[URL="http://www.seattlepi.com/news/politics/article/House-votes-to-lift-Obama-limits-on-Alaska-10938304.php?cmpid=twittersocialflow"]House votes to lift Obama limits on Alaska hunting, trapping[/URL]
More hate for Nature and the Environment.
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[URL="http://www.seattlepi.com/news/politics/article/House-votes-to-lift-Obama-limits-on-Alaska-10938304.php?cmpid=twittersocialflow"]House votes to lift Obama limits on Alaska hunting, trapping[/URL]
More hate for Nature and the Environment.
[QUOTE=mojotastic;2607341]I know we talk more about political news here but i will post it since this thread is also about news in general, this might be interesting for some.
[U]"The dwarf planet Ceres may be capable of supporting life,dawn spacecraft discovers organic materials on its surface"[/U]
[url]http://www.popsci.com/dwarf-planet-ceres-contains-key-ingredients-for-life?src=SOC&dom=tw[/url]
The Dawn spacecraft has detected organic compounds on Ceres, a dwarf planet in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The findings are reported today in Science.
Organic compounds are the building blocks of life on Earth. Today's findings, combined with the fact that Ceres has abundant water and maybe even internal heating, suggest that "that primitive life could have developed on Ceres," notes Michael Küppers, a planetary scientist with the European Space Agency, in a commentary in Science. Küppers wasn't involved in the research published today. It's important to note, however, that no evidence of such life has actually been found—even if Ceres has everything it would need in order to house a life form, there still might not be anybody home.
An international team of researchers detected the organics using the Visible and InfraRed Mapping Spectrometer on the Dawn spacecraft, which has been orbiting Ceres since 2015.
It appears these organic molecules were made on Ceres, instead of being delivered by other space rocks crashing into the dwarf planet. The heat of such an impact would have destroyed the organics, and their distribution suggests they didn't come from an impact. Instead, the researchers suggest they may have been formed inside Ceres. However, scientists are still investigating how the molecules could have formed and migrated up to the surface.
This is the first time organic molecules have been definitively detected in the asteroid belt. The findings, together with the discoveries from Europe's Rosetta mission to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, "provide evidence that complex organic molecules and even amino acids are ubiquitous on small bodies in the solar system and that water ice is abundant in the asteroid belt," writes Küppers.
[B][SIZE=3]If organics and water ice do litter the asteroid belt, it could explain how Earth got its water and the building blocks of life. [/SIZE][/B]Planetary scientists think that during the early days of the solar system, Earth was too hot for those things to develop, and may instead have received the molecules from incoming asteroids and comets.
Hopefully some day we will see those oceans under those planet surface.[/QUOTE]
Well there's some good news, and yes we can talk about this as it's All purpose News AND Politics thread. That means that if it's News worthy, like this, we can talk about it. Interesting, Now if the ESA can get some more research we may have some interesting developments for exploring in the future. Might be a way to help the terraforming of a planet if we can understand how those molecules are made.
And another person, Vice Admiral Bob Harward, turned the position national security adviser. So the position is up in the air.
[QUOTE=Darkspellmaster;2607451] Interesting, Now if the ESA can get some more research we may have some interesting developments for exploring in the future. Might be a way to help the terraforming of a planet if we can understand how those molecules are made.[/QUOTE]
I always saw the idea of terraforming like something too sci fi to happen at least in my life time, and i am not even sure what is require for terraforming, i mean i am not fan of sci fi but i have seen some like the martian where the guy cultivate potatoes in mars, dont know how possible that is but i guess that could be kinda of terraforming.
[QUOTE=mojotastic;2607371]It really is, just imagine a ocean full of life under those planets, the temperatures might cold since they probably dont get sunlight and the ocean is under ice but still there fish that can survive those temperatures, why not an alien fish?, also these kind of news allow us to see how beautiful and complex the universe is, that why i like and follow the news on astronomy.[/QUOTE]
We'll never know under GOP control. They hate our black magiks*
*science they don't understand**
**Which is most of it.
[QUOTE=ImprobableQuestion;2607554]We'll never know under GOP control. They hate our black magiks*
*science they don't understand**
**Which is most of it.[/QUOTE]
You dont have to make everything political but going back to the space stuff, of course we will, it might no be American who do it first but rather Chinese or Indians since they are pumping up their space programs.
