Life?

Website · Post by **Cody** » Wed Dec 01, 2010 9:50 pm

It’s alright, there’s less dark matter than they thought, because there are a lot more stars than they thought.

Darkbee · Post by **Darkbee** » Thu Dec 02, 2010 1:42 pm

I hate to be a pessimist but it'll probably end up being something like scientists now agree that meteorite ALH84001 does contain remnants of bacteria after all.

I guess that'd still be pretty profound as it would mean life once existed on Mars, but not really little green men type life we might be hoping for.

Commander Smivs · Post by **Smivs** » Thu Dec 02, 2010 4:10 pm

Although the news has been locked down, strong rumours suggest that NASA have discovered Bacteria with very alien DNA, based on Arsenic rather than the usual Phosphorus. It was found on Earth, but opens up a whole new range of possibilities for extraterrestrial life.
Truly fascinating, but sadly still no green bug-eyed monsters.

Killer Wolf · Post by **Killer Wolf** » Thu Dec 02, 2010 5:56 pm

whatever happened to the sewer alien :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQmFWYWqTZA

Zieman · Post by **Zieman** » Thu Dec 02, 2010 10:28 pm

http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2010/de ... _Life.html

Post by **Kaks** » Fri Dec 03, 2010 12:28 am

Meh, IIRC those news were first published about 2 years ago.

Still, Nasa's press conference should do a good job of rekindling interest in unusual life forms, wich can't be bad!

ClymAngus · Post by **ClymAngus** » Fri Dec 03, 2010 8:14 am

snork wrote:
Given that the vast majority of the matter needed for galaxies to be "as they are" (eg gravitationally) is not visible (dark matter) and the founding moments of the universe involved a battle of annihilation between matter and antimatter. Might there possibly be a relationship between the two?

As in a product from that annihilation event that has left a hither too undetectable (yet gravitationally significant) particle/residue?

I realise that given the ratio of anti-matter to matter at the beginning of the universe and comparing it to the necessary dark matter needed to mirror "what we see" are fairly diverse but you know; laymen + ideas = dumb questions.
But what does that have to do with exo-biology ?

Very little, but I thought the comedic value might give them a bit of a laugh on an otherwise slow day.

Post by **Disembodied** » Fri Dec 03, 2010 9:23 am

xkcd's take:

"According to a new paper published in the journal Science, reporters are unable to thrive in an arsenic-rich environment."

Darkbee · Post by **Darkbee** » Fri Dec 03, 2010 12:52 pm

*raucous applause* (for xkcd)

*mild ripple* (for NASA)

Commander McLane · Post by **Commander McLane** » Sat Dec 04, 2010 12:55 pm

"It's life Jim, but not as we know it!"

Sarin · Post by **Sarin** » Sat Dec 04, 2010 3:28 pm

Unfortunately, it IS life as we know it, just...

*in Borg voice*
We have adapted.