Posts tagged xenobiology
Development The females ovulate on average 5-15 eggs per cycle. Unfertilized eggs get reabsorbed and fertilized eggs start developing a shell. The shell takes 2 weeks to fully form. Once all the f...
Diurnal vs Nocturnal These aliens have genes that influence whether the alien will be diurnal or nocturnal. Hatching time also influences this. Genetics: DD - Diurnal NN - Nocturnal DN or ND -...
BioSteel is a substance produced by goats whose DNA has received the silk-producing genes of spiders. While silkworms are generally social creatures, spiders are reclusive, meaning they cannot be...
"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." "” H.P. Lovecraft One example of this is the universal fear of the da...
A short time ago I read that life might be possible on interstellar planets (i.e. planet-like objects which aren't bound to a star by gravity.) They may be insanely cold on the surface but inside t...
My hero is a synthetic biologist of an ancient race that achieved spaceflight billions years ago. His bio ship could achieve high fraction of speed of light, and he could repair or modify his body ...
I was wondering whether a planet might exist that has life forms with up to five sexes, with a single organism having three different and independent, functional sets of sexual organs. Presuming in...
I'll keep this one brief. I have an alien from a planet which has extremely cold nights and extremely hot days (the day and night cycle may be short or long, I haven't decided). When the alien get...
I'm looking for biological explanations for some traits I want to give to an alien creature. Description of the Creature It looks like a five foot tall praying mantis, or perhaps a centaur. It ha...
In lots of science fiction works that visit other planets we are often introduced to intelligent plant based lifeforms, be they humanoid looking or potted plant looking. I'm curious as to what par...
All organisms on Earth produce waste. Whether an organism's respiration has a byproduct, or it just doesn't process all food it consumes, it will always put some amount of matter into the environme...
I have an earth like planet where stalkers live. They are: Humanoid about same height, strength & speed as humans Three pairs of eyes placed horizontally (Near UV, Visible, Near IR) Lightspee...
To be clear, I'm not talking about AB, O, A, or B type blood. I'm not talking about different colored blood, either; I saw a bunch of those types of questions earlier. I'm talking about anoxygeni...
I would like to have a humanoids with three pairs of eyes placed on the same horizontal plane like in Protheans not one below the other like Batarian. I was thinking of one pair being sensitive to...
I want to create an alien life for a planet which is at about 6"“8 Earth masses. It has a thick atmosphere made of hydrogen, helium, methane and nitrogen. I want that life to evolve slowly and be q...
Silicon is often brought up in science fiction as being very similar to carbon, just below it on the periodic table. The silicon-based "organic" molecules are more tightly bound and thus would fin...
Some information about their homeworld: Their homeworld, 0.34247 (M⊕) 0.54 G, 10156 km. The atmospheric pressure of their homeworld is 62% of the Earth's, and the planet has an average temper...
Aside from resorting to a grey goo-ish nanoplague that kills indiscriminately regardless of biochemistry, how might an alien virus, bacteria or other pathogen still be dangerous to humans? Could a ...
For all who are unaware, synesthesia is a condition in the brain where two or more senses are connected; for example being able to see sound or hear color. Of course they do not actually see color ...
Disclaimer: This question is the third of a new series of questions of mine about introducing hexapeds to the fauna of my conworld. There are/will be other questions addressing i.a.: characteristic...
What would be the most effective feet design for sustaining massive weight and also allow for the ability to climb? The organism in question has 12 limbs, 8 of which are large and strong legs that...
Positing a high (c. 35%) Oâ‚‚-level on a roughly Earth-equivalent planet (atmosphere about like the early Carboniferous), what types of lifeforms would flourish? Obviously, giant insects could be ...
In my fictional world there are small organisms the size of a dog or smaller,some have the shape of mini-volcanoes, while some are stuck between rocks, they don't move and live in both sea and land...
Here's the scenario: animals on a world with an atmosphere with a significant amount of a certain gas is able to store "air" into a transparent growth (like a crest) and, with an electrical chord i...
Short question, what events would induce the evolution from hands of 4 fingers and 1 thumb into hands of 2 fingers and 1 thumb like the hands of Yoda in Start wars?Would be 2 thumbs and 1 finger be...
