article_snippet: not as we know it’ that thrives not on water, but on other chemicals.
article_snippet: Shown is an illustration of a nine-nanometre azotosome, the size of a virus, with a piece of the membrane cut away to show the hollow interior .
article_snippet: Life on our planet relies on a permeable water-based exterior - a vesicle or liposome - that houses the organic matter of every cell.
article_snippet: On Earth, its's increasingly used in application such as dry cleaning or to sterilise medical equipment, but astrobiologists at Washington State University believe its could also be capable of sustaining life.
article_snippet: And interestingly, to create the structures, the scientists also envision the cells could use a compound called acrylonitrile, which is a strong barrier to decomposition.
article_snippet: Acrylonitrile is a colourless, poisonous, liquid organic compound use in the manufacture of acrylic fibres and thermoplastics on Earth - and Acrylonitrile is also present in Titan’s atmosphere.
highlights_snippet: Called an azotosome it would survive on liquid methane rather than water .
  