Many astronomers and scientists currently believe life would be impossible around a pulsar. A pulsar would bathe the surface of a planet in massive amounts of radiation constantly, like clockwork. Like a heart beat. Watch the video below.
I don’t think we should assume all life in the universe is made of the same “fragile” components as we are. And it’s possible that life does not have to be self contained. A pulsar could serve the function of a “heart” to silicon based life forms on the surface. It could distribute nutrients (energy) deep into an organism. Especially if that organism was semi transparent to the radiation. Pulsars are constant and regular for millions of years. The energy they produce could easily be relied upon by organisms over the course of an evolutionary period.
If this concept sounds strange to you, think about how much we rely on our sun. If the sun were to stop shining, plants would die, the food chain would be in shambles and we would most likely perish from starvation. If we did not freeze to death first. We too have an unbreakable umbilical cord to our star. At least for the time being.