Alex McColgan

Temperature can also affect size, such as in the depths of our oceans, there occurs deep-sea gigantism, as large bodies can more efficiently be kept warm, while in deserts, small animals have a larger mass-to-surface area ratio, allowing them to disperse heat more effectively.

On a planet with fewer magnetic fields, more bombarded by cosmic radiation, perhaps life would have shorter lifespans, in much the same way as around the heavily irradiated Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

dogs and other short-lived organisms thrive, while longer-lived humans suffer.

In each case, form follows function.

Life will adapt to suit the conditions it finds itself in.

And it doesn't end there.

Did you know that this logic can apply to cultures and civilizations too?

When the Spanish conquistadors met the Aztecs, there was a significant technological gap, in spite of both groups being humans.

Some historians hypothesise that this can be linked to things like the ease at which each group could farm.

Intensive crops that require a lot of effort to grow require more of the population to spend their time farming, leaving fewer individuals free for invention and scientific pursuits.

There are likely many other factors at play too, but environment is certainly one of them.

Prevalence of coal or other fuel sources could spark an industrial revolution.

The presence or absence of silicon or rare metals might help or hinder a computer revolution, speeding up or slowing down a civilization's progress.

Once an alien race has evolved to the point where it has become intelligent, unless it came into being through some weird mechanism we don't understand, it probably did so throughout competing its rivals and collecting resources for itself and its offspring.

Civilisations made up of such creatures will most likely also have a hunger for space and resources.

Whether they gain these things through clever diplomacy or aggression, it is most likely that they will want them.

Form follows function.

This quest for expansion and seeking more and more energy and resources led Soviet astrophysicist Nikolai Kardashev in 1964 to propose the Kardashev scale for classifying the different kinds of alien civilizations that might exist out there.

He grouped civilizations into three kinds.

Type I civilisations can completely utilise the energy available on their planet.