Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - A long observation with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory revealed important new details of a neutron star that is spewing out a wake of high-energy particles as it races through space. The deduced location of the neutron star on the edge of a supernova remnant, and the peculiar orientation of the neutron star wake, pose mysteries that remain unresolved. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060601212933.htm.
g Abodes - On April 20, after its first 9-day, elongated orbit around Venus, ESA’s Venus Express started to get closer to the planet, until it reached its final 24-hour long orbit on May 7. During this time, and up to today, the spacecraft has been working relentlessly: the new data coming in are already providing first glimpses on planetary features never seen before. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060713081453.htm.
g Life - By sampling sea life in a heavily fished region off the coast of Namibia, researchers have found that jellyfish have actually overtaken fish in terms of the biomass they contribute to this ocean region. The findings represent a careful quantitative analysis of what's been called a "jellyfish explosion" after intense fishing in the area in the last few decades. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060711091411.htm.
g Intelligence - A study of people who suffer late-onset depression, defined as first emerging at age 60, showed that they did poorly on tests of executive function — that's the brain's ability to plan and control thoughts and actions. See http://www.livescience.com/human
biology/060712_depressing_thoughts.html.
g Message - A pioneer of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence has warned that for any intelligent aliens trying to search for us, "the Earth is going to disappear" very soon. Frank Drake's point, made at a SETI workshop at Harvard University, is that television services are increasingly being delivered by technologies that do not leak radio frequencies into space. But he added that in some ways the observation is good news for SETI, as it means that the failure of Earth-based observers to detect aliens so far may be less worrisome than it would otherwise seem. See http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/viewnews.php?id=20078. Note: This article is from 2004.
g Cosmicus - With NASA deciding to press ahead with the SOFIA airborne astronomy observatory, another mission — an expensive planet-hunting spacecraft in development for more than a decade — is being scaled back to a mere technology-development program. See http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/060710_business_monday.
html.
g Learning - One of the most frequently cited problems facing those who build and rely on space systems is a receding pool of engineering talent, a function of declining interest among young people in math and science. See http://www.space.com/spacenews/businessmonday_060717.html.
g Imagining - Here’s a neat Web site that examines the life cycle of the Alien — the extraterrestrial from said movie: http://www.brian-oshaughnessy.com/alien/life.html. It’s a little light on evolutionary speculation and discussing plausibility, but the life cycle is thoroughly described.
g Aftermath - How to predict reactions to receipt of evidence for an otherworldly intelligence? Some scientists argue that any unpredictable outcomes can only be judged against our own history. See http://seti.astrobio.net/news/article118.html.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Monday, July 17, 2006
First star, winter at Gusev Crater and Discovery returns home
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - For many millions of years after our universe first formed no stars existed, and then there was one. That primordial star was likely a massive blazing behemoth that burned brighter and faster than any star around today. A new computer model now suggests that it also formed much earlier than previously thought. See http://www.
space.com/scienceastronomy/060717_mm_first_star.html.
g Abodes - From its winter outpost at "Low Ridge" inside Gusev Crater, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took this spectacular, color mosaic of hilly, sandy terrain and two potential iron meteorites. The two light-colored, smooth rocks about two-thirds of the way up from the bottom of the frame have been labeled "Zhong Shan" and "Allan Hills." See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop
=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2018mode=thread&order
=0&thold=0.
g Life - How is the deep sea like a desert island? It sounds like a child's riddle, but it's actually a serious scientific question with implications for both terrestrial and marine biology. Biologists have long observed that when animals colonize and evolve on isolated islands, small animals tend to become larger while large animals tend to become smaller. Recent research suggests that a similar trend affects animals as they adapt to life in the deep sea. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060710164527.htm.
g Intelligence - People who live by themselves are at twice the risk of serious heart problems compared to those who have a partner. See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060712_lonely_hearts.html.
g Message - Looking for life elsewhere is a tough task for human or robot. The good news is that the scientific skill and tools to search for, detect and inspect extraterrestrial life are advancing rapidly. See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/lifesigns_spots_020103.html.
g Cosmicus - Space shuttle Discovery touched down at 9:14 a.m. EDT on Kennedy Space Center's Runway 15, breaking through clouds covering the Florida spaceport on final approach. The crew had to change runways late in the descent due to dramatically developing weather in the path to the original runway selection. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts121/status.html.
g Learning - What are university students learning about astrobiology? Check out "An Introduction to Astrobiology." Compiled by a team of experts, this textbook has been designed for elementary university courses in astrobiology. It begins with an examination of how life may have arisen on Earth and then reviews the evidence for possible life on Mars, Europa and Titan. The potential for life in exoplanetary systems and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence are also discussed. The text contains numerous useful learning features such as boxed summaries, student exercises with full solutions, and a glossary of terms. It is also supported by a Web site hosting further teaching materials. Written in an accessible style that avoids complex mathematics, this book is suitable for self-study and will appeal to amateur enthusiasts as well as undergraduate students. It contains numerous helpful learning features such as boxed summaries, student exercises with full solutions, and a glossary of terms. The book is also supported by a Website hosting further teaching materials. See http://www.sci
encedaily./com/cgibin/apf4/amazon_products_feed.cgiOpera
tion=ItemLookup&ItemId=0521546214.
g Imagining - Like short stories about alien biology? Larry Niven’s “Eye of an Octopus” examines how Martians might have existed in an atmosphere of nitric oxide. The story is collected in Niven’s “Tales of Known Space: The Universe of Larry Niven.” See http://www.google.com/searchhl=en&q=E2809CTales+of+Known+
Space3A+The+Universe+of+Larry+Niven".
g Aftermath - In order to retrieve samples from another place in the solar system that might harbor life, careful planning is required to ensure that mission designs incorporate measures to safeguard both the Earth and other solar system bodies from cross contamination. These measures, collectively known as planetary protection measures, are actually tied to international law. See http://www.astrobiology.com/adastra/bring.em.back.html. Note: This article is from 1999.
g Stars - For many millions of years after our universe first formed no stars existed, and then there was one. That primordial star was likely a massive blazing behemoth that burned brighter and faster than any star around today. A new computer model now suggests that it also formed much earlier than previously thought. See http://www.
space.com/scienceastronomy/060717_mm_first_star.html.
g Abodes - From its winter outpost at "Low Ridge" inside Gusev Crater, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took this spectacular, color mosaic of hilly, sandy terrain and two potential iron meteorites. The two light-colored, smooth rocks about two-thirds of the way up from the bottom of the frame have been labeled "Zhong Shan" and "Allan Hills." See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop
=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2018mode=thread&order
=0&thold=0.
g Life - How is the deep sea like a desert island? It sounds like a child's riddle, but it's actually a serious scientific question with implications for both terrestrial and marine biology. Biologists have long observed that when animals colonize and evolve on isolated islands, small animals tend to become larger while large animals tend to become smaller. Recent research suggests that a similar trend affects animals as they adapt to life in the deep sea. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060710164527.htm.
g Intelligence - People who live by themselves are at twice the risk of serious heart problems compared to those who have a partner. See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060712_lonely_hearts.html.
g Message - Looking for life elsewhere is a tough task for human or robot. The good news is that the scientific skill and tools to search for, detect and inspect extraterrestrial life are advancing rapidly. See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/lifesigns_spots_020103.html.
g Cosmicus - Space shuttle Discovery touched down at 9:14 a.m. EDT on Kennedy Space Center's Runway 15, breaking through clouds covering the Florida spaceport on final approach. The crew had to change runways late in the descent due to dramatically developing weather in the path to the original runway selection. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts121/status.html.
g Learning - What are university students learning about astrobiology? Check out "An Introduction to Astrobiology." Compiled by a team of experts, this textbook has been designed for elementary university courses in astrobiology. It begins with an examination of how life may have arisen on Earth and then reviews the evidence for possible life on Mars, Europa and Titan. The potential for life in exoplanetary systems and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence are also discussed. The text contains numerous useful learning features such as boxed summaries, student exercises with full solutions, and a glossary of terms. It is also supported by a Web site hosting further teaching materials. Written in an accessible style that avoids complex mathematics, this book is suitable for self-study and will appeal to amateur enthusiasts as well as undergraduate students. It contains numerous helpful learning features such as boxed summaries, student exercises with full solutions, and a glossary of terms. The book is also supported by a Website hosting further teaching materials. See http://www.sci
encedaily./com/cgibin/apf4/amazon_products_feed.cgiOpera
tion=ItemLookup&ItemId=0521546214.
g Imagining - Like short stories about alien biology? Larry Niven’s “Eye of an Octopus” examines how Martians might have existed in an atmosphere of nitric oxide. The story is collected in Niven’s “Tales of Known Space: The Universe of Larry Niven.” See http://www.google.com/searchhl=en&q=E2809CTales+of+Known+
Space3A+The+Universe+of+Larry+Niven".
g Aftermath - In order to retrieve samples from another place in the solar system that might harbor life, careful planning is required to ensure that mission designs incorporate measures to safeguard both the Earth and other solar system bodies from cross contamination. These measures, collectively known as planetary protection measures, are actually tied to international law. See http://www.astrobiology.com/adastra/bring.em.back.html. Note: This article is from 1999.
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Earth’s ever-changing climate, NASA’s next shuttle flight and aspiring satellite researchers
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Abodes - From 1850 to the 1970s, glaciers in the European Alps lost about 35 percent of their area. The melting then sped up, and now the 5,150 glaciers cover about 50 percent of the area they did in 1850. See http://www.livescience.com/environment/060710_europe_alps.html. For related story, see “Centuries Of Land-use Practices Profoundly Impact Earth System, Scientists Report” at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060714082253.htm.
g Life - When Yuri Gorby discovered that a microbe which transforms toxic metals can sprout tiny electrically conductive wires from its cell membrane, he reasoned this anatomical oddity and its metal-changing physiology must be related. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060710181540.htm.
g Intelligence - Scientists find that moms consistently rank the stink of their baby's "number two" as No. 1. See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060712_baby_poop.html.
g Cosmicus - NASA and the Russian space agency are discussing launch options that almost certainly will shorten the launch window for the agency's next shuttle flight. It now is expected to open Aug. 27 or 28 and may close a week or so earlier than planned because of a requirement to provide time for the station crew to sleep shift between the departure of a U.S. space shuttle and the arrival of a Russian Soyuz capsule. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts121/060714sts115soyuz/.
g Learning - Thanks to Student Hands-on Training workshops, aspiring satellite researchers can trial-run payload ideas by getting a lift from skyward-soaring balloons. SHOT activities are ongoing at the NASA-funded Colorado Space Grant Consortium at the University of Colorado. See http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/060712_shot_education.html.
g Abodes - From 1850 to the 1970s, glaciers in the European Alps lost about 35 percent of their area. The melting then sped up, and now the 5,150 glaciers cover about 50 percent of the area they did in 1850. See http://www.livescience.com/environment/060710_europe_alps.html. For related story, see “Centuries Of Land-use Practices Profoundly Impact Earth System, Scientists Report” at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060714082253.htm.
g Life - When Yuri Gorby discovered that a microbe which transforms toxic metals can sprout tiny electrically conductive wires from its cell membrane, he reasoned this anatomical oddity and its metal-changing physiology must be related. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060710181540.htm.
g Intelligence - Scientists find that moms consistently rank the stink of their baby's "number two" as No. 1. See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060712_baby_poop.html.
g Cosmicus - NASA and the Russian space agency are discussing launch options that almost certainly will shorten the launch window for the agency's next shuttle flight. It now is expected to open Aug. 27 or 28 and may close a week or so earlier than planned because of a requirement to provide time for the station crew to sleep shift between the departure of a U.S. space shuttle and the arrival of a Russian Soyuz capsule. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts121/060714sts115soyuz/.
g Learning - Thanks to Student Hands-on Training workshops, aspiring satellite researchers can trial-run payload ideas by getting a lift from skyward-soaring balloons. SHOT activities are ongoing at the NASA-funded Colorado Space Grant Consortium at the University of Colorado. See http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/060712_shot_education.html.
