From Physorg.com, findings from the red planet shows that the amount of methane (CH4) in the Martian atmosphere is not caused by meteorites. So now the thinking is that it is caused by the reaction of rock with water and CO2 or it is biological.
Given the amount of CO2 in Mars’ atmosphere, I’m leaning toward the geologic origin. But one can dream of Martian Microbes.
From Physorg, several species of cyanobacteria create rope-like structures that “allows them to colonize physically unstable sedimentary environments, and to act as successful pioneers in the biostabilization process.”(From the abstract) These ropes wrap around grains of sand to prevent the sand grains from shifting.
From BBC, a study that looks at wood falls(trees and other vegetable matter that settle on the ocean floor) and what creatures eat them. And there is a crab that eats from these wood falls. Connected to this is the worms that eat whale bone. As humans explore more and more of the ocean, the different sources of energy used is incredible. Then there is the florescent coral that heals itself.
From the Examiner, dark chocolate, about as much as a candy bar a day, can help reduce stress. Or rather reduces the amount of the stress hormones, cortisol and catecholamines.
Also from Chicago Tribune blogs, basically lists some ways to get the good benefits of chocolate. Which seems to be non-dutched cocoa.
From New Scientist, a list of how life could have started. I haven’t seen a detailed list like this on abiogeneses. Most of the research looks at replication or metabolism. This ties both together for the first time.
Also a longer article
From the Financial Times, that a scientist that is working on LHC would even do anything to throw away the dream job. This is the kind of job that I’m sure people would kill to get.
For me, it’s been frustrating that I’ve been unable to get and keep a job even closely related to my field. Right now I’m unemployed and wondering if I’ll ever get a job in my field and that any skills that I had are of no use because biology lab procedures are evolving at such a rapid pace that I’m completely useless. Sorry this has become a “poor me” mope.
From Science Daily, German scientists have discovered that using salts (NaCl, CaCl2, MgCl2 and KCl) amino acids will form pyrroles. Pyrroles are important for photosynthesis.
From the Universe today, So how would a scientist know if a newly discovered planet has life? Two scientists will create an equation that will answer the question. Figuring in variables such as the presence of water, habitability, radiation, etc. the equation will determine the likelihood of life arising.
NASA released new images from the revamped Hubble.
Sorry for the crazy headline. From BBC News, in a Hungarian cave, great tits hunt and eat pipistrelle bats. Including eating off the head of the bats. See video and graphic pic by following the link.