6434

ISSN

1936-6426

Publication Date

December 1, 2022

Volume

15

Issue

1
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Noor, M. A. F. (2022). Thinking outside Earth’s box—how might heredity and evolution differ on other worlds? Evolution: Education and Outreach, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12052-022-00172-4
Noor, M. A. F. “Thinking outside Earth’s box—how might heredity and evolution differ on other worlds?Evolution: Education and Outreach 15, no. 1 (December 1, 2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12052-022-00172-4.
Noor MAF. Thinking outside Earth’s box—how might heredity and evolution differ on other worlds? Evolution: Education and Outreach. 2022 Dec 1;15(1).
Noor, M. A. F. “Thinking outside Earth’s box—how might heredity and evolution differ on other worlds?Evolution: Education and Outreach, vol. 15, no. 1, Dec. 2022. Scopus, doi:10.1186/s12052-022-00172-4.
Noor MAF. Thinking outside Earth’s box—how might heredity and evolution differ on other worlds? Evolution: Education and Outreach. 2022 Dec 1;15(1).
Journal cover image

Published In

Evolution: Education and Outreach

DOI

EISSN

1936-6434

ISSN

1936-6426

Publication Date

December 1, 2022

Volume

15

Issue

1