The NASA Mars rover has found evidence of water on Mars. This opens the possibil

Question

The NASA Mars rover has found evidence of water on Mars. This opens the possibility that life may have existed on another planet, perhaps evolving completely independently. “Just think!” says your friend, “Extraterrestrial cells might be totally different than Earth cells. For example, the plasma membranes might be inside out, with the polar heads on the inside and the tails on the outside!” What is your response? A.“That seems unlikely, since if a cell is in a watery environment, and has a watery cytoplasm, the polar head groups will still be most stable on the outside rather than pushed together.” B.“Yes, anything we’ve learned about how Earth cells work is unlikely to be the same if evolution ran independently.” C.“Since the gravity is much lower on Mars, that reduces the constraints on cell size and they are likely to be much bigger – but still with the charged heads on the outside.” D.“Well that happens in specialized cells on Earth too. For instance, adipocytes have these inside-out membranes.”

Explanation / Answer

My response is option C , Since the gravity is much lower, cell sizes are likely to be bigger but the charged heads on outside.

Also "the plasma membranes might be inside out, with the polar heads on the inside and the tails on the outside!” - structure like this seems unlikely to me, I feel the basic structure of the cell membrane would not change.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse T
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.