Xeno-biology (part 1)

In the visual novel game that I'm writing, based on the Solar Echoes universe, one of the characters is a xeno-biologist. What is xeno-biology? It is the study of organisms that don't involve our standard DNA, RNA, 20-amino acid system. This involves any life with a genetic code and biochemistry different from what we are accustomed to on Earth. I've written this character into the game because visual novels involve information delivered primarily through character conversations, not through narrative exposition. The xeno-biologist gives me the opportunity to articulate to the player information that would otherwise be missed. We assume in a visual novel that, because it's visual, descriptive text is less necessary, and while that is somewhat true, visual novels typically involve static graphical images with a minimal amount of animation. Having a xeno-biologist in the game opens up natural conversations with descriptive text about each of the aliens. However, it also challenges me to try to look at things from the perspective of a xeno-biologist, and as I've been writing, I've had some interesting thoughts regarding our assumptions about life...