Saturday, July 15, 2006
Meteor explosion, the power of sleep and inflatable space habitats
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Abodes - A meteor explosion was recorded over the Oslo Fjord area of Norway last month, Aftenposten reported Friday. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.phpfeed=Science&article=
UPI12006071500350700bcnorwaymeteor.xml.
g Life - The high-pitched whine of a mosquito might drive you nuts, but it's music to the ears of these little pests. See http://www.
livescience.com/animalworld/060710_mosquito_buzz.html.
g Intelligence - Researchers have uncovered new evidence that sleep improves the brain's ability to remember information. Their findings demonstrate that memories of recently learned word pairs are improved if sleep intervenes between learning and testing and that this benefit is most pronounced when memory is challenged by competing information. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases
/2006/07/060711095912.htm.
g Cosmicus - The mission of Bigelow Aerospace's revolutionary prototype space habitat launched Wednesday has gone smoothly through its first day in orbit. The program's founder said the success achieved so far has been an exhilarating experience for his team before they set off to begin a comprehensive testing regimen on the inflatable space station pathfinder. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0607/14bigelow/.
g Abodes - A meteor explosion was recorded over the Oslo Fjord area of Norway last month, Aftenposten reported Friday. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.phpfeed=Science&article=
UPI12006071500350700bcnorwaymeteor.xml.
g Life - The high-pitched whine of a mosquito might drive you nuts, but it's music to the ears of these little pests. See http://www.
livescience.com/animalworld/060710_mosquito_buzz.html.
g Intelligence - Researchers have uncovered new evidence that sleep improves the brain's ability to remember information. Their findings demonstrate that memories of recently learned word pairs are improved if sleep intervenes between learning and testing and that this benefit is most pronounced when memory is challenged by competing information. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases
/2006/07/060711095912.htm.
g Cosmicus - The mission of Bigelow Aerospace's revolutionary prototype space habitat launched Wednesday has gone smoothly through its first day in orbit. The program's founder said the success achieved so far has been an exhilarating experience for his team before they set off to begin a comprehensive testing regimen on the inflatable space station pathfinder. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0607/14bigelow/.
Friday, July 14, 2006
Tiniest components of matter, saving neurons from dying and Leonardo logistics module
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - What if the tiniest components of matter were somehow different from the way they exist now, perhaps only slightly different or maybe a lot? What if they had been different from the moment the universe began in the Big Bang? Would matter as we know it be the same? Would humans even exist? See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060712075407.htm.
g Abodes - California's Sierra Nevada, an impressive mountain range that includes the popular Yosemite National Park, has done a great job of keeping its age a secret. But now a new study provides evidence that it's at least 40 million years old. See http://www.livescience.com/othernews/060706_sierra_nevada.html.
g Life - When pronghorn antelope find a route they like, they stick to it. The animals have been making the same difficult trek between Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks for at least 6,000 years, a new study shows. However, continued development of lands outside the parks and along the route could disturb it, endangering the pronghorn population and potentially disturbing the Yellowstone ecosystem. See http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060710_
pronghorn_migration.html.
g Intelligence - Scientists at Melbourne's Howard Florey Institute have found a protein in the brain that can save neurons from dying after experiencing traumatic brain injury from incidents such as stroke, car accidents and falls. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/
releases/2006/07/060711132311.htm.
g Cosmicus - The Discovery astronauts closed up the Leonardo logistics module today and geared up to detach it from the space station and re-install in the shuttle's cargo bay for return to Earth. With undocking from the station on tap Saturday, shuttle pilot Mark Kelly said the crew has accomplished virtually all of the mission's objectives, clearing the way for station assembly to resume this fall. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts121/060714fd11/.
g Stars - What if the tiniest components of matter were somehow different from the way they exist now, perhaps only slightly different or maybe a lot? What if they had been different from the moment the universe began in the Big Bang? Would matter as we know it be the same? Would humans even exist? See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060712075407.htm.
g Abodes - California's Sierra Nevada, an impressive mountain range that includes the popular Yosemite National Park, has done a great job of keeping its age a secret. But now a new study provides evidence that it's at least 40 million years old. See http://www.livescience.com/othernews/060706_sierra_nevada.html.
g Life - When pronghorn antelope find a route they like, they stick to it. The animals have been making the same difficult trek between Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks for at least 6,000 years, a new study shows. However, continued development of lands outside the parks and along the route could disturb it, endangering the pronghorn population and potentially disturbing the Yellowstone ecosystem. See http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060710_
pronghorn_migration.html.
g Intelligence - Scientists at Melbourne's Howard Florey Institute have found a protein in the brain that can save neurons from dying after experiencing traumatic brain injury from incidents such as stroke, car accidents and falls. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/
releases/2006/07/060711132311.htm.
g Cosmicus - The Discovery astronauts closed up the Leonardo logistics module today and geared up to detach it from the space station and re-install in the shuttle's cargo bay for return to Earth. With undocking from the station on tap Saturday, shuttle pilot Mark Kelly said the crew has accomplished virtually all of the mission's objectives, clearing the way for station assembly to resume this fall. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts121/060714fd11/.
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Atomic oxygen calling card, hot dinos and learning language
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - Kent State faculty and graduate students are among a team of physicists who recreated the material essence of the universe as it would have been mere microseconds after the Big Bang—a quark-gluon plasma. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/
07/060712180328.htm.
g Abodes - Atomic oxygen could never be confused with expensive perfume. But just as a fragrance lingering in the air of an empty room offers hints about a previous occupant, the cloud of oxygen the Cassini spacecraft encountered as it first approached Saturn turned out to be a calling card from another celestial presence, the tiny moon Enceladus. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop
=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2014mode=thread&order
=0&thold=0.
g Life - A new study helps answer a longstanding dinosaur mystery by revealing that the largest dinosaurs could likely maintain warm body temperatures while their smaller cousins were probably more similar to modern cold-blooded reptiles. See http://www.livescience.com/
animalworld/060710_dinosaur_temperature.html.
g Intelligence - Experience, as the old saying goes, is the best teacher. And experience seems to play an important early role in how infants learn to understand and produce language. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060710164301.htm.
g Message - Is there life "out there"? If so, is it intelligent life? One way we can address the issue is to make a reasoned guess, based upon everything we know about astronomy, physics, chemistry, biology, and a host of other disciplines. Many years ago the radio astronomer Frank Drake did just this, combining all the "knowledge" in the form of a mathematical equation now named for him: The Drake Equation. See http://www.physics.uc.edu/~sitko/Spring
00/10CHZs/chzs_planets.html.
g Cosmicus - NASA will test concepts for future space exploration next month by sending three astronauts and an oceanographer on a mission to an underwater laboratory off the coast of Florida. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=
News&file=article&sid=2017mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Learning - Some students "game" computer-based teaching programs (Intelligent Tutoring Systems, or ITS). New research at the USC Information Sciences Institute is looking at ways of predicting this behavior, and using such predictions to adapt the systems to fit individual student needs. Early results are promising. See http://
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060712233333.htm.
g Stars - Kent State faculty and graduate students are among a team of physicists who recreated the material essence of the universe as it would have been mere microseconds after the Big Bang—a quark-gluon plasma. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/
07/060712180328.htm.
g Abodes - Atomic oxygen could never be confused with expensive perfume. But just as a fragrance lingering in the air of an empty room offers hints about a previous occupant, the cloud of oxygen the Cassini spacecraft encountered as it first approached Saturn turned out to be a calling card from another celestial presence, the tiny moon Enceladus. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop
=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2014mode=thread&order
=0&thold=0.
g Life - A new study helps answer a longstanding dinosaur mystery by revealing that the largest dinosaurs could likely maintain warm body temperatures while their smaller cousins were probably more similar to modern cold-blooded reptiles. See http://www.livescience.com/
animalworld/060710_dinosaur_temperature.html.
g Intelligence - Experience, as the old saying goes, is the best teacher. And experience seems to play an important early role in how infants learn to understand and produce language. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060710164301.htm.
g Message - Is there life "out there"? If so, is it intelligent life? One way we can address the issue is to make a reasoned guess, based upon everything we know about astronomy, physics, chemistry, biology, and a host of other disciplines. Many years ago the radio astronomer Frank Drake did just this, combining all the "knowledge" in the form of a mathematical equation now named for him: The Drake Equation. See http://www.physics.uc.edu/~sitko/Spring
00/10CHZs/chzs_planets.html.
g Cosmicus - NASA will test concepts for future space exploration next month by sending three astronauts and an oceanographer on a mission to an underwater laboratory off the coast of Florida. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=
News&file=article&sid=2017mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Learning - Some students "game" computer-based teaching programs (Intelligent Tutoring Systems, or ITS). New research at the USC Information Sciences Institute is looking at ways of predicting this behavior, and using such predictions to adapt the systems to fit individual student needs. Early results are promising. See http://
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060712233333.htm.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Different laws of physics, orbiting starshade and NASA puts behind Columbia tragedy
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - Recent research has found evidence that the value of certain fundamental parameters, such as the speed of light or the invisible glue that holds nuclei together, may have been different in the past. See http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/06
0711_science_tuesday.html.
g Abodes - Orbiting starshade would block out light from parent stars, says University of Colorado study. See http://www.astrobiology.com/news/viewpr.htmlpid=20275.
g Life - After observing mountain gorillas in Uganda for nearly a year, scientists believe they have discovered why the animals eat decayed wood and lick tree stumps, behaviors that have puzzled primate researchers for decades. See http://www.livescience.
com/animalworld/060710_gorilla_sodium.html.
g Intelligence - To give your child an incentive to take out the garbage, you might offer to buy her a treat, or you might threaten to withhold her regular allowance. Does the child respond the same way to reward as it does to avoiding punishment? Psychologists have evidence from certain kinds of behavioral experiments to believe that avoiding punishment is itself a reward. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060710121622.htm.
g Cosmicus - The Discovery astronauts, working through a relatively relaxed day of space station equipment and supply transfers Tuesday, said the shuttle's trouble-free launch and lack of significant impact damage show NASA is finally ready to put the Columbia tragedy behind it. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts121/060711fd8/.
g Stars - Recent research has found evidence that the value of certain fundamental parameters, such as the speed of light or the invisible glue that holds nuclei together, may have been different in the past. See http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/06
0711_science_tuesday.html.
g Abodes - Orbiting starshade would block out light from parent stars, says University of Colorado study. See http://www.astrobiology.com/news/viewpr.htmlpid=20275.
g Life - After observing mountain gorillas in Uganda for nearly a year, scientists believe they have discovered why the animals eat decayed wood and lick tree stumps, behaviors that have puzzled primate researchers for decades. See http://www.livescience.
com/animalworld/060710_gorilla_sodium.html.
g Intelligence - To give your child an incentive to take out the garbage, you might offer to buy her a treat, or you might threaten to withhold her regular allowance. Does the child respond the same way to reward as it does to avoiding punishment? Psychologists have evidence from certain kinds of behavioral experiments to believe that avoiding punishment is itself a reward. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060710121622.htm.
g Cosmicus - The Discovery astronauts, working through a relatively relaxed day of space station equipment and supply transfers Tuesday, said the shuttle's trouble-free launch and lack of significant impact damage show NASA is finally ready to put the Columbia tragedy behind it. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts121/060711fd8/.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Mysteries of the universe, habitability of our solar system, skeleton-transforming coral
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - For many stargazers, the night sky might look like a backdrop of very similar twinkling lights. But actually the billions of stars that make up the universe are varied and full of tantalizing marvels. From stellar fireworks caused by supernova explosions to invisible black holes, astronomers are gradually figuring out how stars work and what makes each variety unique. Many mysteries remain, however. See http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/top10_star_mysteries.html.
