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Dust ‘comes alive’ in space
The Sunday Times
August 12, 2007
Robert Booth
SCIENTISTS have discovered that inorganic material can take on the characteristics of living organisms in space, a development that could transform views of alien life.
An international panel from the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Max Planck institute in Germany and the University of Sydney found that galactic dust could form spontaneously into helixes and double helixes and that the inorganic creations had memory and the power to reproduce themselves.
A similar rethinking of prospective alien life is being undertaken by the National Research Council, an advisory body to the US government. It says Nasa should start a search for what it describes as “weird life” - organisms that lack DNA or other molecules found in life on Earth.
The new research, to be published this week in the New Journal of Physics, found nonorganic dust, when held in the form of plasma in zero gravity, formed the helical structures found in DNA. The particles are held together by electromagnetic forces that the scientists say could contain a code comparable to the genetic information held in organic matter. It appeared that this code could be transferred to the next generation.
Professor Greg Morfill, of the Max Planck institute of extra-terrestrial physics, said: “Going by our current narrow definitions of what life is, it qualifies.
“The question now is to see if it can evolve to become intelligent. It’s a little bit like science fiction at the moment. The potential level of complexity we are looking at is of an amoeba or a plant.
“I do not believe that the systems we are talking about are life as we know it. We need to define the criteria for what we think of as life much more clearly.”
It may be that science is starting to study territory already explored by science fiction. The television series The X-Files, for example, has featured life in the form of a silicon-based parasitic spore.
The Max Planck experiments were conducted in zero gravity conditions in Germany and on the International Space Station 200 miles above earth.
The findings have provoked speculation that the helix could be a common structure that underpins all life, organic and nonorganic.
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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article2241753.ece
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Hmm...This just goes to show how alive our whole universe is and how little we actually understand.100% Voted for by dollar, nanoinfinity, Jackymania.
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nanoinfinity
August 21, 2007
dollar
August 22, 2007
Although a good amount scientists do know for a fact there are things outside this traditional way of thinking which are very real. The trouble is these scientists who do know there is more to life than this traditional way of thought will get laughed at and ostracized from society if they publish there 'out of the box' findings. This is why we rarely hear of things like "Dust 'comes alive' in space."
They would rather come in every day, say they found the same old crap all over agian, get there pay check - than have there reputation destroyed for coming out with the truth. I don't blame them either if they stay quiet. Society is like a hungry pack of wolves, they will rip you to shreds.
Too many people don't want to hear anything which may go agianst there society-implanted beliefs and traditions.
What a sad sad world we are living in...
nanoinfinity
August 23, 2007
It really is a shame we have populated the world with so many "placeholders" - people who work a 9-5 job, have 2.5 kids and two marriages - when we could be training these people to make the world a better - or at least more interesting - place.
I've always thought that the role science plays in our life is equivillant to a bit character in a formula comedy - it brings the occasional new insight, but for the most part is either forgotten or ignored; and sometimes shamed away.
Oh well. This is not my doing. Eventually I'll be in a position to fight it...
dollar
August 23, 2007
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Yes thoes "placeholders" are numerous.
Society is creating a more traditional, which is repetition, type of individual rather than a truth-seeking, adventurous, individual.
This needs to stop.
I think the world is in need for something new.
I wish you luck in your quest to fight this ignorance which has plagued humanity for far to long. I will also in my own way do my best to fight this robotic state of being everyone seems to be tranced into.
Be careful though, thoes hungry wolves are just waiting for people to come out with "non-traditional" ideas to attack.
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