Why would an non-Eusocial animal have a caste of sterile individuals? Formicidae and Apoidea have sterile workers,but those outnumber the fertile drones and princesses or queens. In another anima...
I'm creating a world three-quarters the gravity of Earth, and the composition of the atmosphere are as followed: 74% Neon (or Argon) 18% Nitrogen 5% Oxygen 1.6% Carbon Dioxide 0.9% Water Vapor...
Could a planet with an atmosphere composed mostly of neon, with oxygen and carbon dioxide making most of the rest, support life as we know it (specifically on a low gravity planet)? If so, what imp...
I'm designing a creature that has found a new way to evolve directly during its life time. This method is different from having to bear incredible environmental stress or being a victim to violent ...
I designed a humanoid race with bio-electric organs along the arms which release electricity through the hand to the victims (it has to be done in direct contact). The electricity released has to ...
On Earth, the vast majority of the biosphere is ultimately dependent on a large number of autotrophic organisms that produce usable energy in the form of glucose by using photosynthesis. However, o...
I was thinking of a set of life forms that originates from neutron superfluid inside a neutron star. So these life forms are not made of atoms but are made entirely of neutrons. How might this li...
I've been working on this creature some more and have hit another snag. If my critters communicate through the use of pheromones and chemical trails, how do they communicate the message that it i...
How could an auditory organ perceive sound waves with a completely different anatomy from the vertebrate ear (e.g. canal, typanum, bones) at the same effectiveness?
Is it possible that a large, multicellular, naturally evolved organism with an advanced intellect on the order of a human's could have evolved to pass on its knowledge and memories in a fashion tha...
And I'm not talking about insects. In what kind of environment could a large number of different species all develop six legs/limbs/appendages the same way most vertebrate species on Earth have fou...
What modifications would be needed for a mammal, bird or reptile to work with electricity? For work I mean mostly think and move, for example it would need to eat in order to repair it's body, gro...
Within software environments there is a variety of malware such as viruses, trojans, bots and so forth. This malware is created by human programmers to accomplish specific purposes (e.g. steal pers...
I'm making a species which has a gas-based circulatory system. How would one go about designing such a system, in which liquid blood is replaced by some kind of gas? What kind of blood vessels wou...
I'm trying to work out some really basic biochemical details for cold-world aliens whose bodily fluids are based on liquid methane rather than water. I figure they have to be hydrogen breathers, be...
Here's the set up: in my fantasy world, there is a species of tree similar to Banyan trees. There are several giant versions of these, and smaller ones are quite common. One of the biggest of the...
Let's say I have been chosen to evaluate whether or not alien worlds contain sapient life before we terraform them. Just assume that we learned to work together and live as a species in peace, trea...
There's a species called Foos. Foos are fairly similar to humans. In a primitive society, in fact, they would appear identical to humans in actual physical appearance, mannerisms, and base behavior...
So I'm looking to make an insect-like organism for my book, and I was wondering what I need to think about to make it feasable, given these conditions: -These insectoids are approximately 2 meters...
I am trying to find a way to justify the creation of a single celled sentient (sorry intelligent) being. It's general structure is not specifically apparent although it should have the ability to e...
Bioluminescence is badass. It involves living beings emitting bright light in the visible spectrum. Would it be, though, possible that a lifeform emits UV (ultraviolet) light? Does it occur in re...
A type of species is not defined yet. It can be the insect like bee, slime like oak moss or AI. There is a hive-mind species, but its hive mind is not queen/king/mastermind. Each individual in t...
In the book The Host by Stephenie Meyer, a parasitic species (Souls) attach to the back of the spinal cord of alien creatures to control their brains, but I find this a wee bit unbelievable. As it ...
Isogamy: "sexual reproduction by the fusion of similar gametes." Not to be confused with Isogyny, "marriage between people of similar status or age." All such species on Earth lack tissue-level or...
Not sure if this is too broad, but I am currently in the process of making a few flying alien species and, of course, didn't want to use the old insect or bat-like wings. Of the types of wings (or...