g Abodes - The production of chemically reactive oxidants on the surface of Mars and icy moons such as Europa may provide clues to their habitability and offers new avenues for future space exploration and the analysis of surface soil and ice shells, according to three special papers published in Astrobiology journal. See http://www.astrobiology.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=20277.
g Life - Leopards may not be able to change their spots, but corals can change their skeletons, building them out of different minerals depending on the chemical composition of the seawater around them. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060706095218.htm.
g Intelligence - Using unusually rigorous scientific conditions and measures, Johns Hopkins researchers have shown that the active agent in "sacred mushrooms" can induce mystical/spiritual experiences descriptively identical to spontaneous ones people have reported for centuries. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060711084914.htm.
g Cosmicus - Space station flight director Rick LaBrode sweated bullets going into today's spacewalk to fix a stalled robot arm transporter on the international lab complex. But months of planning, tests and simulations paid off with a successful repair job, clearing the way for resumption of station assembly. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts121/060710eva2wrap/.
g Stars - For many stargazers, the night sky might look like a backdrop of very similar twinkling lights. But actually the billions of stars that make up the universe are varied and full of tantalizing marvels. From stellar fireworks caused by supernova explosions to invisible black holes, astronomers are gradually figuring out how stars work and what makes each variety unique. Many mysteries remain, however. See http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/top10_star_mysteries.html.
g Abodes - The production of chemically reactive oxidants on the surface of Mars and icy moons such as Europa may provide clues to their habitability and offers new avenues for future space exploration and the analysis of surface soil and ice shells, according to three special papers published in Astrobiology journal. See http://www.astrobiology.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=20277.
g Life - Leopards may not be able to change their spots, but corals can change their skeletons, building them out of different minerals depending on the chemical composition of the seawater around them. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060706095218.htm.
g Intelligence - Using unusually rigorous scientific conditions and measures, Johns Hopkins researchers have shown that the active agent in "sacred mushrooms" can induce mystical/spiritual experiences descriptively identical to spontaneous ones people have reported for centuries. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060711084914.htm.
g Cosmicus - Space station flight director Rick LaBrode sweated bullets going into today's spacewalk to fix a stalled robot arm transporter on the international lab complex. But months of planning, tests and simulations paid off with a successful repair job, clearing the way for resumption of station assembly. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts121/060710eva2wrap/.
Monday, July 10, 2006
Saturn’s rings, mammoth hair coloring and Mars exploration after 2010
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - indirect evidence from X-ray telescopes has revealed telltale signs of thousands of black holes lurking in our own galaxy and beyond. Many are the remnants of exploded stars. But to other far more massive black holes, swallowing a single star is like Mount Everest absorbing a snowflake. See http://www.space.com/science
astronomy/060710_mystery_monday.html.
g Abodes - NASA Cassini spacecraft images of Saturn's diaphanous G and E rings are yielding new clues about their structure and formation. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060705171218.htm.
g Life - By examining DNA extracted from a mammoth bone frozen in Siberian permafrost and comparing it with sequences from other mammoth remains, researchers have concluded that the wooly creatures probably carried two versions of Mc1r, a gene whose protein product helps determine hair color in several mammals, including humans, mice, horses and dogs. See http://www.live
science.com/animalworld/060706_mammoth_hair.html.
g Intelligence - Scientists may have revealed the origin of the battle of the sexes—in our genes. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060707190114.htm.
g Cosmicus - NASA needs to rethink its Mars exploration plans after 2010 given new understandings about the red planet and likely funding levels in the coming years, according to a report just out from a panel of outside experts. See http://www.space.com/news/060706_mars_report.html.
g Stars - indirect evidence from X-ray telescopes has revealed telltale signs of thousands of black holes lurking in our own galaxy and beyond. Many are the remnants of exploded stars. But to other far more massive black holes, swallowing a single star is like Mount Everest absorbing a snowflake. See http://www.space.com/science
astronomy/060710_mystery_monday.html.
g Abodes - NASA Cassini spacecraft images of Saturn's diaphanous G and E rings are yielding new clues about their structure and formation. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060705171218.htm.
g Life - By examining DNA extracted from a mammoth bone frozen in Siberian permafrost and comparing it with sequences from other mammoth remains, researchers have concluded that the wooly creatures probably carried two versions of Mc1r, a gene whose protein product helps determine hair color in several mammals, including humans, mice, horses and dogs. See http://www.live
science.com/animalworld/060706_mammoth_hair.html.
g Intelligence - Scientists may have revealed the origin of the battle of the sexes—in our genes. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060707190114.htm.
g Cosmicus - NASA needs to rethink its Mars exploration plans after 2010 given new understandings about the red planet and likely funding levels in the coming years, according to a report just out from a panel of outside experts. See http://www.space.com/news/060706_mars_report.html.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Geothermal hot springs, new species of ancient aquatic reptile and practice shuttle repairs
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Abodes - Scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have successfully modeled the spectacular landscapes seen at geothermal hot springs. See http://www.sciencedaily.com
/releases/2006/07/060705182251.htm.
g Life - Scientists have identified a new species of ancient aquatic reptile that swam the seas when dinosaurs still ruled the Earth. Dubbed Umoonasaurus, the creature lived in waters off the coast of what is now Australia 115 million years ago, when the continent was located much closer to Antarctica than it is now. See http://www.live
science.com/animalworld/060707_aquatic_reptile.html.
g Intelligence - Having several older brothers increases the likelihood of a man being gay, a finding researchers say adds weight to the idea that there is a biological basis for sexual orientation. See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060626_gay_brothers.html.
g Cosmicus - Astronaut Mike Fossum, anchored to the end of a 100-foot space crane positioned at one end of the space station's solar array truss, pretended to make heat shield repairs Saturday, measuring the forces imparted to the untried space crane to judge its stability as a repair platform. See http://www.spaceflightnow.
com/shuttle/sts121/060708eva1start/index3.html. For related story, see “Mission Update” at http://www.space.com/spaceshuttle/index.html.
g Abodes - Scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have successfully modeled the spectacular landscapes seen at geothermal hot springs. See http://www.sciencedaily.com
/releases/2006/07/060705182251.htm.
g Life - Scientists have identified a new species of ancient aquatic reptile that swam the seas when dinosaurs still ruled the Earth. Dubbed Umoonasaurus, the creature lived in waters off the coast of what is now Australia 115 million years ago, when the continent was located much closer to Antarctica than it is now. See http://www.live
science.com/animalworld/060707_aquatic_reptile.html.
g Intelligence - Having several older brothers increases the likelihood of a man being gay, a finding researchers say adds weight to the idea that there is a biological basis for sexual orientation. See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060626_gay_brothers.html.
g Cosmicus - Astronaut Mike Fossum, anchored to the end of a 100-foot space crane positioned at one end of the space station's solar array truss, pretended to make heat shield repairs Saturday, measuring the forces imparted to the untried space crane to judge its stability as a repair platform. See http://www.spaceflightnow.
com/shuttle/sts121/060708eva1start/index3.html. For related story, see “Mission Update” at http://www.space.com/spaceshuttle/index.html.
Saturday, July 08, 2006
What makes Earth habitable, crossing the impassable barrier, Discovery analysis continues
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Abodes - What makes Earth habitable? This LiveScience original video explores the science of global warming and explains how, for now, conditions here are just right. See http://www.livescience.com/php/video/player.php?video_id=GoldilocksGreen.
g Life - Reef fish share genetic connections across what Darwin termed an 'impassable barrier', 5000km of deep ocean separating the eastern and central Pacific, according to a report by Smithsonian scientists in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060705184842.htm.
g Intelligence - Animal Controlled Computer Games, a graduation project by Wim van Eck, is a Pac-Man-style game in which humans can play against real insects. The project has been written up in a short paper submitted to the 2006 International Conference on Entertainment. His project parallels part of the plot of “Ender's Game”, the Hugo and Nebula award-winning novel by Orson Scott Card. See http://www.livescience.com/scienceoffiction/
060707_pacman_insects.html.
g Cosmicus - Engineers are still assessing the health of two leading edge panels on Discovery's right wing, along with a protruding gap filler just in front of a propellant feedline access door on the orbiter's belly. Mission Management Team Chairman John Shannon said Friday it might take another day or two before engineers can either give Discovery a clean bill of health or show the "regions of interest" represent potentially serious problems. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts121/060707analysis/.
g Abodes - What makes Earth habitable? This LiveScience original video explores the science of global warming and explains how, for now, conditions here are just right. See http://www.livescience.com/php/video/player.php?video_id=GoldilocksGreen.
g Life - Reef fish share genetic connections across what Darwin termed an 'impassable barrier', 5000km of deep ocean separating the eastern and central Pacific, according to a report by Smithsonian scientists in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060705184842.htm.
g Intelligence - Animal Controlled Computer Games, a graduation project by Wim van Eck, is a Pac-Man-style game in which humans can play against real insects. The project has been written up in a short paper submitted to the 2006 International Conference on Entertainment. His project parallels part of the plot of “Ender's Game”, the Hugo and Nebula award-winning novel by Orson Scott Card. See http://www.livescience.com/scienceoffiction/
060707_pacman_insects.html.
g Cosmicus - Engineers are still assessing the health of two leading edge panels on Discovery's right wing, along with a protruding gap filler just in front of a propellant feedline access door on the orbiter's belly. Mission Management Team Chairman John Shannon said Friday it might take another day or two before engineers can either give Discovery a clean bill of health or show the "regions of interest" represent potentially serious problems. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts121/060707analysis/.
Friday, July 07, 2006
When Arctic ice formed, developing urban trees and Discovery heat shield OK
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - Embedded in the heart of a supernova remnant 10,000 light-years away is a stellar object the likes of which astronomers have never seen before in our galaxy. See http://www.space.com/
scienceastronomy/060706_supernova_mystery.html.
g Abodes - Arctic ice formed about 45 million years ago – roughly 14 million years ahead of previous predictions – according to new research published in Nature. An international team of scientists, including Brown geologist Steven Clemens, says this startling evidence shows that glaciers formed in tandem at Earth’s poles, providing important insights into global climate change. See http://www.innovations-report.de/html/berichte/geowissenschaften/bericht-60549.html. For related story, please see “Warming Climate Plays Large Role In Western U.S. Wildfires, Study Shows” at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060707093644.htm.
g Life - In an effort to improve the survival chances of urban trees, scientists have developed a cloning technique that allows oaks to develop their own root system rather than having growers painstakingly use the grafting method, which involves propagation by joining plant parts. See http://www.livescience.com/environment/
060706_designer_trees.html.
g Cosmicus - Preliminary assessment of the shuttle Discovery's heat shield after a dramatic end-over-end flip while approaching the international space station shows no signs of appreciable damage to the ship's fragile heat shield tiles from debris impacts during launch, officials said. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts121/060706nodamage/.
g Stars - Embedded in the heart of a supernova remnant 10,000 light-years away is a stellar object the likes of which astronomers have never seen before in our galaxy. See http://www.space.com/
scienceastronomy/060706_supernova_mystery.html.
g Abodes - Arctic ice formed about 45 million years ago – roughly 14 million years ahead of previous predictions – according to new research published in Nature. An international team of scientists, including Brown geologist Steven Clemens, says this startling evidence shows that glaciers formed in tandem at Earth’s poles, providing important insights into global climate change. See http://www.innovations-report.de/html/berichte/geowissenschaften/bericht-60549.html. For related story, please see “Warming Climate Plays Large Role In Western U.S. Wildfires, Study Shows” at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060707093644.htm.
g Life - In an effort to improve the survival chances of urban trees, scientists have developed a cloning technique that allows oaks to develop their own root system rather than having growers painstakingly use the grafting method, which involves propagation by joining plant parts. See http://www.livescience.com/environment/
060706_designer_trees.html.
