When speculating about life in the universe, scientists need to be more realistic than Hollywood. In Star Trek, no matter where the actors land, they can walk around and breathe the air. That may be easier on directors, but for a surface to be habitable, there are physical requirements.

Fast-food consumables like french fries are known to come in "super-size." According to Hollywood, tsunamis do also. But is there scientific evidence for super-size tsunamis in the past? The Indian Ocean tragedy has brought attention to the fact that these large water waves rank among earth's most severe natural disasters.

Secular scientists are unclear as to the origin of anything: the universe, our solar system, the earth, the oceans, or the creatures that inhabit the oceans.

Seawater contains a variety of salts, and when seawater evaporates, these solids are left behind. The most abundant salt in seawater is sodium chloride (NaCl) which will be referred to in this article simply as salt (technically it is called halite).