Scientists have announced life has existed on Earth for three hundred million years longer than previously thought. The announcement was based on ancient zircon crystals from a place in Australia which is known because that part of the Earth is so old. (The Guardian: Life on Earth may have begun 300m years earlier than previously thought)
The most unusual thing about this new research is how soon after Earth's creation that life was present here. The life the scientists mean is the most primitive type of organisms but the evidence the scientists shows strong evidence of a biotic origin. They said they did not eliminate the possible of seeding such life from space but the probability of this at such an early time is, according to scientists, lower than the probability it originated here.
This new insight won't satisfy Creationists in terms of the Biblical view of Creation in seven days ... but ... it shows life may well have been present through almost all seven of them if you use an extended idea of days.
It's ok to get speculative with this now because scientists haven't formulated theories yet regarding the meaning of this change. The scientists on the research team said this knowledge is potentially 'transformational' in the understanding of the origins and evolution of life.
The immediate stoner thought is life doesn't seem so hard to make when it happens that fast after Earth is formed. Assuming that's true, it makes the likelihood much higher for finding life elsewhere.
Somewhat related to this story is the recent popularity of news regarding 'megastructures in orbit around a distant star' and surely this is evidence of an advanced culture. We reported this on the blog but did you believe it? Nooooo. Then it turned up on CNN and subsequently it went all over the place. (Blog: Hawaiian Mushroomgasms, Space Aliens, and Christopher Columbus)
The reason scientists and freaks in general are so intrigued by the Strangest Star in the Galaxy is a book called "Ringworld" by Larry Niven and that was precisely about a megastructure orbiting around a star. However, these megastructures don't seem to have any formation. These things are large, unusual, and there are many of them, seemingly without any order.
Some have concluded it's evidence of alien civilization but it seems more like evidence of one hell's firing explosion.
So, go forth with space alien invasion theories because you now have strong evidence life could be much more pervasive in the Universe than originally thought and, thus, the probability of it being an alien civilization on this Strangest Star in the Galaxy may even resolve to be true.
Note: 'megastructure' is an awful word. Did any astronomer anywhere ever actually attend an English class.
(Ed: yes but they only learned about rhetorical questions)
Uh, sorry, Dagwood. No rimshot because the drummer is on break ... or he got kidnapped by space aliens. We're not sure.
The most unusual thing about this new research is how soon after Earth's creation that life was present here. The life the scientists mean is the most primitive type of organisms but the evidence the scientists shows strong evidence of a biotic origin. They said they did not eliminate the possible of seeding such life from space but the probability of this at such an early time is, according to scientists, lower than the probability it originated here.
This new insight won't satisfy Creationists in terms of the Biblical view of Creation in seven days ... but ... it shows life may well have been present through almost all seven of them if you use an extended idea of days.
It's ok to get speculative with this now because scientists haven't formulated theories yet regarding the meaning of this change. The scientists on the research team said this knowledge is potentially 'transformational' in the understanding of the origins and evolution of life.
The immediate stoner thought is life doesn't seem so hard to make when it happens that fast after Earth is formed. Assuming that's true, it makes the likelihood much higher for finding life elsewhere.
Somewhat related to this story is the recent popularity of news regarding 'megastructures in orbit around a distant star' and surely this is evidence of an advanced culture. We reported this on the blog but did you believe it? Nooooo. Then it turned up on CNN and subsequently it went all over the place. (Blog: Hawaiian Mushroomgasms, Space Aliens, and Christopher Columbus)
The reason scientists and freaks in general are so intrigued by the Strangest Star in the Galaxy is a book called "Ringworld" by Larry Niven and that was precisely about a megastructure orbiting around a star. However, these megastructures don't seem to have any formation. These things are large, unusual, and there are many of them, seemingly without any order.
Some have concluded it's evidence of alien civilization but it seems more like evidence of one hell's firing explosion.
So, go forth with space alien invasion theories because you now have strong evidence life could be much more pervasive in the Universe than originally thought and, thus, the probability of it being an alien civilization on this Strangest Star in the Galaxy may even resolve to be true.
Note: 'megastructure' is an awful word. Did any astronomer anywhere ever actually attend an English class.
(Ed: yes but they only learned about rhetorical questions)
Uh, sorry, Dagwood. No rimshot because the drummer is on break ... or he got kidnapped by space aliens. We're not sure.
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