g Cosmicus - Preliminary assessment of the shuttle Discovery's heat shield after a dramatic end-over-end flip while approaching the international space station shows no signs of appreciable damage to the ship's fragile heat shield tiles from debris impacts during launch, officials said. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts121/060706nodamage/.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Rising carbon dioxide’s effect on oceans, life living inside salt rock and brain spontaneously rewiring itself
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Abodes - Worldwide emissions of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel burning are dramatically altering ocean chemistry and threatening marine organisms, including corals, that secrete skeletal structures and support oceanic biodiversity. A landmark report released July 5 summarizes the known effects of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide on these organisms, known as marine calcifiers, and recommends future research for determining the extent of the impacts. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060705083057.htm.
g Life - After years of searching for evidence of microbial life in the driest region of Chile’s Atacama Desert, chemist Jacek Wierzchos finally found it. Living inside rocks made of salt. But how it manages to eke out a living there is still a bit of a mystery. See http://www.
astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article
&sid=2013mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Intelligence - Doctors have their first proof that a man who was barely conscious for nearly 20 years regained speech and movement because his brain spontaneously rewired itself by growing tiny new nerve connections to replace the ones sheared apart in a car crash. See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/ap_060705_coma.html.
g Cosmicus - The shuttle Discovery is closing in on the international space station today for a long-awaited linkup that will boost the lab's crew size to three, provide more than 5,000 pounds of equipment and supplies and give mission managers their first detailed view of the fragile heat shield tiles on the shuttle's belly. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts121/060706debris/.
g Abodes - Worldwide emissions of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel burning are dramatically altering ocean chemistry and threatening marine organisms, including corals, that secrete skeletal structures and support oceanic biodiversity. A landmark report released July 5 summarizes the known effects of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide on these organisms, known as marine calcifiers, and recommends future research for determining the extent of the impacts. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060705083057.htm.
g Life - After years of searching for evidence of microbial life in the driest region of Chile’s Atacama Desert, chemist Jacek Wierzchos finally found it. Living inside rocks made of salt. But how it manages to eke out a living there is still a bit of a mystery. See http://www.
astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article
&sid=2013mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Intelligence - Doctors have their first proof that a man who was barely conscious for nearly 20 years regained speech and movement because his brain spontaneously rewired itself by growing tiny new nerve connections to replace the ones sheared apart in a car crash. See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/ap_060705_coma.html.
g Cosmicus - The shuttle Discovery is closing in on the international space station today for a long-awaited linkup that will boost the lab's crew size to three, provide more than 5,000 pounds of equipment and supplies and give mission managers their first detailed view of the fragile heat shield tiles on the shuttle's belly. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts121/060706debris/.
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Martian desert varnish, Automated Transfer Vehicle and extraterrestrial ergonomics
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Abodes - New research reveals that the dark coating known as desert varnish creates a record of life around it, by binding traces of DNA, amino acids and other organic compounds to desert rocks. Samples of Martian desert varnish could therefore show whether there has been life on Mars at any stage over the last 4.5 billion years. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules
.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2012mode=thread&order
=0&thold=0.
g Cosmicus - Acoustic testing of Jules Verne, the first Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), has successfully been completed at ESA's test facilities in Noordwijk, The Netherlands. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060703210043.htm.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom activity, courtesy of NASA: “Ergonomics For Extraterrestrials,” in which students develop an extraterrestrial life form, and to create a workstation that accommodates its unique characteristics. See http://www.nasaexplorers.com/show_912_teacher_st.php?id=030106130336.
g Abodes - New research reveals that the dark coating known as desert varnish creates a record of life around it, by binding traces of DNA, amino acids and other organic compounds to desert rocks. Samples of Martian desert varnish could therefore show whether there has been life on Mars at any stage over the last 4.5 billion years. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules
.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2012mode=thread&order
=0&thold=0.
g Cosmicus - Acoustic testing of Jules Verne, the first Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), has successfully been completed at ESA's test facilities in Noordwijk, The Netherlands. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060703210043.htm.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom activity, courtesy of NASA: “Ergonomics For Extraterrestrials,” in which students develop an extraterrestrial life form, and to create a workstation that accommodates its unique characteristics. See http://www.nasaexplorers.com/show_912_teacher_st.php?id=030106130336.
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Brown dwarf weather patterns, conversations on Mars and Discovery lifts off
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - Ever since their discovery 11 years ago, brown dwarfs have baffled scientists. First it was the question of how to categorize them. These celestial orbs are too massive to be a planet and not massive enough to be a star. Now scientists are investigating astonishing weather patterns on brown dwarfs that could rival Jupiter's Great Red Spot and even Earth's intense hurricanes.
See http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060703_mystery
_monday.html.
g Abodes - It may be difficult for two people to have a conversation on Mars, according to a research paper by Penn State graduate student in acoustics Amanda Hanford and Lyle Long, professor of aerospace engineering. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/
modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2011mode=
thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Life - Entrance fees to Utah's Bryce Canyon National Park will fund a two-year research study to survey and map the park's fossil sites. See http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/184870/4/.
g Intelligence - A study of the sleep characteristics of 669 middle-aged adults found that people sleep much less than they should, and even less than they think. Published in the July issue in the American Journal of Epidemiology, the study also found that blacks sleep less than whites, men sleep less than women, and the poor sleep less than the wealthy. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060703162945.htm.
g Cosmicus - The space shuttle Discovery and its flag-waving crew thundered into space today, putting on a spectacular Fourth of July skyshow as it rocketed away on a long-awaited mission to repair and resupply the international space station. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts121/060704launch/.
g Stars - Ever since their discovery 11 years ago, brown dwarfs have baffled scientists. First it was the question of how to categorize them. These celestial orbs are too massive to be a planet and not massive enough to be a star. Now scientists are investigating astonishing weather patterns on brown dwarfs that could rival Jupiter's Great Red Spot and even Earth's intense hurricanes.
See http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060703_mystery
_monday.html.
g Abodes - It may be difficult for two people to have a conversation on Mars, according to a research paper by Penn State graduate student in acoustics Amanda Hanford and Lyle Long, professor of aerospace engineering. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/
modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2011mode=
thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Life - Entrance fees to Utah's Bryce Canyon National Park will fund a two-year research study to survey and map the park's fossil sites. See http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/184870/4/.
g Intelligence - A study of the sleep characteristics of 669 middle-aged adults found that people sleep much less than they should, and even less than they think. Published in the July issue in the American Journal of Epidemiology, the study also found that blacks sleep less than whites, men sleep less than women, and the poor sleep less than the wealthy. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060703162945.htm.
g Cosmicus - The space shuttle Discovery and its flag-waving crew thundered into space today, putting on a spectacular Fourth of July skyshow as it rocketed away on a long-awaited mission to repair and resupply the international space station. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts121/060704launch/.
Monday, July 03, 2006
Primordial star blob, bird extinction rates and advantages of orbital settlements
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - The European Southern Observatory's VLT has helped scientists to discover a large primordial 'blob', more than 10 billion light-years away. The most likely scenario to account for its existence and properties is that it represents the early stage in the formation of a galaxy, when gas falls onto a large clump of dark matter. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/
060703163148.htm.
g Abodes - Transparent jellyfish-like creatures known as salps, considered by many a low member in the ocean food web, may be more important to the fate of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide in the ocean than previously thought. See http://www.astrobio.net/
news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2010
mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Life - Birds enjoy a relatively slow rate of extinction, but a new study suggests that rate might be severely underestimated. See http://www.
livescience.com/animalworld/060703_bird_extinctions.html.
g Intelligence - The mechanism behind jet lag, insomnia and other disorders that rely on an inner body clock is not what it seems, scientists announced. See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060703_body_clock.html.
g Cosmicus - What advantages would orbital settlements have over a colony built on another planet? See http://members.aol.com/oscarcombs/spacsetl.htm.
g Stars - The European Southern Observatory's VLT has helped scientists to discover a large primordial 'blob', more than 10 billion light-years away. The most likely scenario to account for its existence and properties is that it represents the early stage in the formation of a galaxy, when gas falls onto a large clump of dark matter. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/
060703163148.htm.
g Abodes - Transparent jellyfish-like creatures known as salps, considered by many a low member in the ocean food web, may be more important to the fate of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide in the ocean than previously thought. See http://www.astrobio.net/
news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2010
mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Life - Birds enjoy a relatively slow rate of extinction, but a new study suggests that rate might be severely underestimated. See http://www.
livescience.com/animalworld/060703_bird_extinctions.html.
g Intelligence - The mechanism behind jet lag, insomnia and other disorders that rely on an inner body clock is not what it seems, scientists announced. See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060703_body_clock.html.
g Cosmicus - What advantages would orbital settlements have over a colony built on another planet? See http://members.aol.com/oscarcombs/spacsetl.htm.
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Freshwater flood of ocean, America’s new breed of rockets and astronauts safe from kidney stones
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Abodes - Near the end of the last Ice Age 8,000 years ago, an ice dam on North America's east coast broke, releasing a torrent of fresh water seven times more voluminous than all the Great Lakes combined. It all rushed into the Atlantic Ocean over the course of only a few months. See http://www.livescience.com/environment/060629_lake_bursts.html.
g Cosmicus - A new spy satellite is circling Earth after a spectacular sendoff Tuesday evening, marking the first time such a clandestine national security spacecraft has launched aboard America's modern breed of rockets. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d317/.
g Cosmicus - Researchers at the University of Minnesota have identified a way for astronauts to reduce their risk of developing kidney stones while in space. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/mod
ules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2009mode
=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Abodes - Near the end of the last Ice Age 8,000 years ago, an ice dam on North America's east coast broke, releasing a torrent of fresh water seven times more voluminous than all the Great Lakes combined. It all rushed into the Atlantic Ocean over the course of only a few months. See http://www.livescience.com/environment/060629_lake_bursts.html.
g Cosmicus - A new spy satellite is circling Earth after a spectacular sendoff Tuesday evening, marking the first time such a clandestine national security spacecraft has launched aboard America's modern breed of rockets. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d317/.
g Cosmicus - Researchers at the University of Minnesota have identified a way for astronauts to reduce their risk of developing kidney stones while in space. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/mod
ules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2009mode
=thread&order=0&thold=0.
