David Grinspoon, whose somewhat redundant but interesting book I am reading right now, is referenced in the BBC News today about the possibility of life on Saturn's moon Titan.

Apparently, Titan has volcanic activity, and active climate, and rains of methane.

Evidence also suggests Titan is constantly being resurfaced by a fluid mixture of water and ammonia spewed out by volcanoes and hot springs, explaining why Titan is not littered with impact craters like its neighbours. Many processes that occur on Earth also take place on TitanA surface feature called Ganesa Macula may show just such a flow emanating from a volcanic crater. The moon's icy surface is also covered with a film, or patina, of organic compounds, Cassini-Huygens data show.

One researcher has even proposed a way for life to survive on the giant Saturnian satellite. It is too cold for organisms to survive on the surface of Titan, where temperatures are about -178C (-289F). But David Grinspoon of the Southwest Research Institute says organisms could occupy specific niches, such as hot springs. They could use acetylene, in reaction with hydrogen gas, to release enough energy to power metabolism, and possibly to heat their environments.

So that is interesting. I wonder if long-chain carbon polymers could form in a methane-ammonia environment. I also wonder what the role of oxygen really is in the evolution of cellular life. I doubt there is life on Titan - although it would be awesome if there were - but I am rethinking my sci-fi ideas about the chemistry of other worlds . . .

There is a lab nearby that is trying to make cells from non-living components (replicating vesicles, or protocells). It's very neat stuff.