I will refer all those interested to my favorite astrobiologist, Dr. Michael L. Wong[0].
A common model defines "life" as an autocatalytic network of organometallic chemicals in aqueous solution that processes information and dissipates specific disequilibria, but Dr. Wong invites us to consider as "lyfe" any hypothetical phenomenon that 1) maintains a low-entropy state via dissipation, 2) uses autocatalytic networks for growth, 3) employs homeostatic mechanisms for stability, and 4) acquires and processes functional information about its environment.
Likewise, while the traditional definition of planetary habitability focuses on liquid water, free energy, and basic chemical ingredients (CHNOPS), "lyfe" may flourish wherever there are sufficient free energy gradients, and a threshold level of environmental complexity that drives information processing and learning behaviors.
As OP suggests as well, if "lyfe" exists in environments far beyond Earth's physicochemical boundaries, it would almost certainly use different biochemistry from Earthly life.
Wong et al. even imagine novel forms of "lyfe" such as a "mechanotroph," which would transduce mechanical work from fluid flow into its metabolism, or "thermotrophs" that might harness energy from thermal gradients. Truly alien!
A common model defines "life" as an autocatalytic network of organometallic chemicals in aqueous solution that processes information and dissipates specific disequilibria, but Dr. Wong invites us to consider as "lyfe" any hypothetical phenomenon that 1) maintains a low-entropy state via dissipation, 2) uses autocatalytic networks for growth, 3) employs homeostatic mechanisms for stability, and 4) acquires and processes functional information about its environment.
Likewise, while the traditional definition of planetary habitability focuses on liquid water, free energy, and basic chemical ingredients (CHNOPS), "lyfe" may flourish wherever there are sufficient free energy gradients, and a threshold level of environmental complexity that drives information processing and learning behaviors.
As OP suggests as well, if "lyfe" exists in environments far beyond Earth's physicochemical boundaries, it would almost certainly use different biochemistry from Earthly life.
Wong et al. even imagine novel forms of "lyfe" such as a "mechanotroph," which would transduce mechanical work from fluid flow into its metabolism, or "thermotrophs" that might harness energy from thermal gradients. Truly alien!
0. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Michael+L.+Wong