Saturday, July 01, 2006
Ozone layer under repair, ants’ internal pedometer, artificial brain cells and America’s need breed of rockets
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Abodes - The hole in Earth's protective ozone layer won't repair itself until about two decades later than had been expected, scientists announced. See http://www.livescience.com/environment/060630_ozone_hole.html.
g Life - Ants use an internal pedometer to find their way home without getting sidetracked, a new study reports. See http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060629_ant_pedometers.html.
g Intelligence - A uniform neural net of brain cells—a brain chip—has been created by a team of scientists lead by Yael Hanein of Tel Aviv University in Israel. See http://www.livescience.com/scienceoffiction/060626_neural_net.html
g Abodes - The hole in Earth's protective ozone layer won't repair itself until about two decades later than had been expected, scientists announced. See http://www.livescience.com/environment/060630_ozone_hole.html.
g Life - Ants use an internal pedometer to find their way home without getting sidetracked, a new study reports. See http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060629_ant_pedometers.html.
g Intelligence - A uniform neural net of brain cells—a brain chip—has been created by a team of scientists lead by Yael Hanein of Tel Aviv University in Israel. See http://www.livescience.com/scienceoffiction/060626_neural_net.html
Friday, June 30, 2006
Protoplanetary disk shapes, flipping life’s switch and Cassini at half-way mark
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - Recent discoveries add yet more variety to the bewildering diversity of protoplanetary disk shapes - ranging from donuts to spirals - that astronomers are finding as they study the birthing grounds of planets around other stars. See http://www.astrobio.
net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article
&sid=2007mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Abodes - New technologies are enabling scientists to determine precisely the extent and causes of Earth's short-term wobbling. Like a spinning top, Earth wobbles as it rotates on its axis. In fact, it displays many different wobbling motions, ranging in period from a few minutes to billions of years. Some of these are well studied, like the Chandler wobble of 433 days and the annual wobble, which together can tilt Earth's axis up to 10 meters [30 feet] from its nominal center. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php
op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2005mode=thread&order
=0&thold=0.
g Life - Somewhere on Earth, close to 4 billion years ago, a set of molecular reactions flipped a switch and became life. Scientists try to imagine this animating event by simplifying the processes that characterize living things. New research suggests the simplification needs to go further. See http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060609_life_origin.html.
g Intelligence - Can Darwinism explain the birth and extinction of art movements, or the enduring appeal of Jane Austen? See http://
www.theage.com.au/news/arts/peacockstailfansourflames/2006/
06/21/1150845231655.html.
g Cosmicus - As the Cassini spacecraft reaches the halfway mark in its four-year tour of the Saturn system, discoveries made during the first half of the mission have scientists revved up to find out what's in store for the second act. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0606/28cassini/.
g Aftermath - Here’s an interesting book for some astrobiological reading: “After Contact: The Human Response to Extraterrestrial Life”by Albert A. Harrison. See http://www.amazon.com/gp/
product/customerreviews/0306456214/10426166182449525_encoding
=UTF8&me=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=books for some reviews.
g Stars - Recent discoveries add yet more variety to the bewildering diversity of protoplanetary disk shapes - ranging from donuts to spirals - that astronomers are finding as they study the birthing grounds of planets around other stars. See http://www.astrobio.
net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article
&sid=2007mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Abodes - New technologies are enabling scientists to determine precisely the extent and causes of Earth's short-term wobbling. Like a spinning top, Earth wobbles as it rotates on its axis. In fact, it displays many different wobbling motions, ranging in period from a few minutes to billions of years. Some of these are well studied, like the Chandler wobble of 433 days and the annual wobble, which together can tilt Earth's axis up to 10 meters [30 feet] from its nominal center. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php
op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2005mode=thread&order
=0&thold=0.
g Life - Somewhere on Earth, close to 4 billion years ago, a set of molecular reactions flipped a switch and became life. Scientists try to imagine this animating event by simplifying the processes that characterize living things. New research suggests the simplification needs to go further. See http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060609_life_origin.html.
g Intelligence - Can Darwinism explain the birth and extinction of art movements, or the enduring appeal of Jane Austen? See http://
www.theage.com.au/news/arts/peacockstailfansourflames/2006/
06/21/1150845231655.html.
g Cosmicus - As the Cassini spacecraft reaches the halfway mark in its four-year tour of the Saturn system, discoveries made during the first half of the mission have scientists revved up to find out what's in store for the second act. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0606/28cassini/.
g Aftermath - Here’s an interesting book for some astrobiological reading: “After Contact: The Human Response to Extraterrestrial Life”by Albert A. Harrison. See http://www.amazon.com/gp/
product/customerreviews/0306456214/10426166182449525_encoding
=UTF8&me=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=books for some reviews.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Venus’ polar vortex, cradle of agriculture and faster than light travel
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - The most true-to-life computer simulation ever made of our Sun's multimillion-degree outer atmosphere, the corona, successfully predicted its actual appearance during the March 29, 2006, solar eclipse, scientists have announced. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060626231813.htm.
g Abodes - ESA's Venus Express data undoubtedly confirm for the first time the presence of a huge '”double-eye” atmospheric vortex at the planet's south pole. This striking result comes from analysis of the data gathered by the spacecraft during the first orbit around the planet. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload
&name=News&file=article&sid=2006mode=thread&order
=0&thold=0.
g Life - Researchers scouring swamps in the heart of Borneo island have discovered a venomous species of snake that can change its skin color, the conservation group WWF announced Tuesday. See http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/ap_060627_snake_color.html.
g Intelligence - The southeastern Anatolian province of Þanlýurfa, considered to be the cradle of agriculture as well as hosting numerous examples of ancient architecture, promises new discoveries to shed light on the history of human evolution in the region. See http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=46755.
g Cosmicus - Within the framework of general relativity and without the introduction of wormholes, is it is possible to modify a space-time in a way that allows a spaceship to travel with an arbitrarily large speed, such as faster than light? One physicist thinks so. See www.members.shaw.ca/mike.anderton/WarpDrive.pdf.
g Learning - Here’s a neat lesson plan, “Extraterrestrials,” in which students learn that a digital radio message has been electronically transmitted into space by the Arecibo radio dish in Puerto Rico and that the purpose of the message is to alert any intelligent life in space to the existence of intelligent life on Earth. See http://school.
discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/extraterrestrials/.
g Stars - The most true-to-life computer simulation ever made of our Sun's multimillion-degree outer atmosphere, the corona, successfully predicted its actual appearance during the March 29, 2006, solar eclipse, scientists have announced. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060626231813.htm.
g Abodes - ESA's Venus Express data undoubtedly confirm for the first time the presence of a huge '”double-eye” atmospheric vortex at the planet's south pole. This striking result comes from analysis of the data gathered by the spacecraft during the first orbit around the planet. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload
&name=News&file=article&sid=2006mode=thread&order
=0&thold=0.
g Life - Researchers scouring swamps in the heart of Borneo island have discovered a venomous species of snake that can change its skin color, the conservation group WWF announced Tuesday. See http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/ap_060627_snake_color.html.
g Intelligence - The southeastern Anatolian province of Þanlýurfa, considered to be the cradle of agriculture as well as hosting numerous examples of ancient architecture, promises new discoveries to shed light on the history of human evolution in the region. See http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=46755.
g Cosmicus - Within the framework of general relativity and without the introduction of wormholes, is it is possible to modify a space-time in a way that allows a spaceship to travel with an arbitrarily large speed, such as faster than light? One physicist thinks so. See www.members.shaw.ca/mike.anderton/WarpDrive.pdf.
g Learning - Here’s a neat lesson plan, “Extraterrestrials,” in which students learn that a digital radio message has been electronically transmitted into space by the Arecibo radio dish in Puerto Rico and that the purpose of the message is to alert any intelligent life in space to the existence of intelligent life on Earth. See http://school.
discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/extraterrestrials/.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Testing General Relativity, growing plants in microgravity and reacting to ET’s landing
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - A space telescope scheduled for launch in 2007 will be sensitive enough to detect theoretical miniature black holes lurking within our solar system, scientists say. By doing so, it could test an exotic five-dimensional theory of gravity that competes with Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. That is, of course, if the tiny black holes actually exist. See http://www.space.com/science
astronomy/060626_mystery_monday.html.
g Abodes - For the first time, glaciologists have combined and compared sets of ancient climate records trapped in ice cores from the South American Andes and the Asian Himalayas to paint a picture of how climate has changed – and is still changing – in the tropics. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060627093233.htm.
g Life - When you think of bright coral and colorful fish, you might conjure images of Hawaii or the Caribbean. If so, a newfound bed of deep-sea corals and other animal life found off the coast of Washington state will likely surprise you. See http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060626_coral_photos.html.
g Intelligence - In the first article to examine bargaining behavior from a consumer perspective, researchers from the University of Maryland found that buyers gauge the success of a round of bargaining not by the final price, but by a seemingly innocuous non-verbal cue: how long the seller pauses before responding to the offer. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060625122626.htm.
g Message - And after all those years, as the saying goes, UFOs remain a riddle inside a mystery wrapped in an enigma. Why so? For one, the field is fraught with hucksterism. It's also replete with blurry photos and awful video. But then there are also well-intentioned and puzzled witnesses.Scientifically speaking, are UFOs worth keeping an eye on? See http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/06/23/ufo.research/.
g Cosmicus - When shuttle Discovery next launches, it will carry the continuing research of botanist John Kiss to study if and how well plants can be grown in microgravity. Kiss' project is one of only two experiments launched on Discovery that will be performed on the International Space Station at this time. See http://www.astrobio.
net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article
&sid=2004mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Learning -A 2006 report by the National Science Foundation revealed that only about one-third of U.S. students in the fourth and eighth grades and less than one-fifth of 12th graders were proficient in math and science tests administered by the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Scores for underrepresented minorities were significantly lower. See http://dailyheadlines.uark.edu/8833.htm.
g Aftermath - How would humans react the day after ET landed? A nationwide survey by the Roper Organization in 1999 found that the following: “...one out of four Americans think most people would “totally freak out and panic” if such evidence were confirmed. See http://www.nidsci.org/news/roper/roperpressrelease.html.
g Stars - A space telescope scheduled for launch in 2007 will be sensitive enough to detect theoretical miniature black holes lurking within our solar system, scientists say. By doing so, it could test an exotic five-dimensional theory of gravity that competes with Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. That is, of course, if the tiny black holes actually exist. See http://www.space.com/science
astronomy/060626_mystery_monday.html.
g Abodes - For the first time, glaciologists have combined and compared sets of ancient climate records trapped in ice cores from the South American Andes and the Asian Himalayas to paint a picture of how climate has changed – and is still changing – in the tropics. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060627093233.htm.
g Life - When you think of bright coral and colorful fish, you might conjure images of Hawaii or the Caribbean. If so, a newfound bed of deep-sea corals and other animal life found off the coast of Washington state will likely surprise you. See http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060626_coral_photos.html.
g Intelligence - In the first article to examine bargaining behavior from a consumer perspective, researchers from the University of Maryland found that buyers gauge the success of a round of bargaining not by the final price, but by a seemingly innocuous non-verbal cue: how long the seller pauses before responding to the offer. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060625122626.htm.
g Message - And after all those years, as the saying goes, UFOs remain a riddle inside a mystery wrapped in an enigma. Why so? For one, the field is fraught with hucksterism. It's also replete with blurry photos and awful video. But then there are also well-intentioned and puzzled witnesses.Scientifically speaking, are UFOs worth keeping an eye on? See http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/06/23/ufo.research/.
g Cosmicus - When shuttle Discovery next launches, it will carry the continuing research of botanist John Kiss to study if and how well plants can be grown in microgravity. Kiss' project is one of only two experiments launched on Discovery that will be performed on the International Space Station at this time. See http://www.astrobio.
net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article
&sid=2004mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Learning -A 2006 report by the National Science Foundation revealed that only about one-third of U.S. students in the fourth and eighth grades and less than one-fifth of 12th graders were proficient in math and science tests administered by the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Scores for underrepresented minorities were significantly lower. See http://dailyheadlines.uark.edu/8833.htm.
g Aftermath - How would humans react the day after ET landed? A nationwide survey by the Roper Organization in 1999 found that the following: “...one out of four Americans think most people would “totally freak out and panic” if such evidence were confirmed. See http://www.nidsci.org/news/roper/roperpressrelease.html.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Matter-antimatter imbalance, ice age sloth and helping SETI discover aliens
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - B factory experiments at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center in the United States and at the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization in Japan have reached a new milestone in the quest to understand the matter-antimatter imbalance in our universe. Scientists from around the world, including the United Kingdom, to probe such fundamental questions, use these experiments. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060624115839.htm.
g Abodes - New technologies are enabling scientists to determine precisely the extent and causes of Earth's short-term wobbling. Like a spinning top, Earth wobbles as it rotates on its axis. In fact, it displays many different wobbling motions, ranging in period from a few minutes to billions of years. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0606/26wobbles/.
g Life - For the past three years, students, staff and volunteers from the University of Iowa Museum of Natural History, UI Department of Geoscience in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Office of the State Archaeologist have been excavating, analyzing and carefully reconstructing the bones of an ice-age giant sloth from a site near Shenandoah, Iowa. Like detectives at a 12,000-year-old crime scene, the team has been attempting to piece together a life history of this extinct, furry, SUV-sized mammal. What did it eat? Why did it die? And why did sloths mysteriously become extinct along with over three-dozen other large ice age animals? See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060626123721.htm.