[QUOTE=mojotastic;2607371]It really is, just imagine a ocean full of life under those planets, the temperatures might cold since they probably dont get sunlight and the ocean is under ice but still there fish that can survive those temperatures, why not an alien fish?, also these kind of news allow us to see how beautiful and complex the universe is, that why i like and follow the news on astronomy.[/QUOTE]
Sea people!
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[QUOTE=mojotastic;2607341]I know we talk more about political news here but i will post it since this thread is also about news in general, this might be interesting for some.
[U]"The dwarf planet Ceres may be capable of supporting life,dawn spacecraft discovers organic materials on its surface"[/U]
[url]http://www.popsci.com/dwarf-planet-ceres-contains-key-ingredients-for-life?src=SOC&dom=tw[/url]
The Dawn spacecraft has detected organic compounds on Ceres, a dwarf planet in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The findings are reported today in Science.
Organic compounds are the building blocks of life on Earth. Today's findings, combined with the fact that Ceres has abundant water and maybe even internal heating, suggest that "that primitive life could have developed on Ceres," notes Michael Küppers, a planetary scientist with the European Space Agency, in a commentary in Science. Küppers wasn't involved in the research published today. It's important to note, however, that no evidence of such life has actually been found—even if Ceres has everything it would need in order to house a life form, there still might not be anybody home.
An international team of researchers detected the organics using the Visible and InfraRed Mapping Spectrometer on the Dawn spacecraft, which has been orbiting Ceres since 2015.
It appears these organic molecules were made on Ceres, instead of being delivered by other space rocks crashing into the dwarf planet. The heat of such an impact would have destroyed the organics, and their distribution suggests they didn't come from an impact. Instead, the researchers suggest they may have been formed inside Ceres. However, scientists are still investigating how the molecules could have formed and migrated up to the surface.
This is the first time organic molecules have been definitively detected in the asteroid belt. The findings, together with the discoveries from Europe's Rosetta mission to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, "provide evidence that complex organic molecules and even amino acids are ubiquitous on small bodies in the solar system and that water ice is abundant in the asteroid belt," writes Küppers.
[B][SIZE=3]If organics and water ice do litter the asteroid belt, it could explain how Earth got its water and the building blocks of life. [/SIZE][/B]Planetary scientists think that during the early days of the solar system, Earth was too hot for those things to develop, and may instead have received the molecules from incoming asteroids and comets.
Hopefully some day we will see those oceans under those planet surface.[/QUOTE]
This is interesting. I also think that if Mars were just a little bit closer to the sun, it could also support life. At least, life as we know it.
[QUOTE=kmeyers;2607629]Sea people!
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Any multicellular life under those conditions would probably be pigmentless and eyeless like terrestrial cave fish. Thing is, those fish evolved from pigmented, eyed fish and gradually lost those features due to lack of use. If there are complex organisms under there they'd be truly bizarre because they never needed photoreceptive organs in the first place.
[QUOTE=Malvolio;2607647]This is interesting. I also think that if Mars were just a little bit closer to the sun, it could also support life. At least, life as we know it.[/QUOTE]
Theres a reason Mars is so often touted as a place for mankind to visit (as opposed to put neighbor Venus on the other side). Similar gravity, and cooler temperatures, but not so cool as the moon or world's beyond the asteroid belt. I think a Martian penal colony would be a neat idea to explore in the future.
[QUOTE=ImprobableQuestion;2607798]Theres a reason Mars is so often touted as a place for mankind to visit (as opposed to put neighbor Venus on the other side). Similar gravity, and cooler temperatures, but not so cool as the moon or world's beyond the asteroid belt. I think a Martian penal colony would be a neat idea to explore in the future.[/QUOTE]
Oh yeah and we dont for how long they have been living there since we have to take in consideration any source of food that can been found in those ice cold waters, it would be a really harsh enviorement to any big creature, either they really tiny fish or they uni celular beings, or those beings are beyond our comprehension and there is nothing like them in our planet.
