Watchful eyes, thoughtful mind

3 Dec 2009

Here we go again ...

Technological advances have a peculiar way about them. They always seem to progress in steps of exponential growth followed by a period of lull. This trend is closely followed by our ability to learn new things about the world around us. And so human beings, particularly scientists, go through alternating periods of “discovery frenzy” and complacency that there’s nothing more left to explain. We had hit such a complacent period a few decades ago as regards origin and evolution of life on our planet. But now we’re in the “discovery frenzy” stage for the same and hence getting disillusioned about many theories and principles that we thought were invincible. Many new discoveries using newest and (so far) most accurate techniques are making it more than clear that the question of “how life originated on Earth?” is far from settled.

Nick Lane, the first Provost's Venture Research Fellow at University College London and author of Life Ascending: The ten great inventions of evolution, has written a detailed article in the New Scientist on 19th October, 2009 about an alternative theory for origin of life. This is only the latest one in the long line of many such that came before it but didn’t survive the scientific scrutiny. It is based on not-so-conventional ideas of Peter Mitchell who was initially dismissed by his contemporaries but won a Nobel in 1978. Geochemist Mike Russell of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California is rethinking the origin of life and finds Mitchell’s ‘Chemiosmosis’ a valid candidate. The following text from Lane’s article explains the idea,

Before Mitchell, everyone assumed that cells got their energy using straightforward chemistry. The universal energy currency of life is a molecule called ATP [...] generated from food by a series of standard chemical reactions. Mitchell thought otherwise. Life, he argued, is powered not by the kind of chemistry that goes on in a test tube but by a kind of electricity. The energy from food, [...] is used to pump [...] protons, through a membrane. As protons accumulate on one side, an electrochemical gradient builds up across the membrane. Given the chance, the protons will flow back across, releasing energy that can be harnessed to assemble ATP molecules. In energy terms, the process is analogous to filling a raised tank with buckets of water, then using the water to drive a waterwheel.

Even though this seems a counterintuitive and roundabout way to produce energy to power life, there is a growing body of evidence of this process occurring everywhere in nature. Aided with the latest knowledge of fellow biologists and using a logical process of elimination, author Lane reaches a baffling conclusion. The common ancestor of all life on Earth was something with components of a modern cell but no walls or boundaries. Now that’s a stunner! But nature has never failed to provide us evidence for the most unexpected and hence broaden the horizons of our knowledge. So along came the surprise discovery of alkaline hyrdrothermal vents just off the mid-Atlantic ridge in 2000. It turns out that the combination of their peculiar structure and the chemical conditions of atmosphere and ocean the on the early Earth provide a perfect toolkit for the production of DNA, RNA, an ATP prototype, all without the requirement for a wall or boundary. I have only given an outline of what Nick Lane’s article describes in a great detail. So if my summary makes you curious, go read the full article.

I’ll end this post with the apt ending Nick Lane provides to his article,

Many details have yet to be filled in, and it may never be possible to prove beyond any doubt that life evolved by this mechanism. The evidence, however, is growing. This scenario matches the known properties of all life on Earth, is energetically plausible - and returns Mitchell's great theory to its rightful place at the very centre of biology.

1 Dec 2009

TED Tuesday: Visualising data and sound

JoAnn Kuchera-Morin demos the AlloSphere, a new way to see, hear and interpret scientific data. Dive into the brain, feel electron spin, hear the music of the elements ... and detect previously unseen patterns that could lead to new discoveries.

Evan Grant demonstrates the science and art of cymatics, a process for making soundwaves visible. Useful for analyzing complex sounds (like dolphin calls), it also makes complex and beautiful designs.

28 Nov 2009

Almost gone ... hope not!

Guest post series 'Almost gone ...' by Scott Bright (@Speciesguy)

Hi kids, parents and all. Today I wanted share of some positive things that people are doing to make a difference for endangered species. When you watch these videos, you'll want to thank these people. Hey, I’m doing my best here, I wish I could write like Richard Bach, but I try to make it interesting.

Lions Get To Live

In Africa, the lions were eating the farmers’ cattle, so the farmers did the only thing they thought would solve the problem, which was to take out as many of them as possible. So, fewer and fewer lions were to being seen. Hey, if they were my cows, I would do the same thing. Lions are professionals at running to catch something to eat.

