This project was made possible through the support of a grant from the John Templeton Foundation.The opinion expressed in this project are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.
Implications of Finding Shadow life
Discovering shadow life could potentially impact all aspects of our life, from health and wellness to opening up commercial opportunities.
There might be an entire world of organisms that affect our daily lives in ways we haven’t yet anticipated, as with the identification of viruses, which would have been considered shadow life before their discovery. It is possible that some unknown life may be involved in causing human disease, while another might lead to discovery of novel drugs and medicines. Some new forms might even turn out make a tasty snack!
Areas with potential impact
– Health sciences and medicine
– Pharmaceuticals/Biotechnology
– Space Travel and Exploration
– Extraterrestrial life discovery
– Science and evolutionary theory
– Commercial products
– Military and Defense
– Agriculture and food production
– Livestock and husbandry
– Industry (engineering and manufacturing)
– Household goods
Being able to change our definition of biology doesn’t mean we have to look at other planets, if we find that on earth that’s even more groundbreaking, because it’s been living here this whole time and we haven’t noticed it, so it’s sort of, the shock of it also makes it sort of interesting, because it’s living right beneath our noses but we haven’t really found it yet.
– Kevin Freedman – Postdoc Global Viral