Paleodictyon, a regularly spaced hexagonal network preserved in deep-sea sediments on Earth, has puzzled biologists and geologists for decades. Conventional cellular, organic, and carbon-based life explanations have been increasingly invalidated by modern genomic and geochemical evidence, which reveals no unique DNA, specialized organic biomarkers, or biochemical signatures associated with the structure. In light of recent peer-reviewed inferences that non-chemical, physical-biological entities cannot be ruled out, this paper proposes that Paleodictyon represents a form of physical-field life maintained by electrokinetic effects, colloidal self-organization, and electrochemical gradients rather than conventional biochemistry. Such life could theoretically emerge in diverse stable liquid media beyond liquid water, including methane/ethane (Titan), ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and subsurface oceans of icy moons (Europa, Enceladus). As abiotic geological processes cannot produce consistently regular hexagonal lattices, high-resolution imaging of such geometric networks provides a low-cost, high-impact biosignature for extraterrestrial life detection. This work proposes that future ocean world missions prioritize targeted imaging of hexagonal patterns as a universal and accessible indicator of non-cellular physical life.
Kexin Peng (Wed,) studied this question.