g Intelligence - In an exciting study that provides new understanding of how animals learn - and learn from each other - researchers have demonstrated that bats that use frog acoustic cues to find quality prey can rapidly learn these cues by observing other bats. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060627094205.htm.
g Message - Want to help SETI discover alien life? If you haven’t already done so, download the free SETI at Home software. Using Internet-connected computers, the program downloads and analyzes radio telescope data on your desktop when it is idle. The program has been so successful in plowing through data that other scientific researchers, especially in medicine, are adopting it to their fields. See http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/ for the program.
g Cosmicus - As NASA sets its sights on returning to the Moon, the U.S. space agency wants to make sure the scientific research done there is no mere afterthought, but a well-conceived program developed in close consultation with the scientific community. See http://www.space.com/spacenews/businessmonday_060626.html.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom activity, courtesy of NASA: “The Drake Equation.” Students estimate the number of civilizations in the galaxy by first estimating the number of craters on the Moon and then by performing estimates of multiple-variable systems culminating in the use of the Drake Equation. See http://btc.montana.edu/ceres/html/DrakeEquation/Drake.htm.
g Imagining - An impressive listing of “Star Trek” aliens exists at http://cage.p.tripod.com/. Of course, most “Star Trek” aliens either are just humanoid (an unlikely scenario, though the series did explain it away by saying a previous humanoid race “seeded” worlds with their DNA) are incorporeal. Still, the series did offer some intriguing species — most notably the horta, tribble and Species 8472 — merit attention.
g Aftermath - The next social science to be created might be "exopsychology" — the study of behavior, attitudes, personalities and thoughts of alien beings. Although necessarily speculative, exopsychology might eventually be a critical link between humans and aliens. In the meantime, such a study could also provide the additional benefit of informing us about earthbound prejudices. See http://www.parentsurf.com/p/articles/mi_m1175/is_n2_v22/ai_6306
697.
g Stars - B factory experiments at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center in the United States and at the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization in Japan have reached a new milestone in the quest to understand the matter-antimatter imbalance in our universe. Scientists from around the world, including the United Kingdom, to probe such fundamental questions, use these experiments. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060624115839.htm.
g Abodes - New technologies are enabling scientists to determine precisely the extent and causes of Earth's short-term wobbling. Like a spinning top, Earth wobbles as it rotates on its axis. In fact, it displays many different wobbling motions, ranging in period from a few minutes to billions of years. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0606/26wobbles/.
g Life - For the past three years, students, staff and volunteers from the University of Iowa Museum of Natural History, UI Department of Geoscience in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Office of the State Archaeologist have been excavating, analyzing and carefully reconstructing the bones of an ice-age giant sloth from a site near Shenandoah, Iowa. Like detectives at a 12,000-year-old crime scene, the team has been attempting to piece together a life history of this extinct, furry, SUV-sized mammal. What did it eat? Why did it die? And why did sloths mysteriously become extinct along with over three-dozen other large ice age animals? See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060626123721.htm.
g Intelligence - In an exciting study that provides new understanding of how animals learn - and learn from each other - researchers have demonstrated that bats that use frog acoustic cues to find quality prey can rapidly learn these cues by observing other bats. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060627094205.htm.
g Message - Want to help SETI discover alien life? If you haven’t already done so, download the free SETI at Home software. Using Internet-connected computers, the program downloads and analyzes radio telescope data on your desktop when it is idle. The program has been so successful in plowing through data that other scientific researchers, especially in medicine, are adopting it to their fields. See http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/ for the program.
g Cosmicus - As NASA sets its sights on returning to the Moon, the U.S. space agency wants to make sure the scientific research done there is no mere afterthought, but a well-conceived program developed in close consultation with the scientific community. See http://www.space.com/spacenews/businessmonday_060626.html.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom activity, courtesy of NASA: “The Drake Equation.” Students estimate the number of civilizations in the galaxy by first estimating the number of craters on the Moon and then by performing estimates of multiple-variable systems culminating in the use of the Drake Equation. See http://btc.montana.edu/ceres/html/DrakeEquation/Drake.htm.
g Imagining - An impressive listing of “Star Trek” aliens exists at http://cage.p.tripod.com/. Of course, most “Star Trek” aliens either are just humanoid (an unlikely scenario, though the series did explain it away by saying a previous humanoid race “seeded” worlds with their DNA) are incorporeal. Still, the series did offer some intriguing species — most notably the horta, tribble and Species 8472 — merit attention.
g Aftermath - The next social science to be created might be "exopsychology" — the study of behavior, attitudes, personalities and thoughts of alien beings. Although necessarily speculative, exopsychology might eventually be a critical link between humans and aliens. In the meantime, such a study could also provide the additional benefit of informing us about earthbound prejudices. See http://www.parentsurf.com/p/articles/mi_m1175/is_n2_v22/ai_6306
697.
Monday, June 26, 2006
Huge cosmic paradox, Mars Science Laboratory and Big Questions of the Universe
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - Scientists have cracked a huge cosmic paradox — how black holes can be the darkest objects known but also responsible for a quarter of all light and other radiation produced in the universe since the Big Bang. See http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer
pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article
pubid=968163964505&cid=1150970532767&call_page
=TS_News&call_pageid=968332188492&call_pagepath
=News/News.
g Abodes - NASA's next Mars rover will be the Mars Science Laboratory, due for launch in 2009. In hopes of hitting pay dirt once again, NASA has scientists scouting for landing sites that might extend the Martian water story beyond Opportunity's glimpse at Meridiani. See http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/
060622_exploring_mars.html.
g Life - The first field surveys of the Rubeho Mountains in Tanzania revealed over 160 animal species -including a new species of frog and 11 endemic species--according to an article published in the African Journal of Ecology this month. The findings elevate the importance of protecting this biologically rich wilderness area and the broader Eastern Arc Mountain range from destructive activities underway such as clear-cutting for agriculture, logging and poaching. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060624115041.htm.
g Intelligence - Researchers report that ADHD drugs primarily target the prefrontal cortex, a region of the brain that is associated with attention, decision-making and an individual's expression of personality. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/
2006/06/060626091749.htm.
g Message - The question of whether we are alone in the universe is one of the biggest of the Big Questions of Existence. One way to settle the matter is to find some cosmic company. A direct approach to this problem is to scan the skies with radio telescopes in the hope of stumbling across a message from an alien civilization. See http://www.teampicard.net/forum/latest-intelligence/223-message-curious-please-phone-et/home.html. Note: This article is from 2005.
g Cosmicus - Astronomers at the University of New Mexico are developing an exciting new telescope with capabilities that are unrivaled in astronomy circles. The CCD/Transit Instrument with Innovative Instrumentation, or CTI-II, is a special-purpose telescope where accuracy and precision are the key components allowing for unprecedented research opportunities. See http://www.unm.edu/~market/cgi-bin/archives/001283.html.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Jeff Berkwits’ story "First Contact," which appeared in the August 1996 issue of “Keen!”
g Stars - Scientists have cracked a huge cosmic paradox — how black holes can be the darkest objects known but also responsible for a quarter of all light and other radiation produced in the universe since the Big Bang. See http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer
pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article
pubid=968163964505&cid=1150970532767&call_page
=TS_News&call_pageid=968332188492&call_pagepath
=News/News.
g Abodes - NASA's next Mars rover will be the Mars Science Laboratory, due for launch in 2009. In hopes of hitting pay dirt once again, NASA has scientists scouting for landing sites that might extend the Martian water story beyond Opportunity's glimpse at Meridiani. See http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/
060622_exploring_mars.html.
g Life - The first field surveys of the Rubeho Mountains in Tanzania revealed over 160 animal species -including a new species of frog and 11 endemic species--according to an article published in the African Journal of Ecology this month. The findings elevate the importance of protecting this biologically rich wilderness area and the broader Eastern Arc Mountain range from destructive activities underway such as clear-cutting for agriculture, logging and poaching. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060624115041.htm.
g Intelligence - Researchers report that ADHD drugs primarily target the prefrontal cortex, a region of the brain that is associated with attention, decision-making and an individual's expression of personality. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/
2006/06/060626091749.htm.
g Message - The question of whether we are alone in the universe is one of the biggest of the Big Questions of Existence. One way to settle the matter is to find some cosmic company. A direct approach to this problem is to scan the skies with radio telescopes in the hope of stumbling across a message from an alien civilization. See http://www.teampicard.net/forum/latest-intelligence/223-message-curious-please-phone-et/home.html. Note: This article is from 2005.
g Cosmicus - Astronomers at the University of New Mexico are developing an exciting new telescope with capabilities that are unrivaled in astronomy circles. The CCD/Transit Instrument with Innovative Instrumentation, or CTI-II, is a special-purpose telescope where accuracy and precision are the key components allowing for unprecedented research opportunities. See http://www.unm.edu/~market/cgi-bin/archives/001283.html.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Jeff Berkwits’ story "First Contact," which appeared in the August 1996 issue of “Keen!”
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Our humdrum galaxy, Earth turning into Venus and ‘Worlds Without End’
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - For those among us who like to think we are something special, things have gone downhill since Ptolemy. First, Copernicus’ theories suggested that the Earth was not the center of the universe after all. Then it turned out that the sun was a run-of-the-mill star. Eventually even the Milky Way was shown to be relatively humdrum. Well, it just got more humdrum. See http://thechronicleherald.ca/Science/512179.html.
g Abodes - Renowned scientist Stephen Hawking told Chinese students that Earth could become like Venus. See http://www.livescience.
com/environment/ap_060622_hawking_climate.html.
g Life - Scientists have found 136-million-year-old piece of amber encasing pieces of web and trapped insects that helps fill in the gaps of the origin of orb webs. The finding also indicates predatory spiders likely played a role in the evolution of flying insects. See http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060622_spider_webs.html.
g Intelligence - Learning to communicate and adapting our behavior to the information we receive has been fundamental to human evolution. Researchers have attempted to build robots or devices with the communication skills of a human adult. However, that is a shortcut that ignores the evolution of language and the skills gained from social interaction, thereby limiting the ability of artificial intelligence devices to react to stimuli to within a fixed set of parameters. See http://www.scenta.co.uk/scenta/news.cfmcit_
id=892769&FAArea1=widgets.content_view_1.
g Message - Book alert: “Worlds Without End: the Historic Search for Extraterrestrial Life,” by R.A.S. Hennessey, offers the first complete history of Pluralism - from Plato to NATO. Is there life, intelligent or otherwise, on other worlds - or are we unique and alone in the Universe? This question, now assuming a leading role in science and contemporary culture, is of great antiquity. Its long history has embraced a vast range of interests - from the philosophers of classical Greece, medieval theologians and intellectuals of the Enlightenment down to today's cosmologists, UFO enthusiasts and fans of TV space-operas. Among the important contributors to this 2500-yearold debate are Plato, Aquinas, Newton, Kant, Tom Paine, H.G. Wells, Sir Fred Hoyle and Francis Crick. Worlds Without End is, however, the first full-length chronicle of the whole, long saga. As a result of this long perspective R.A.S. Hennessey is able to identify the major trends and developments in pluralist theories over the centuries. Surprisingly his study reveals that much of what is considered to be new turns out to be old and well-worn - showing how little is truly 'new under the Sun'. This well-illustrated and accessibly written work thus provides an invaluable background to one of the major debates of our time. It will be welcomed not only by those engaged in this debate - scientists, historians, theologians and science fiction readers - but anyone who has looked up at the night sky and wondered, as have others down the ages, "Is there anyone out there?" See http://www.antiqbook.co.uk/boox/bgo/7791.shtml.
g Cosmicus - Northrop Grumman has delivered an important element of the James Webb Space Telescope, the Backplane Stability Test Article, to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center for a series of tests designed to verify its readiness for use in space. See http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2006/06/23/1693723.htm.
