If water comes, can life be far behind?

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) recently detected intermittent signs of liquid water in present day Mars. This finding provides the strongest evidence yet for the presence of liquid water in the red planet after fifteen years of intensive exploration. While researchers believe Mars was once a warm and wet planet which could have supported life, it is believed that its smaller size, lesser gravity and thinner atmosphere as compared to earth could have led to most of the water being evaporated and lost into space.

Mars now is an extremely cold planet which implies that the liquid water is likely to be highly salty, as pure water freezes at 0°C and salt impurities lower the freezing point. It is also likely that the kind of salt present is not the typical Sodium chloride, but more toxic ones such as perchlorate.

What is exciting about Mars having liquid water?

Scientists are excited as the presence of liquid water is integral for life to originate, at least on Earth. Though life may originate without water elsewhere, we are not aware of such an event and therefore the interest for finding life outside Earth with or without water is still high.

While the highly salty water in Mars sounds unpalatable for us and most other animal and plant species, there are some organisms capable of thriving in such extreme environments. Halophiles are such organisms (usually bacteria or archaea) that are found in high salt containing environments in Earth like the Red sea, the Great Salt Lake and the briniest of marshes and even Antarctica. “I think it’s quite possible there are halophiles that could survive on Mars”, says halophile researcher Shiladitya DasSarma from the University of Maryland.

Why should we be interested in microbes that thrive in extreme environments that are toxic to us?

Organisms such as halophiles with adaptations for extreme environments are highly useful for industrial and research purposes. It’s because they produce proteins that possess unusually high resilience to heat, salt or chemical exposures and other drastic environments. For example, the halophiles’ ability to survive in high salt solutions also makes them useful for processes where there’s little or no water, such as catalysing chemical reactions in organic solvents.

Researchers borrowed an enzyme from a bacteria that thrives in the hot springs in Yellowstone National Park at temperatures as high as 131 °F to invent one of biology’s most useful tools—polymerase chain reaction, or PCR. PCR is now used in DNA cloning for sequencing, diagnosis of hereditary diseases, genetic fingerprinting in forensics and paternity testing, and detection and diagnosis of infectious diseases.

The University of Connecticut chemist Robert Birge is working with proteins from the halophileHalobacterium salinarum, an archaea found in salt marshes. The organism makes a protein called bacteriorhodopsin, a pigment that dyes marshes a deep red or purple. Since the pigment is used by the organism to absorb light and use it for energy, he’s been adapting it for optical memory storage and optical processing. A few years ago, one of his students conceived of using bacteriorhodopsin for an artificial retina. Now they’ve built prototypes and found they can restore sight in animals.

When can we see the evidence for life on Mars, if it exists?

There is an intense debate going on about how to collect material from wet places on other planets without contaminating them with earth-borne life. An organisation called the Committee on Space Research (Cospar, of the International Council for Science) draws up the rules on what is called planetary protection, which exist to prevent missions from Earth contaminating the pristine environments of other worlds. Landers that are searching for life must be exceptionally clean, but those entering special regions must be cleaner still. It will be interesting to see how such challenges are overcome in our quest for finding life elsewhere.

BY SIDDHARTH JANARTHANAN ON DECEMBER 15, 2015.

NEWS FROM:BIOTECHIN.ASIA

Impurities 雜質

Sodium chloride 氯化鈉

Perchlorate 高氯酸鹽

Halophiles 嗜鹽菌，需要最少0.2M鹽濃度生活的生物。

Microbes 微生物，嗜極生物（英文：Extremophile），或者稱作嗜極端菌，是可以（或者需要）在「極端」環境中生長繁殖的生物，通常爲單細胞生物。

Resilience 彈性

Drastic 激烈

Catalyzing 催化

Enzyme酶

polymerase chain reaction聚合酶鏈反應

hereditary diseases 遺傳性疾病

Antarctica 南極洲

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter美國宇航局的火星勘測軌道飛行器

What You Need to Know About Kepler-452b, the Most Earthlike Planet Yet

July 23, 2015 // 01:14 PM EST

Written by BECKY FERREIRA CONTRIBUTOR

NASA has announced the discovery of the most Earthlike planet ever detected: Kepler-452b. This tantalizing world is located some 1,400 light years away in the constellation Cygnus, where it orbits a star remarkably like our Sun.

The new planet is about 60 percent larger than Earth, but that’s actually small for Earth analogs discovered so far—so small, in fact, that it set a new record as the tiniest planet ever found in the habitable zone of a Sun-like star.

On top of all that, Kepler-452b even has an Earthlike year, circling its star every 385 days, at a distance only five percent farther than Earth’s position relative to the Sun.

Skeptics might point out that the Kepler space observatory has discovered several so-called “Earthlike” planets over its six years in orbit, but the below figure demonstrates how exceptional Kepler-452b is compared to previous exoplanets.

Is it really all that Earthlike?

There have been many near-Earth-sized planets found in the habitable zones of M and K class stars (red and orange dwarfs, respectively), and there have been planets that are many times larger than Earth found in the habitable zones of G2-type stars like our Sun. But this is the first time that all of these variables have aligned to produce such an uncannily familiar portrait of our own solar system.