[QUOTE=mojotastic;2607806]Oh yeah and we dont for how long they have been living there since we have to take in consideration any source of food that can been found in those ice cold waters, it would be a really harsh enviorement to any big creature, either they really tiny fish or they uni celular beings, or those beings are beyond our comprehension and there is nothing like them in our planet.[/QUOTE]
We've found single celled aliens before, I think the majority of extraterrestrial life we'll ever find will be of that nature. But it does seem like our amino acid model of life holds for other sources of life besides Earth.
Edit: err scratch that, there's some body of debate on whether the odd fossilized bacteria in a few meteorites over the years are just earth bacteria that attached after it landed, or if they're biological remnants at all.
[URL="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/16/rex-tillerson-state-department-sidelined-by-white-house"]Out of the loop: Rex Tillerson finds state department sidelined by White House[/URL]
[QUOTE]Since starting the job two weeks ago, Tillerson, a former ExxonMobil executive, has soothed nerves at the state department by consulting widely with regional and country experts, but it has been hard to disguise the gap between the department headquarters at Washington’s Foggy Bottom and the White House where far-reaching foreign policy decisions are being made.
Senior state department officials who would normally be called to the White House for their views on key policy issues, are not being asked their opinion. They have resorted to asking foreign diplomats, who now have better access to President Trump’s immediate circle of advisers, what new decisions are imminent.
The public voice of the state department has fallen silent. There has not been a daily press briefing, the customary channel for voicing US views and policy on world events, since January.
When he flew to Germany, Tillerson took a small press pool with him but did not give it the opportunity to ask questions. At his first meeting on Thursday with the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, journalists were hustled out of the room before Tillerson opened his mouth, according to the Bloomberg news agency, rather than be allowed to stay to record the routine exchange of introductory platitudes. When Tillerson emerged, he delivered a very short statement, but refused to take questions.
The new secretary of state’s aversion to press scrutiny may be inherited from his past job at the head of an exceptionally secretive and hierarchical corporation. But it may also reflect the fact that Tillerson’s department has been cut out of the loop when it comes to key decisions.
[/QUOTE]
Trump may be neutering the State Department by not making use of it.
[URL="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/congress/chaffetz-seeks-charge-of-ex-clinton-aide-in-email-inquiry/2017/02/16/28673692-f4a7-11e6-9fb1-2d8f3fc9c0ed_story.html?utm_term=.49d7e5c4963b"]Chaffetz seeks charge of ex-Clinton aide in email inquiry[/URL]
[QUOTE]WASHINGTON — The Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, who has refused Democratic requests to investigate possible conflicts of interest involving President Donald Trump, is seeking criminal charges against a former State Department employee who helped set up Hillary Clinton’s private email server.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah sent a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday asking him to convene a grand jury or charge Bryan Pagliano, the computer specialist who helped establish Clinton’s server while she was secretary of state.
Pagliano did not comply with two subpoenas ordering him to appear before the oversight panel. The GOP-led committee later voted to hold him in contempt of Congress.
Earlier this month, Chaffetz met with Trump at the White House and agreed not to discuss oversight. He has rebuffed calls for his panel to look into Trump’s businesses and possible conflicts.
Chaffetz said in a statement that allowing Pagliano’s conduct “to go unaddressed would gravely harm Congress’ ability to conduct oversight.”
Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the committee, said pursuing charges against Pagliano would be a waste of time and money.[/QUOTE]
[URL="https://news.vice.com/story/more-than-200-republicans-in-congress-are-skipping-february-town-halls-with-constituents"]Duck and cover[/URL]: More than 200 Republicans in Congress are skipping February town halls with constituents
[QUOTE]For the first two months of the new Congress, the 292 Republicans have scheduled just 88 in-person town hall events — and 35 of those sessions are for Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin, according to a tabulation conducted by Legistorm. In the first two months of the previous Congress in 2015, by contrast, Republicans held 222 in-person town hall events.
Republicans like Sen. John Thune of South Dakota and Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin hosted multiple in-person town halls at the beginning of 2015 but have scheduled none for the first two months of 2017. Thune’s office declined to discuss this on the record and Johnson’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment. [/QUOTE]
Cowards.