Well, a group of people who called Conservation org. learned that this was happening, and sent some people to talk with the farmers. Check out the solution. Now the farmers let the lions live! Yahoo! See video. It’s a great video of people helping in a tough situation. Just Google some good things for endangered species, and you’ll find some good things happening.

Raising Shark Awareness

Here’s another person I read about. Here name is Lesley Rochat from South Africa. Boy, does she care about sharks and other marine life. She has a cool video about Maxine the shark. This is a great video! She was a friend with a ragged toothed shark for ten years, and this shark became a star! And with all of our support, will put an end to shark finning.

Parents, she has other videos, but you'll have to use your discretion. They are the best videos made to stop shark finning.

Breeding Species In Captivity

When a species home gets smaller and smaller, animals get in a lot of trouble as far as survival is concerned. Now some caring people take animals from where they live and breed them. It’s called, “breeding in captivity.” It just means that they make other species away from where they live. If people did not do this, the animal would go extinct.

I can’t wait to share this with you! On an island called, “Madagascar, they have some of the strangest animals on our planet. The thing is, species like the fossa, the leaf tailed gecko, and aye-aye only exist on this island. And a lot of their forests are being cut down. People are trying to change that too. So for now, some people learned that a lot of the animals were in trouble there and sprung into action.

Way To Go Duke

Yes indeed, Duke University came to the rescue! Take a look at this video. One of the animals they breed is the aye-aye. Just say eye, eye, and you will had said their name right. My hats are off to the people at the Duke Lemur Center because they are breeding a bunch of species that would have gone extinct.

Look how cute the aye-aye’s are. And it’s the only place on earth where they live. Ok, I found one other video about Dr. Kathy Williams and what she does. Thank you Duke!

To Wrap Up For Today

What I’m suggesting is we learn about what’s happening with different animals, and get enthused about the value of a species! When we learn why a species is important, that is valuable information to share with your teachers, and with your parents help, you can write a leader. Way to go! Thanks kid, parents and all, I hope you enjoyed me sharing what some wonderful people are doing to make a difference. What species will we look at next week? Stay tuned.

Please check out the books on my site, if we educate our kids with books, DVDs, and write a leader, we can be part of the solution to lower the endangered species rate. And I have cool bamboo items for the home. Check my site, I have other fun videos, plus blogs and books for your learning. Remember, education is what can turn this around.

I also post some funny looking species on Twitpic.

Kids Books For Endangered Species

SpeciesHelp.com

And I'm Speciesguy on Twitter. Come say hi.

26 Nov 2009

Universe in your head

[Image source: MSNBC]

“Everyone creates their own reality.”

“Thoughts become things.”

“Observer collapses the wave-function merely by observing.”

These lines were made famous by the “new age-y” documentaries like What the bleep do we know?! and The secret. May be not all of you have heard of them. But these and many other works by leading scientists and spiritual leaders have lead to a paradigm shift amongst those who are open to such shifts. Research into understanding of mind-body interaction has gone way beyond neuroscience, which is the popular face of this kind of research. I’m sure most of you would have heard / seen the term “New age” in regards to classification of books, music, ideas etc. The term points more towards the rise of a “new age” of sorts in human thinking and doesn’t really mean that human beings are discovering something new. It is a mere rediscovery if one considers the ancient texts of numerous cultures as not mere mythology.

Many (re)discoveries in the cutting edge research in quantum physics, neuroscience, cognitive sciences and biomedicine are now hinting towards the existence of ‘consciousness’ and its significant importance in how we perceive the world, the “reality”. Cosmic Log on MSNBC.com describes itself as “Quantum fluctuations in space, science, exploration and other cosmic fields... served up regularly by MSNBC.com science editor Alan Boyle since 2002.” It showcases the book ‘Biocentrism’ by biomedical researcher Robert Lanza which is generating controversy by arguing that our consciousness plays a central role in creating the cosmos. As one of the reviewers of the book says, this may not be an entirely new idea but it is worth repeating. The physicists who should be declaring this out loud to the general populous aren’t doing so because it would mean a HUGE paradigm shift; may be the one that we’re not yet ready to handle. But if YOU think you are ready, give the book a read. We successfully made the shift from ‘geocentric’ model to ‘heliocentric’ model. May be now it is time to try a bigger leap, to the ‘biocentric’ model.

24 Nov 2009

TED Tuesday: String theory

Physicist Brian Greene explains superstring theory, the idea that minscule strands of energy vibrating in 11 dimensions create every particle and force in the universe.