g Learning - Here is a very thorough list of astrobiology-related journals, magazines and newsletters: http://aca.mq.edu.au/Links/AstrobiologyJournalList.html.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Marc Bilgrey’s "Random Acts," in the anthology “First Contact,” edited by Martin H. Greenberg & Larry Segriff (published by DAW in 1997).
g Stars - For those among us who like to think we are something special, things have gone downhill since Ptolemy. First, Copernicus’ theories suggested that the Earth was not the center of the universe after all. Then it turned out that the sun was a run-of-the-mill star. Eventually even the Milky Way was shown to be relatively humdrum. Well, it just got more humdrum. See http://thechronicleherald.ca/Science/512179.html.
g Abodes - Renowned scientist Stephen Hawking told Chinese students that Earth could become like Venus. See http://www.livescience.
com/environment/ap_060622_hawking_climate.html.
g Life - Scientists have found 136-million-year-old piece of amber encasing pieces of web and trapped insects that helps fill in the gaps of the origin of orb webs. The finding also indicates predatory spiders likely played a role in the evolution of flying insects. See http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060622_spider_webs.html.
g Intelligence - Learning to communicate and adapting our behavior to the information we receive has been fundamental to human evolution. Researchers have attempted to build robots or devices with the communication skills of a human adult. However, that is a shortcut that ignores the evolution of language and the skills gained from social interaction, thereby limiting the ability of artificial intelligence devices to react to stimuli to within a fixed set of parameters. See http://www.scenta.co.uk/scenta/news.cfmcit_
id=892769&FAArea1=widgets.content_view_1.
g Message - Book alert: “Worlds Without End: the Historic Search for Extraterrestrial Life,” by R.A.S. Hennessey, offers the first complete history of Pluralism - from Plato to NATO. Is there life, intelligent or otherwise, on other worlds - or are we unique and alone in the Universe? This question, now assuming a leading role in science and contemporary culture, is of great antiquity. Its long history has embraced a vast range of interests - from the philosophers of classical Greece, medieval theologians and intellectuals of the Enlightenment down to today's cosmologists, UFO enthusiasts and fans of TV space-operas. Among the important contributors to this 2500-yearold debate are Plato, Aquinas, Newton, Kant, Tom Paine, H.G. Wells, Sir Fred Hoyle and Francis Crick. Worlds Without End is, however, the first full-length chronicle of the whole, long saga. As a result of this long perspective R.A.S. Hennessey is able to identify the major trends and developments in pluralist theories over the centuries. Surprisingly his study reveals that much of what is considered to be new turns out to be old and well-worn - showing how little is truly 'new under the Sun'. This well-illustrated and accessibly written work thus provides an invaluable background to one of the major debates of our time. It will be welcomed not only by those engaged in this debate - scientists, historians, theologians and science fiction readers - but anyone who has looked up at the night sky and wondered, as have others down the ages, "Is there anyone out there?" See http://www.antiqbook.co.uk/boox/bgo/7791.shtml.
g Cosmicus - Northrop Grumman has delivered an important element of the James Webb Space Telescope, the Backplane Stability Test Article, to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center for a series of tests designed to verify its readiness for use in space. See http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2006/06/23/1693723.htm.
g Learning - Here is a very thorough list of astrobiology-related journals, magazines and newsletters: http://aca.mq.edu.au/Links/AstrobiologyJournalList.html.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Marc Bilgrey’s "Random Acts," in the anthology “First Contact,” edited by Martin H. Greenberg & Larry Segriff (published by DAW in 1997).
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Fizzing space, hot Earth and can aliens find us?
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - Space is fizzing. Above our heads, where the Earth's magnetic field meets the constant stream of gas from the Sun, thousands of bubbles of superheated gas are constantly growing and popping. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0606/24cluster/.
g Abodes - The Earth is the hottest it has been in at least 400 years, probably even longer. The National Academy of Sciences, reaching that conclusion in a broad review of scientific work requested by Congress, reported Thursday that the "recent warmth is unprecedented for at least the last 400 years and potentially the last several millennia.'' See http://www.livescience.com/environment/ap_060622_earth_hot.html.
g Life - Astrobiology Magazine’s managing editor, Henry Bortman, is hanging out with a group of astrobiologists in the driest place on Earth, Chile’s Atacama Desert. Yungay, an abandoned mining settlement in the Atacama, was until recently thought to be completely devoid of life. But new evidence hints at the possibility that even here, where rainfall is an event that occurs once a decade, microbial life can eke out an existence. See http://www.astrobio.
net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid
=2002mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Intelligence - The neurological basis for poor witness statements and hallucinations has been found by scientists at the University College London. In over a fifth of cases, people wrongly remembered whether they actually witnessed an event or just imagined it, according to a paper published in NeuroImage this week. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060623215216.htm.
g Message - Can aliens find us? With a really nice pair of binoculars, the Great Wall of China (not to mention less romantic constructions, such as interstate highways) does become visible from orbit. Any curious aliens that made it to within a few hundred miles of Earth would have no trouble seeing the artifacts of our civilization. They would know, without doubt, that technologically competent beings roamed our world. But how visible are we to aliens that are farther away? See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_shostak_
aliens_031023.html. Here’s the follow-up to the article from 2003: http://
www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_shostak_seeing_031120.html.
g Cosmicus - The main camera on the Hubble Space Telescope, which has revolutionized astronomy with its stunning pictures of the universe, has stopped working, engineers said today. See http://
www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/articleAID=/20060625/NEWS
06/606250407/1012.
g Imagining - Scientifically speaking, are UFOs worth keeping an eye on? Not exactly. See http://www.space.com/news/060622_alien_encounters.html.
g Stars - Space is fizzing. Above our heads, where the Earth's magnetic field meets the constant stream of gas from the Sun, thousands of bubbles of superheated gas are constantly growing and popping. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0606/24cluster/.
g Abodes - The Earth is the hottest it has been in at least 400 years, probably even longer. The National Academy of Sciences, reaching that conclusion in a broad review of scientific work requested by Congress, reported Thursday that the "recent warmth is unprecedented for at least the last 400 years and potentially the last several millennia.'' See http://www.livescience.com/environment/ap_060622_earth_hot.html.
g Life - Astrobiology Magazine’s managing editor, Henry Bortman, is hanging out with a group of astrobiologists in the driest place on Earth, Chile’s Atacama Desert. Yungay, an abandoned mining settlement in the Atacama, was until recently thought to be completely devoid of life. But new evidence hints at the possibility that even here, where rainfall is an event that occurs once a decade, microbial life can eke out an existence. See http://www.astrobio.
net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid
=2002mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Intelligence - The neurological basis for poor witness statements and hallucinations has been found by scientists at the University College London. In over a fifth of cases, people wrongly remembered whether they actually witnessed an event or just imagined it, according to a paper published in NeuroImage this week. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060623215216.htm.
g Message - Can aliens find us? With a really nice pair of binoculars, the Great Wall of China (not to mention less romantic constructions, such as interstate highways) does become visible from orbit. Any curious aliens that made it to within a few hundred miles of Earth would have no trouble seeing the artifacts of our civilization. They would know, without doubt, that technologically competent beings roamed our world. But how visible are we to aliens that are farther away? See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_shostak_
aliens_031023.html. Here’s the follow-up to the article from 2003: http://
www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_shostak_seeing_031120.html.
g Cosmicus - The main camera on the Hubble Space Telescope, which has revolutionized astronomy with its stunning pictures of the universe, has stopped working, engineers said today. See http://
www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/articleAID=/20060625/NEWS
06/606250407/1012.
g Imagining - Scientifically speaking, are UFOs worth keeping an eye on? Not exactly. See http://www.space.com/news/060622_alien_encounters.html.
Friday, June 23, 2006
Glowing neutron stars, good odds at million-to-one and brain filters
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - Dense stellar corpses doomed to roam through space alone can get a second "lease on life" by passing through clouds of gas in stellar nurseries, a controversial new analysis proposes. The research suggests the corpses – called neutron stars – begin to glow at X-ray wavelengths when gas falls onto them. See http://www.newscientistspace.com/article/dn9397-mysterious-xray-sources-may-be-lone-neutron-stars.html.
g Abodes - The names Nix and Hydra have been approved for the two small satellites of Pluto discovered in May 2005. In mythology, Nix is the goddess of darkness and night, befitting a satellite orbiting distant Pluto, the god of the underworld. Hydra is the terrifying monster with the body of a serpent and nine heads, befitting the outermost moon of Pluto, the ninth planet in the solar system. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0606/22plutomoons/.
g Life - It may be a million-to-one shot that life exists elsewhere in the galaxy, but when you’re talking about astronomy, those may be good odds. See http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060623/BUSINESS/60622067/1122.
g Intelligence - The brain filters what we hear. It can do this in part because particular groups of neurons react to specific frequencies of sound. Neurobiologists from the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen have now created a "frequency map" for numerous areas of the brain. They used magnetic resonance imaging to identify which neuronal fields are activated by single frequencies and by mixtures of frequencies. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060623215911.htm.
g Message - The Planetary Society has posted an update on SETI@home's Stellar Countdown reobservations from March. At that time, the Berkeley University based SETI@home chose the best candidates (166) from the millions of data packets analyzed by users' home computers. They traveled to Arecibo, where they had unprecedented full use of the resources of the giant dish to reobserve the areas that had hatched the chosen signals. See http://space.about.com/b/a/009811.htm.
g Cosmicus - NASA's newest spacecraft at Mars has already cut the size and duration of each orbit by more than half, just 11 weeks into a 23-week process of shrinking its orbit. By other indicators, the lion's share of the job lies ahead. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/
modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2000
mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Aftermath - The discovery that alien life exists would mean that we are not the center of the universe. While most religions now recognize that the Earth is just a lump of rock, they still believe that we human beings are the most important thing in creation, that we occupy a special place in God's plan. The existence of aliens would seem to make this implausible especially if they are more advanced than we are (on all levels, intellectually, spiritually) This would mean that God has acted in the development of the aliens in a way he did not act in ours, which in turn would mean that we do not occupy the paramount role in God's creation, which as I said is a fundamental idea in religions. See http://www.philosophos.com/knowledge_base/
archives_10/philosophy_questions_1041.html.
g Stars - Dense stellar corpses doomed to roam through space alone can get a second "lease on life" by passing through clouds of gas in stellar nurseries, a controversial new analysis proposes. The research suggests the corpses – called neutron stars – begin to glow at X-ray wavelengths when gas falls onto them. See http://www.newscientistspace.com/article/dn9397-mysterious-xray-sources-may-be-lone-neutron-stars.html.
g Abodes - The names Nix and Hydra have been approved for the two small satellites of Pluto discovered in May 2005. In mythology, Nix is the goddess of darkness and night, befitting a satellite orbiting distant Pluto, the god of the underworld. Hydra is the terrifying monster with the body of a serpent and nine heads, befitting the outermost moon of Pluto, the ninth planet in the solar system. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0606/22plutomoons/.
g Life - It may be a million-to-one shot that life exists elsewhere in the galaxy, but when you’re talking about astronomy, those may be good odds. See http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060623/BUSINESS/60622067/1122.
g Intelligence - The brain filters what we hear. It can do this in part because particular groups of neurons react to specific frequencies of sound. Neurobiologists from the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen have now created a "frequency map" for numerous areas of the brain. They used magnetic resonance imaging to identify which neuronal fields are activated by single frequencies and by mixtures of frequencies. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060623215911.htm.
g Message - The Planetary Society has posted an update on SETI@home's Stellar Countdown reobservations from March. At that time, the Berkeley University based SETI@home chose the best candidates (166) from the millions of data packets analyzed by users' home computers. They traveled to Arecibo, where they had unprecedented full use of the resources of the giant dish to reobserve the areas that had hatched the chosen signals. See http://space.about.com/b/a/009811.htm.
