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SCIENCE 101>Life on Europa: Theoretical Lab Paper

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Life on Europa Jupiter’s moon Europa has life hidden in its icy oceans. In many ways the cells found there face similar conditions to those on Earth. In many ways they also face a plethora of cha ... llenges from the differing conditions, and some challenges from differing cell function. In order to survive adverse conditions, life on Europa will need to adapt to the environment. The cells on Europa may have a difficult time intaking oxygen, and this is for a couple of reasons. Europa has a similar amount of oxygen as Earth, but a much larger amount of co2. The cells are also are larger, which means the surface area to volume ratio is higher. One problem that could be a concern would be a larger intake of co2 by means of diffusion. Both carbon dioxide and oxygen diffuse across cell membranes; with more carbon dioxide in the air the cell will take in one more than the other. In other words, less oxygen than needed will be absorbed. Another concern would be the small surface area to volume; the cell may be unable to take in all the nutrients it needs to survive overall. Due to oxygen being essential for cellular respiration, and the conversion of energy within cells, they would need to adapt in order to find longevity. One possibility would be the membrane becoming more selective when it comes to diffusion, or what molecules pass to the interior. For example: restricting co2 to only pass through by way of channel proteins or carrier proteins. Alternatively, cells could adapt to photosynthesize like those on Earth. With excess amounts of co2 in the air, it could be a way to save the cells on Europa. Europa has too much salt in its oceans. Water is attracted to NaCl so it tends to flock to cells. This typically means the cell loses water, causing it to become hypertonic. Unless a hypertonic cell is put in an opposing hypotonic solution, it will eventually die from lack of water. Unfortunately the Europan oceans are lacking in any freshwater. The cells could eventually become acclimated to the high levels of salt, much like organisms in [Show More]

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