From the NASA Spitzer news page, A look at the chemicals around smaller and cooler stars than the sun show that they do not have hydrogen cyanide, but acetylene. The speculation is that ultraviolet light is involved in the creation of HCN. Also small stars have extreme magnetic bursts that can be disruptive for life. So the implications for life on planets around these stars seems to be less likely than sun-like stars.
Tweet This Post
Comments
From Universe today, a look at banded iron formations, show the decrease of nickel in seawater over time. It is speculated that methanogens, which are known to need nickle, became less abundant and lead to the rise of oxygen producers and more complex life.
Tweet This Post
Comments
From Nat Geo, the caterpillar of the Isabella moth, when infested with parasitic fly larva will eat more leaves containing alkaloids.
Article
Tweet This Post
Comments
So apparently my alma mater is hosting a conference on Human Enhancement & Nanotechnology Conference. From the good people of http://www.nanoethics.org/. It’s free and open to the public, so I’ll have to see if I can attend.
Tweet This Post
Comments
From Fallbrook Village News, At the International Conference on the Status of Plant and Animal Genome Research, a researcher from Mars Inc. proposed sequencing cacao’s genome. And listed threats that endanger the plant. Fungi have severely limited cacao production in South America and could threaten African production if steps are not taken to breed in disease resistance.
Tweet This Post
Comments
From Yahoo News, so Georgia police and the FBI are going after people who help terminally ill people die. As the mother of one of the victims said, “If they helped John to die, that is what he wanted. I would never find them guilty for helping him.”
I see no compelling reason for this to be a crime.
Tweet This Post
Comments
From Science Daily, in my backyard sinkhole in Lake Huron they have found cyanobacteria that uses sulfur in photosynthesis. Like the lakes of Antarctica the sinkhole house unique organisms that NASA has been looking at for clue to life on Mars. Which also could produce novel compounds useful in biotechnology, medicine, etc.
Tweet This Post
Comments
So the open access Journal of Biology has several articles on Darwin for his 200th birthday anniversary. JoB is part of a collection of journals from BMC .
Tweet This Post
Comments
My husband is working late and I’m watching a video from Microbe World. And looking over a microbe wiki.
Tweet This Post
Comments
From the Guardian, why do they have to be dissing Sir David? Just because he doesn’t add references to God in his docs? Docs that incredibly beautiful and informative. Yes I am a fan girl.
Tweet This Post
Comments