Plus, around, say, chemical vents, it is ridiculously hot. At least hot enough for bacteria to develop.

The odds are though that life will be similar to that on Earth, just evolved differently for certain situations. But the reason life cannot survive below tempreture of -100 degrees is more to do with chemistry than biology.

because at that point a lot of compounds important or necessary to life are in different states of matter than they need to be?

Correct. Many are liquids, and others are nearing a state transition.

That makes sense, then.

The only way life could form is if it isn't carbon-based, but then you beg the question: why are we carbon-based?
This idea eventually becomes a Paradox I'm afraid.

There is also Saturns moon called Enceladus, wich is suspected of containing liquid water. I remember reading somewhere that nasa or esa were planning sending a probe either to investigate Jupiters or Saturns moons for possibilities of life after cassini detected water in the Enceladus.
Check the article on Enceladus in wikipedia. ( I tried to put it here put the link didn't work, could someone tell me why? Id apriciate it)

heres one vision if theres macroscoptic life on a gas giant:

i read from the news a while back, that the possablitys of life on epona are high enuf in place where the ice isent frozen, that they made one of the space probes doing research crash into jupiter instead of just shutting it down, because they feared it would crash into the moon and harm any life there

I will add that to the OP. Thanks for the tip

Methane should be perfect for life, as it contans carbon and is a good solvent, it boils at -161 degrees C, in which case most cells would have trouble moving around and surviving (unless they're completely alien life), and it freezes at -183 degrees C, so theres only a 20 degree range between gas and soid, compared to water's 100 degree, soit'd be very vunrable to changes in temperature.

That's very true. I hadn't looked up the viability of methane as a solvent. I just hastily compiled this information based on stuff that other people on the Sporum have said.

invisibump

you added a poll? cool, i think this should be a interactive thread

Agreed. I made an early creature suitable for Europa. I just haven't shared it yet