Запись является повторной публикацией
Astrobiologist alumna Alexandra Pontefract, PhD'13 (Geology), knows finding DNA on the Red Planet will be no easy feat. But it is possible. What's more, if DNA is found, it's not far-fetched to think it would be proof of shared ancestry between Earth and Mars.
"There is a really good argument for the fact that if there was life on Mars, it would have shared ancestry with Earth. That's because back towards the origins of the solar system, between 4.1 and 3.8 billion years ago, Earth and Mars had formed, and there is evidence they were both habitable at that point in time," said Pontefract.
"At the time, there was something going on called the Late Heavy Bombardment, and meant the inner solar system was being hit with lots and lots of meteorites. There was a big exchange of rocks between Mars and Earth. There have been studies that have shown biology can survive being ejected from a planet and survive in space. We know it's possible; it's really amazing."
This is what Pontefract is working on now. With a background in microbiology and geology, she is a postdoctoral associate at the Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT), where she is part of a team working on a life detection instrument – a DNA sequencer for Mars. The project is funded by NASA.
Looking for DNA on Mars is not an oddity at all, Pontefract noted, and she is arguably among the best prepared to work on a project such as this.
"There is a really good argument for the fact that if there was life on Mars, it would have shared ancestry with Earth. That's because back towards the origins of the solar system, between 4.1 and 3.8 billion years ago, Earth and Mars had formed, and there is evidence they were both habitable at that point in time," said Pontefract.
"At the time, there was something going on called the Late Heavy Bombardment, and meant the inner solar system was being hit with lots and lots of meteorites. There was a big exchange of rocks between Mars and Earth. There have been studies that have shown biology can survive being ejected from a planet and survive in space. We know it's possible; it's really amazing."
This is what Pontefract is working on now. With a background in microbiology and geology, she is a postdoctoral associate at the Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT), where she is part of a team working on a life detection instrument – a DNA sequencer for Mars. The project is funded by NASA.
Looking for DNA on Mars is not an oddity at all, Pontefract noted, and she is arguably among the best prepared to work on a project such as this.
Запись является повторной публикацией
Запись является повторной публикацией
Gravity changes before quake hits
Researchers have for the first time detected temporary changes in Earth's gravitational field just before an earthquake.
Jean-Paul Montagner at the CNRS Institute of Earth Physics in Paris and his team analysed gravimetric and seismic data recorded during the massive 2011 Tohoku earthquake in Japan. They detected a signal that exceeded the background seismic noise and whose amplitude was consistent with that predicted by theoretical models. The signal occurred several seconds before seismic waves arrived.
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v540/n7631/full/540010d.html
Researchers have for the first time detected temporary changes in Earth's gravitational field just before an earthquake.
Jean-Paul Montagner at the CNRS Institute of Earth Physics in Paris and his team analysed gravimetric and seismic data recorded during the massive 2011 Tohoku earthquake in Japan. They detected a signal that exceeded the background seismic noise and whose amplitude was consistent with that predicted by theoretical models. The signal occurred several seconds before seismic waves arrived.
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v540/n7631/full/540010d.html
К записи прикреплен файл
"This is awesome!"...a comment coming out of Cali referring to skaters in New Zealand as they make the most out of the buckled roads.
К записи прикреплен файл
Green is my favorite color. But can anyone identify these? 1 pic is wet,1 dry. They don't look the same color green.. Jade? I appreciate the knowledge I'm learning from you all.
‹
›
11/27/16
4 фото - Открыть альбом
К записи прикреплен файл
Latest edition of the PA Geology Digital periodical. Great article for you limestone buffs in the southeastern PA. Give it a read.
Запись является повторной публикацией
Panska Skala columnar basalt formation
It consists of thousands of polygonal basalt columns of up to 12 meters long, with a diameter of 20 to 40 cm. The columns are probably originated in the Tertiary volcanic eruptions. At Panská Skála is a small lake formed by rainwater.
Location: Ceska Kamenice, Czech Republic
It consists of thousands of polygonal basalt columns of up to 12 meters long, with a diameter of 20 to 40 cm. The columns are probably originated in the Tertiary volcanic eruptions. At Panská Skála is a small lake formed by rainwater.
Location: Ceska Kamenice, Czech Republic
‹
›
2016-11-21
4 фото - Открыть альбом
Запись является повторной публикацией
Rock Core from Dinosaur-Killing Impact Reveals How Enormous Craters Form
Drilling into Mexico’s Chicxulub basin also finds shattered rock where underground life could thrive
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/rock-core-from-dinosaur-killing-impact-reveals-how-enormous-craters-form/
Drilling into Mexico’s Chicxulub basin also finds shattered rock where underground life could thrive
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/rock-core-from-dinosaur-killing-impact-reveals-how-enormous-craters-form/
Запись является повторной публикацией
Meteorite fragments discovered 20 years after bolide event in Czech Republic | #Geology #GeologyPage #Meteorite
Astronomy & Astrophysics is publishing the spectacular discovery of meteorite fragments 20 years after the corresponding bolide was seen in the skies of the Czech Republic. This discovery was made possible by reanalyzing the trajectory, which moved the impact line by 330 meters. Interestingly, the meteorites found on the ground are of different types, pointing to a parent asteroid of heterogeneous composition.
Read more : http://www.geologypage.com/2014/10/meteorite-fragments-discovered-20-years-after-bolide-event-in-czech-republic.html
Astronomy & Astrophysics is publishing the spectacular discovery of meteorite fragments 20 years after the corresponding bolide was seen in the skies of the Czech Republic. This discovery was made possible by reanalyzing the trajectory, which moved the impact line by 330 meters. Interestingly, the meteorites found on the ground are of different types, pointing to a parent asteroid of heterogeneous composition.
Read more : http://www.geologypage.com/2014/10/meteorite-fragments-discovered-20-years-after-bolide-event-in-czech-republic.html
К записи прикреплен файл
Дождитесь окончания загрузки
