Understanding principles of the drive behind molecular complexity
In order to get a better picture of the probability and scale of other life forms in the Universe we need to get a better understanding the factors creating life. Given the ideal mixture of chemicals on our planet, simple molecules became more complex and created the living things we see. Which law of physics, if any, is driving this build up from a simple soup of algae to highly complex and specialized creatures like sharks, whales, birds and even humans ?.
Being goldilocks is one thing, a given planet also needs to have the elements allowing an endless cycle of chemical reactions in the temperature range present, using the energy of their star to create the perfect cycle of life like we have here, from dust to dust. Also the life needs to be distributed over creatures made of complex molecules, and creatures turning complex molecules into basic elements like bacteria... Life = Tossing a dice 10^X times with 6 on top, Science: Find X and the reasons why 6 came of top often enough to create life.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
