Why an Atheist Thinks the Shroud of Turin is the Real Deal

Other Possibilities

Without carbon, life as we know it could not exist. That sentence includes what has become the great disclaimer: life as we know it.  That presupposes that other forms of life, not based on carbon, might exist somewhere in the universe. Some have suggested that silicon, another element in great abundance, like carbon, can form some of the sort of complex molecular structures needed for life. But there are probably too many problems. McGrath lists several. Oligosilanes, silicon’s equivalent of hydrocarbons, decompose rapidly in the presence of oxygen. Silicon does not have carbon’s unique ability to create double and triple bonds, significant in any sort of biological system. The list goes on.  For now, no one has figured out how life as we know it can be anything other than carbon-based. Of course, this doesn’t rule out the possibility that we have overlooked something. And it doesn’t rule out the possibility of carbon-based life somewhere else in the universe or rule out the possibility that in some other universe Elvis is alive and still singing.