This Week in Science

[ulukinatme]

On a serious note, how debilitating would it feel to be on a surface that has twice the gravity of earth?

Would it be completely debilitating, or just extremely uncomfortable?

You can bet someone would be advertising a new diet called "The Mars Plan" where people are relocated to the red planet and instantly lose weight.

 

[IrishLion]

You can bet someone would be advertising a new diet called "The Mars Plan" where people are relocated to the red planet and instantly lose weight.

"Come to Earth2, where you can lose weight and increase your muscle mass by 60% through simply being alive! You don't have to do anything! Just exist!"

 

[connor_in]

"Come to Earth2, where you can lose weight and increase your muscle mass by 60% through simply being alive! You don't have to do anything! Just exist!"

Earth 2 (TV Series 1994–1995) - IMDb

 

[Cackalacky]

NASA finds 'Earth's bigger, older cousin

NASA finds 'Earth's bigger, older cousin' - CNN.com

This stuff makes me giddy. I think, next to Hubble, the Kepler mission is the best modern NASA mission. It's absolutely insane how many planets it's found.

 

[Cackalacky]

Science | From AAAS
Unexpected Step: Snake Ancestor Had Four Feet
A four-legged snake from the Early Cretaceous of Gondwana

 

[Old Man Mike]

Assuming that the fossil guy even has his facts correct, this article shouldn't trumpet the "unexpected" word as if everyone should be stunned. It is in fact more a testimony as to how some scientists can be so technically bright while being so vision-dull.

It is extremely likely that all animals of any size came from aquatic ancestry --- this is un-debated by all except Creationists. When "things" of size came onto land, WELL onto land and ultimately became true landlubbers, they crawled and "heaved" themselves up, using "paddles" or primitive "legs". Natural selection pressures (well known to convergent evolutionists) forced the bisymmetrically-placed four limb format to win the struggle for existence, and all large land-roving animals got that plan. {there are very good reasons as to why little things like insects did not.} The better, faster moving "walkers" would outcompete the only other plan-design form which could compete, the no-limbed "slitherers", for the vast majority of food niches. The slitherers were reduced to food niches right on the ground, and probably right on the shores to begin with. The four-limbs took the high ground, and literally looked down upon the slitherers who became prey if anything.

So why would we get a primitive snake with legs? A simple guess would be that back in the "good ole days" of the Cretaceous, or whenever it really started, all the early slitherers had lost the game to the fast-movers. Except for semi-aquatic slither-swimmers, they probably didn't even exist. But as land life diversified, new niches opened up and gave opportunities for low-slung reptiles to creep into them. The most amazing awkward evolutionary trial-and-errors occur when there are new niches to be occupied --- Darwin's finches are an example --- most of those things would go immediately extinct if mainland better-adapted birds were introduced. The key for the push to "lose legs" and become a slitherer had to be, finally, the existence of rich food niches for small reptiles to feed on near the floor, which the Big Boys had moved beyond. If it became advantageous to feed off of these niches while hiding from the monsters by slithering inside narrow crevices and into holes, legs would become more of a risk than a reward --- Nature never tolerates that.

The other thing that indicates the poverty of the mind of the bricklayer palaeontologist compared to the world-envisioning type, is that they somehow forget that they have such a tiny set of windows on the world's past to work with. This sort of try-legs, try-none, try-legs, try-none "dance" of evolutionary empowerment probably happened several times in many different continental environments.

Was it interesting that the guy found a snake [pre-snake] with four legs? Yes. Was it Earth-shaking? Shouldn't be. Should we take comments like the legs were used to hold mates or prey seriously? Better just to laugh and roll eyes. But Sex and Violence sells, even in Science.

 

[Cackalacky]

Respectfully, I didn't take the articles intent like that at all. They discovered a transitional fossil. I am loathe to use that term but it has permeated the lay persons terminology and is part of the lexicon. Transitional fossils are important discoveries. And finding the fossil may have actually been unexpected not the fact that it existed. I assume most paleontologists would research what rock ages would yield specimens from certain eras but finding one is difficult and fantastic. Lots of hard work goes into finding these items as opposed to the magical hand waving of the doubters.

Considering the main complaint against evolution is the whole kind from kind debate and they there aren't any transitional fossils for any kind, yes....I think it's exciting. I assume a four legged snake would be a bit shocking to those unfamiliar with the process of evolution even though to us knowledgable in such matters know about legless lizards or snakes with vestigial limbs, we know every species is a transitional form between its ancestors and it's progeny. I tend to save my eye rolls for the doubters

 

[Huntr]

No, It's not your opinion. You're just wrong.

"Data-free opinion" has always been a favorite of mine.