g Cosmicus - NASA's newest spacecraft at Mars has already cut the size and duration of each orbit by more than half, just 11 weeks into a 23-week process of shrinking its orbit. By other indicators, the lion's share of the job lies ahead. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/
modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2000
mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Aftermath - The discovery that alien life exists would mean that we are not the center of the universe. While most religions now recognize that the Earth is just a lump of rock, they still believe that we human beings are the most important thing in creation, that we occupy a special place in God's plan. The existence of aliens would seem to make this implausible especially if they are more advanced than we are (on all levels, intellectually, spiritually) This would mean that God has acted in the development of the aliens in a way he did not act in ours, which in turn would mean that we do not occupy the paramount role in God's creation, which as I said is a fundamental idea in religions. See http://www.philosophos.com/knowledge_base/
archives_10/philosophy_questions_1041.html.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Black hole light shows, recovering meteorites in Hammerfest and world’s first bling
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Today’s news:
g Stars - A team of astronomers led by the University of Michigan may know how black holes are lighting up the Universe. New data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory show, for the first time, that powerful magnetic fields are the key to these brilliant and startling light shows. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0606/22blackholes/.
g Abodes - The city of Hammerfest lies at the northern tip of Norway, well above the Arctic Circle. If you board a ship heading north from there, just before you reach the polar ice cap you run into a group of islands known as the Svalbard archipelago. For the past two summers, a group of scientists has traveled to the largest of these islands to study an environment that sheds light on a notorious meteorite, discovered at the opposite end of the Earth, in Antarctica. See http://www.astrobiology.com/news/viewpr.htmlpid=20168.
g Life - The Yungay region in Chile’s Atacama Desert is the driest place on Earth. It rains perhaps once every 10 years. It is so dry that not even microbial life can survive there. Almost as dry as Mars. That makes it an interesting place for astrobiologists to study. Later this month, Astrobiology Magazine will begin a series of field reports from Yungay. Join us as we accompany scientists who are heading to Yungay to explore the limits of life. See http://www.astrobio.net
/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1999
mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Intelligence - Ancient beads that may represent the oldest attempt by people at self-decoration have been identified from sites in Algeria and Israel. See http://www.livescience.com/history/060622_ancient_jewelry.html.
g Message - Many common ideas about SETI just aren’t true, but that doesn't prevent them from popping up in popular articles, blogs, books, and even movies. Here are three of my favorite fallacies about SETI. See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_three_myths_060622.html.
g Cosmicus - Geckos, snails and newts thrived on a Russian spacecraft that carried a Montana State University experiment last summer, but not bacteria, said an MSU microbiologist who is studying the long-term effects of space travel. See http://www.astrobiology.com/news/viewpr.htmlpid=20167.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom activity: “Samples of the Future.” In this exercise, which reinforces creative thinking and the scientific method, kids build their own toy spacecraft from assorted household materials. See http://www.thursdaysclassroom.com/15aug01/corner.html.
g Imagining - Traditional science fiction has aliens who speak some form of English or resemble humans. The problem is, chances are slim that non-terrestrial life will have such earthling-like traits. Chemists at the University of Florida hope to overcome that obstacle by figuring out what alien life might look like. See http://www.napa.ufl.edu/98news/astrobio.htm. Note: This article is from 1998.
g Aftermath - Some of the best discussion of the consequences of alien contact occurs in science fiction. Here’s a novel that ranks among the most important in that dialogue: Arthur C. Clark’s “Songs of a Distant Earth.” Look for it at your library or local used book store.
g Stars - A team of astronomers led by the University of Michigan may know how black holes are lighting up the Universe. New data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory show, for the first time, that powerful magnetic fields are the key to these brilliant and startling light shows. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0606/22blackholes/.
g Abodes - The city of Hammerfest lies at the northern tip of Norway, well above the Arctic Circle. If you board a ship heading north from there, just before you reach the polar ice cap you run into a group of islands known as the Svalbard archipelago. For the past two summers, a group of scientists has traveled to the largest of these islands to study an environment that sheds light on a notorious meteorite, discovered at the opposite end of the Earth, in Antarctica. See http://www.astrobiology.com/news/viewpr.htmlpid=20168.
g Life - The Yungay region in Chile’s Atacama Desert is the driest place on Earth. It rains perhaps once every 10 years. It is so dry that not even microbial life can survive there. Almost as dry as Mars. That makes it an interesting place for astrobiologists to study. Later this month, Astrobiology Magazine will begin a series of field reports from Yungay. Join us as we accompany scientists who are heading to Yungay to explore the limits of life. See http://www.astrobio.net
/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1999
mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Intelligence - Ancient beads that may represent the oldest attempt by people at self-decoration have been identified from sites in Algeria and Israel. See http://www.livescience.com/history/060622_ancient_jewelry.html.
g Message - Many common ideas about SETI just aren’t true, but that doesn't prevent them from popping up in popular articles, blogs, books, and even movies. Here are three of my favorite fallacies about SETI. See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_three_myths_060622.html.
g Cosmicus - Geckos, snails and newts thrived on a Russian spacecraft that carried a Montana State University experiment last summer, but not bacteria, said an MSU microbiologist who is studying the long-term effects of space travel. See http://www.astrobiology.com/news/viewpr.htmlpid=20167.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom activity: “Samples of the Future.” In this exercise, which reinforces creative thinking and the scientific method, kids build their own toy spacecraft from assorted household materials. See http://www.thursdaysclassroom.com/15aug01/corner.html.
g Imagining - Traditional science fiction has aliens who speak some form of English or resemble humans. The problem is, chances are slim that non-terrestrial life will have such earthling-like traits. Chemists at the University of Florida hope to overcome that obstacle by figuring out what alien life might look like. See http://www.napa.ufl.edu/98news/astrobio.htm. Note: This article is from 1998.
g Aftermath - Some of the best discussion of the consequences of alien contact occurs in science fiction. Here’s a novel that ranks among the most important in that dialogue: Arthur C. Clark’s “Songs of a Distant Earth.” Look for it at your library or local used book store.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Gliese 876’s planets, Pluto’s status and the Phoenix Lander
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Today’s news:
g Stars - Within 20 light years of Sol, astronomers may have detected planets only in the Solar System and around three stars. One of them is Gliese 876 / Ross 780. See http://www.solstation.com/stars/gl876.htm.
g Abodes - At its conference this August, the International Astronomical Union will make a decision that could see Pluto lose its status as a planet. See http://www.physorg.com/news70120085.html.
g Life - The population of an endangered species of dolphin living in Pakistan's Indus River has increased in recent years, but the animal remains at high risk of extinction, the scientist leading a conservation project said. See http://www.washingtonpost.com/
wpdyn/content/article/2006/06/07/AR2006060700976.html.
g Intelligence - New findings reported this week reveal that at least some primates can use their stored knowledge of recent weather as a tool for guiding their foraging behavior when searching for ripening fruit. The work potentially informs our understanding of how cognitive skills developed in humans and other primates. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News
&file=article&sid=1998mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Message - If we are not alone in the universe, why have we never picked up signals from an extraterrestrial civilization? Known as the Fermi paradox after physicist Enrico Fermi, who first posed the question, this long-standing puzzle remains one of the strongest arguments against the existence of intelligent aliens. But two physicists say they have come up with a solution. They suggest a way in which aliens could send messages to each other across space that not only disguises their locations but also makes it impossible for a casual observer to even distinguish the messages from background noise. See http://www.spacedaily.com/news/seti-03c.html. Note: This article is from May 2003.
g Cosmicus - The Phoenix Lander will explore a polar site on Mars to uncover clues about the planet's history of water and potential for life. The computer "brain" of the spacecraft is now ready for action, and a team at the University of Arizona in Tucson has begun adding engineering models of science payload instruments to a mock lander that will be tested in the Payload Interoperability Testbed, or "PIT." See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload
&name=News&file=article&sid=1997mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Learning - Here’s a neat new set of afterschool activities for elementary school students: “Astrobiology.” This new resource guide from the American Museum of Natural History brings astrobiology activities to the afterschool arena. As part of an 18-month project, AMNH collected NASA materials originally developed for the formal education setting, and adapted them for use in afterschool programs for participants aged 5-12. Members of NAI's NASA Ames Research Center Lead Team served as science advisors to the guide. See http://www.amnhafterschool.pdf/.
g Imagining - While science fiction has come a long way from the days of bug-eyed monsters, the genre still hasn't gone far enough in presenting well-conceived alien beings. As a derivative genre, role-playing games have an even poorer record. See http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/columns/sfnov99.html.
g Aftermath - How might we characterize the political significance of any announcement of discovering extraterrestrial intelligence? How about using the Torino Scale, which characterizes asteroid impacts, as a model to assist the discussion and interpretation of any claimed discovery of ETI? See http://64.233.167.104/searchq=cache:
BuuaRaF64gUJ:www.konkoly.hu/staff/almar/almar_rio.doc
+"Interpreting+and+Reporting+on+a+SETI+discovery"&hl=en.
g Stars - Within 20 light years of Sol, astronomers may have detected planets only in the Solar System and around three stars. One of them is Gliese 876 / Ross 780. See http://www.solstation.com/stars/gl876.htm.
g Abodes - At its conference this August, the International Astronomical Union will make a decision that could see Pluto lose its status as a planet. See http://www.physorg.com/news70120085.html.
g Life - The population of an endangered species of dolphin living in Pakistan's Indus River has increased in recent years, but the animal remains at high risk of extinction, the scientist leading a conservation project said. See http://www.washingtonpost.com/
wpdyn/content/article/2006/06/07/AR2006060700976.html.
g Intelligence - New findings reported this week reveal that at least some primates can use their stored knowledge of recent weather as a tool for guiding their foraging behavior when searching for ripening fruit. The work potentially informs our understanding of how cognitive skills developed in humans and other primates. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News
&file=article&sid=1998mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Message - If we are not alone in the universe, why have we never picked up signals from an extraterrestrial civilization? Known as the Fermi paradox after physicist Enrico Fermi, who first posed the question, this long-standing puzzle remains one of the strongest arguments against the existence of intelligent aliens. But two physicists say they have come up with a solution. They suggest a way in which aliens could send messages to each other across space that not only disguises their locations but also makes it impossible for a casual observer to even distinguish the messages from background noise. See http://www.spacedaily.com/news/seti-03c.html. Note: This article is from May 2003.
g Cosmicus - The Phoenix Lander will explore a polar site on Mars to uncover clues about the planet's history of water and potential for life. The computer "brain" of the spacecraft is now ready for action, and a team at the University of Arizona in Tucson has begun adding engineering models of science payload instruments to a mock lander that will be tested in the Payload Interoperability Testbed, or "PIT." See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload
&name=News&file=article&sid=1997mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Learning - Here’s a neat new set of afterschool activities for elementary school students: “Astrobiology.” This new resource guide from the American Museum of Natural History brings astrobiology activities to the afterschool arena. As part of an 18-month project, AMNH collected NASA materials originally developed for the formal education setting, and adapted them for use in afterschool programs for participants aged 5-12. Members of NAI's NASA Ames Research Center Lead Team served as science advisors to the guide. See http://www.amnhafterschool.pdf/.
g Imagining - While science fiction has come a long way from the days of bug-eyed monsters, the genre still hasn't gone far enough in presenting well-conceived alien beings. As a derivative genre, role-playing games have an even poorer record. See http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/columns/sfnov99.html.
g Aftermath - How might we characterize the political significance of any announcement of discovering extraterrestrial intelligence? How about using the Torino Scale, which characterizes asteroid impacts, as a model to assist the discussion and interpretation of any claimed discovery of ETI? See http://64.233.167.104/searchq=cache:
BuuaRaF64gUJ:www.konkoly.hu/staff/almar/almar_rio.doc
+"Interpreting+and+Reporting+on+a+SETI+discovery"&hl=en.
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