 

[BGIF]

Washington D.C. is sinking into the ocean - CNN.com

 

[Cackalacky]

That's interesting. I recall DC being built on very crappy land right? Six inches of settlement, particularly differential settlement can pull a building apart.

I assume most structures in DC are on shallow foundations but would love to know if they aren't. Here in Charleston we have to put most large structures on piles (60-90 ft deep) because of liquefaction induced settlements that can reach 1-1.5 ft.

 

[Cackalacky]

Building Blocks Of life Found Among Organic Compounds On Comet 67P – What Philae Discoveries Mean | IFLScience

This is not surprising considering:
Water Ice Detected on Comet's Surface

and

Interstellar and Circumstellar Molecules

Not that these findings necessarily support ABIOGENESIS, but I think it definitely leads more credence to the possibility. The seeding of planets in hospitable locations with interstellar compounds that arise to form organic molecules is super interesting.

 

[connor_in]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Charger prototype finding its way to Model S.
<a href="https://t.co/L9E4MR642G">https://t.co/L9E4MR642G</a></p>— Tesla Motors (@TeslaMotors) <a href="https://twitter.com/TeslaMotors/status/629305813912326146">August 6, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>



<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Today in tentacle technology <a href="https://t.co/mPdOilNoI6">https://t.co/mPdOilNoI6</a></p>— Brian Fitzpatrick (@therealfitz) <a href="https://twitter.com/therealfitz/status/629308711220043776">August 6, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[connor_in]

 

[ndfi78]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Charger prototype finding its way to Model S.
<a href="https://t.co/L9E4MR642G">https://t.co/L9E4MR642G</a></p>— Tesla Motors (@TeslaMotors) <a href="https://twitter.com/TeslaMotors/status/629305813912326146">August 6, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>



<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Today in tentacle technology <a href="https://t.co/mPdOilNoI6">https://t.co/mPdOilNoI6</a></p>— Brian Fitzpatrick (@therealfitz) <a href="https://twitter.com/therealfitz/status/629308711220043776">August 6, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I don't know why but this just creeps me the fuck out, maybe because it is snake like? Idk

 

[calvegas04]

women "found" on mars

women "found" on mars

'WOMAN FOUND ON MARS' – now obvious men are from Venus • The Register

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9saLqnRFY2E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Old Man Mike]

.... this is just NASA's and the internet's way of continuing to mock the former Face-on-Mars controversy, which was a legitimate concern [though an uncomfortable one] for NASA at the time. As to anyone's doubts as to it as a legitimate question [prior to several more orbiter pictures of the area], I sat with Carl Sagan [alone; he would never have acted this way if media were around] when he got kid-like excited about his first impressions of "The Face."

NASA doesn't need to keep mocking this, as a complete idiot named Richard Hoagland effectively has turned the whole concept of possible artificial structures on Mars into crude comedy with his unscientific over-the-top claims. And, as anyone of us can see as many things "in the clouds" if we wish to, this isn't even very clever.

The scientific way of approaching Martian exploration would be to note with honesty any genuinely unclear geographical locations [as to possible artificial elements] and just hold off on the goonism until getting a chance to get a rover in there. This philosophy would not only be in keeping with the scientific method, and open-minded explorative first steps towards data vs assumptions, but would probably ultimately increase NASA's funding of Mars exploration.

 

[Cackalacky]

Hasn't the "Men from Mars" always been a sci-fi cultural phenomenon? As long as I can remember, from the War of the Worlds (days of radio) to the Martian Man-Hunter (Digital Age of Comics).

Its definitely good to keep ourselves grounded when our only "eyes" are millions of miles away and the ones here on Earth are subject to Pareidolia (matrixing) and the limits of our imaginations.

Comedy has that effect IMO.

 

[phork]

She looks hot, I'd hit it. Probably a lonely princess venturing out and spying on this "new" thing on her planet. Obviously didn't expect to be seen.

 

[Old Man Mike]

Turning potential scientific exploration into comedy only turns into a positive if one is dealing with mature minds who know when to turn the mockery off. Otherwise it creates an aura of non-seriousness which can go so far as to block even the thought of researching certain possibilities. Deciding that things are just "obviously ridiculous" is a dangerous societal game which should only be played [if ever] after great attention to detail as Coach would say. Scientific discovery often moves forward precisely because someone decided to explore the unlikely rather than the "safe" possibility.

The "Man from Mars" concept began much further back than War of the Worlds etc. In the late 1800s several major astronomers viewed Mars as a possible Solar System "cousin" for life. Much discussion centered around markings on the planet or possible markings. Heavyweight astronomers published their own versions of these possibilities, and there was little or no derision. Then Percival Lowell put "his" giant telescope in Tucson to the task and thought that he "clearly" saw the famous "canals". Publications by Lowell are what really stimulated the science fiction concepts of advanced life on Mars --- examples: Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter series in the 1920s/30s, H G Wells' War of the Worlds, and C S Lewis' Out of the Silent Planet among many others.

During the 1940s and early 1950s, even though better telescopy was making advanced life on Mars less likely, several apparent "explosions" were seen on Mars by US and Japanese astronomers --- one being Clyde Tombaugh. As we'd just detonated the first A-Bomb, this caused some consternation even among military thinkers. This was followed by the observation that the "darkening" of large surface areas of the planet seemed to cycle seasonally, leading to the reasonable speculation that some kind of groundcover growth was involved. NASA scientists such as Frank Salisbury of Utah State continued to pursue this possibility throughout the 50s and 60s, and NASA thought enough of the possibility that they included three tests for soil biology on the Viking Lander [this went beyond mild interest, as the scientific mission director, Jerry Soffen, told me personally when I was able to talk about this with him.] These tests came back puzzling, as two of the three could be seen as positive for biochemistry. But as years went on, the prime hypothesis shifted to one of highly Sun-radiation-impacted surface material, consisting of chemically-violent oxidizers. [similar to inorganic peroxides.]

None of that however vacates the idea that life COULD have formed on Mars early in its life cycle, as is shown by all our obsession with finding water and its effects today. This also does not vacate the idea that simple life might continue to persist in sheltered pockets or shallowly underground. It also doesn't vacate the hypothesis that Mars [or any planet with "solid ground"] might not have been visited sometime in the past by advanced space travelers --- something Sagan thought likely, by the way. People like Sagan and Michael Papagiannis and some of the more brave SETIans [it wouldn't take any bravery at all if there was not a culture of derision about this] have suggested in the relevant literature that looking for "left artifacts" on places like Mars, the asteroid belt, the Moon, Lagrangian Points, large moons like Ganymede or smaller ones like Iapetus, would be intelligent spots to search. Of course the comedians would laugh this off to the point of making funding difficult.

One should not underestimate the power of cultural "weather" to affect Congress' attitudes about funding NASA projects. Sagan had to make several personal appearances before Congress to try to get certain explorations into NASA's budget --- particularly regarding things like SETI, Titan, Mars --- note that all involved the search for non-terrestrial life. Because of the "comedy", we have to come at this set of concepts the long way around, mainly depending upon great new telescopy to slowly find Earth-like planets and hopefully atmospheric hints of life [free oxygen] and intelligence [nuclear fission products.] All that is great science of course, but other more "laughable" explorations could be going on without the negative cultural atmosphere.

 

[Cackalacky]

OMM, I completely agree with everything you said. I wasn't disagreeing, just trying to add a different angle to it. Its definitely disheartening when you a have a person like Ted Cruz chairing the Science and Technology Senate Committee and he can't even be bothered to properly or even honestly assess the budget for NASA and has to be corrected like this:
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/peL7Qecg3qQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

When we have people with this, in positions of power , like James Snowball Inhoffe and the child Louie Gohmert, who are seeking to undermine scientific progress and who have very little commitment to the true benefits of scientific exploration and data collection for the benefit of human kind, I just find stuff like this can be political fodder but it really just should be fodder for our imagination. Are there people that are going to think a humanoid person would be on Mars undiscovered all this time with no hint of technology? Possibly....The real tragedy is that persons like Ted Cruz actually get to decide what lives and what dies in the realm of NASA. If people like him want to find a reason to gain political points they will.

 

[Old Man Mike]

Agree with all that ... a recent Republican congressman [from Kentucky I believe] introduced a bill [concept, not supported] about four to six years ago which would have given NASA ZERO funding, essentially voiding it out and sending all the professionals home. The President at the time had written a tentative budget which increased funding, but modestly, and NASA chiefs were happy with that. Congress then, from one of the two parties, floated a potential counter budget reducing NASA funding by either half or a quarter at the same time that the other clown came up with his destroy NASA concept. The President was forced to back down from his NASA increase to a compromise flat budget despite inflation. NASA leaders tried everything they could to fight for funds, including putting some fairly pointed information on their website, but it didn't result in much positive other than aiding the compromise --- and those same neanderthal thugs still basically rule in stolid ignorance and stupidity --- I feel free to say such "extremist" commentary since NASA's budget is such a pipsqueek amount when grappling with national budget bills. And, in the sort of result that would be hilarious if it were not so immorally manipulative, media sources in Texas [home of the Houston Space Center] blamed the President for NASA not getting more money, while praising their own guys. In an environment which allows all that, it is a wonder that we have any basic science funding at all.

 

[Cackalacky]

 

[IrishinTN]

Universe slowly dying as old stars fade faster than new ones are born

The end is near!

 

[Old Man Mike]

It's sort of funny that any writer would think that this is news or worth writing about [except to make a buck]. Everyone understands thermodynamics, so the so-called "heat-death of the Universe" has been accepted by everyone other than the few cyclical or space-stretching theorists who feel better about an indeterminantly long-lasting Universe. The faster star dying than forming is the inevitable result of the expansion of things, which forces a continual failure of stardust mass per unit volume, and therefore lesser opportunity for mass collapse for star formation ... plus mass is being taken out of play by Black Holes.

The only way out of the Heat Death thermodynamic and expansion "direction" of things has been theoretical "hope" with no data. One idea is the almost-a-hypothesis that as space stretches, this stretching somehow forces new subatomic particles to form [POP!] in the interstices, thus re-densifying the Universe despite the gain in volume --- this was the Steady State Theory. The other way to defeat the BIG END of things was to assume a collapsing Universe, which as it fell into the Grandfather of all Black Holes, overloaded and blasted everything back out in a new "Let There Be Light" event, and the show would begin again.

A clever alternative spin on this said: at the original Big Bang we had a Matter/Anti-matter basic particle split, the matter going "one way" [you can think of this as going its way in Time, though this is probably only a useful convention] while Anti-matter went another. Since these would be equal mass in this model, the two un-interacting halves of Creation would follow identical expansion/condensation routes, and recombine in a colossal new Big Bang, restarting the Cycle. Unfortunately for these recondensing theories, measurements of Universal mass don't support them.

 

[Cackalacky]

Laneakea Supercluster Visualized. Awesome analysis

 

[Cackalacky]

Charting Cultural Expansion Across the World.

 

[Cackalacky]

Holocaust Survivor Trauma Passed on to Children's Genes - Epigenetics

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

Holocaust Survivor Trauma Passed on to Children's Genes - Epigenetics

I skimmed this article and the testing protocol seemed...dicey. Were there no extended family members of the holocaust victims to test their DNA. These "epigenetic" markers could have familial expression prior to the holocaust, no? Using Jewish families across the pond as the control seems loose. I know Ashkenazi Jews can have a higher incidence of certain diseases in their gene pool, which likely developed due to their evolving genetic pool in a limited geographic dispersion.

If this does occur between generations, it provides incentive to change behaviors. This would make it seem like our epigenetic tags are constantly being shuffled and our behaviors will have a more concrete effect on our children than previously imagined.

It's not just the nurturing but the nature of the genetic environment you foster prior to/during child-rearing (and likely post-child rearing as well).

 

[Cackalacky]

I skimmed this article and the testing protocol seemed...dicey. Were there no extended family members of the holocaust victims to test their DNA. These "epigenetic" markers could have familial expression prior to the holocaust, no? Using Jewish families across the pond as the control seems loose. I know Ashkenazi Jews can have a higher incidence of certain diseases in their gene pool, which likely developed due to their evolving genetic pool in a limited geographic dispersion.

If this does occur between generations, it provides incentive to change behaviors. This would make it seem like our epigenetic tags are constantly being shuffled and our behaviors will have a more concrete effect on our children than previously imagined.

It's not just the nurturing but the nature of the genetic environment you foster prior to/during child-rearing (and likely post-child rearing as well).

If I understood it correctly, The 32 people who met the following criteria:

1. 32 Jewish men and women who had either been interned in a Nazi concentration camp
2. witnessed or experienced torture
3. had to hide during the second world war.
4. had children, who are known to have increased likelihood of stress disorders

These results were compared with the results with Jewish families who were living outside of Europe during the war.

They fund this in particular:

The team were specifically interested in one region of a gene associated with the regulation of stress hormones, which is known to be affected by trauma. “It makes sense to look at this gene,” said Yehuda. “If there’s a transmitted effect of trauma, it would be in a stress-related gene that shapes the way we cope with our environment.”

They found epigenetic tags on the very same part of this gene in both the Holocaust survivors and their offspring, the same correlation was not found in any of the control group and their children

Yes, epigenetics are almost exclusively passed down familial lines though this one would have been from trauma. Not having access to their methods nor how they ruled out other forms of stress or inherited methylation of the site from other sources...I can't say they are dicey per se. Small sample size... yes. But the results per the paper indicate the epigenetic tags are significantly linked to stress induced from the Holocaust. My thoughts are the stress hormone they were looking at is not associated with general stress or anxiety and more from traumatic events. I am sure they were to differentiate these scenarios and also probably had the people identify any other very traumatic events in their life.

 

[Cackalacky]

The Theory Of Parallel Universes Is Not Just Maths – It Is Science That Can Be Tested | IFLScience