"On the 20th anniversary year of the discovery that proved other suns host planets, the Kepler exoplanet explorer has discovered a planet and star which most closely resemble the Earth and our Sun," said NASA associate administrator John Grunsfeldduring a NASA livefeed of the announcement.

“This exciting result brings us one step closer to finding an Earth 2.0,” he added.

What’s more, the Kepler-452 system predates our own solar system by about 1.5 billion years, suggesting it has had ample time to host life, if the right materials are there.

“It’s awe-inspiring to consider that this planet has spent 6 billion years in the habitable zone of its star; longer than Earth,” said Kepler data analysis lead Jon Jenkins in the live feed. “That’s substantial opportunity for life to arise, should all the necessary ingredients and conditions for life exist on this planet.”

Are there more?

Of course, just because Kepler-452b is the new top dog as far as Earthlike planets go doesn’t mean it won’t get ousted by an even more closer match down the line.

Indeed, the mission leads on today’s livefeed took pains to emphasize that the new planet is one of 521 new planets that will be announced in the seventh Kepler Candidate Catalog, forthcoming from The Astrophysical Journal.

According to a NASA statement released today, “twelve of the new planet candidates have diameters between one to two times that of Earth, and orbit in their star's habitable zone. Of these, nine orbit stars that are similar to our sun in size and temperature.”

The newest batch of planets brings Kepler’s total findings to a whopping 4,696 candidate worlds beyond our own. Considering that the first exoplanet wasdiscovered only 20 years ago, that is a seriously impressive haul.

Plus, as exciting as it is to recognize our own planet in candidates like Kepler-452b, there is something to be said for the sheer diversity of planets—Earthlike or not—that we now know exist in our galaxy. Kepler has rooted out hot Jupiters and wobbly planets and Tatooine analogs, and no doubt it will continue to make even more curious discoveries down the line.

NEWS FROM : MONTHRBOARD

dwarfs 矮行星

the habitable zones 宜居區

G2-type stars 又被稱為黃矮星(yellow dwarf)

substantial 大量的

     Comparison of Kepler’s Earth-sized planets. Credit: NASA

Obama reflects on day US Supreme Court made same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states

'I was proud to say that love is love'

10 November 2015 by Greg Hernandez

US President Barack Obama was announced as Ally of the Year by Out Magazine today and opened up about this year’s landmark US Supreme Court gay marriage ruling in an interview.

‘There had been a remarkable attitude shift—in hearts and minds—across America. The ruling reflected that,’ Obama said. ‘It reflected our values as a nation founded on the principle that we are all created equal.’

It was on 26 June that the high court ruled 5-4 in Obergefell v. Hodges and made same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states.

Obama remarked that the historic day came after ‘decades of our brothers and sisters fighting for recognition and equality—and too frequently risking their lives or facing rejection from family, friends, and co-workers—that got us to that moment.

‘So I wasn’t surprised by the Supreme Court’s decision, but, like millions of Americans, I was proud and happy that it came down the way it did—and I was honored to stand in the Rose Garden and reiterate for every American that we are strongest, that we are most free, when all of us are treated equally.

‘I was proud to say that love is love.’

Obama may have taken awhile to ‘evolve’ his stance of same-sex marriage but his administration has focused on LGBT equality from the beginning. Under his presidency, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was repealed, the Defense of Marriage act gutted and signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law.

‘One of the reasons I got involved in politics was to help deliver on our promise that we’re all created equal, and that no one should be excluded from the American dream just because of who they are,’ Obama said. ‘That’s why, in the Senate, I supported repealing DOMA [the Defense of Marriage Act]. It’s why, when I ran for president the first time, I publicly asked for the support of the LGBT community, and promised that we could bring about real change for LGBT Americans.’

Other topics Obama weighed in on:

On the controversy surrounding Kentucky clerk Kim Davis: ‘I am a man of faith and believe deeply in religious freedom, but at the end of the day, nobody is above the rule of law—especially someone who voluntarily takes an oath to uphold that law. That’s something we’ve got to respect.’

On the first influential gay person in his life: ‘I’m not sure who the first openly gay person I met was, but Dr. Lawrence Goldyn, one of my college professors, is a man who stands out to me. I took his class freshman year at Occidental. I was probably 18 years old—Lawrence was one of the younger professors—and we became good friends. He went out of his way to advice lesbian, gay, and transgender students at Occidental, and keep in mind, this was 1978. That took a lot of courage, a lot of confidence in who you are and what you stand for. I got to recognize Lawrence last year at our Pride Month reception at the White House, and thank him for influencing the way I think about so many of these issues.’

On the generational difference in the attitudes towards homosexuality: ‘To Malia and Sasha and their friends, discrimination in any form against anyone doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t dawn on them that friends who are gay or friends’ parents who are same-sex couples should be treated differently than anyone else. That’s powerful.’

WHO-Barack Obama
WHEN-2015.11.10

NEWS FROM:GAY STAR NEWS

http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/obama-reflects-day-us-supreme-court-made-same-sex-marriage-legal-in-all-50-states/

key words:

LGBT是女同性戀者（Lesbians）、男同性戀者（Gays）、雙性戀者（Bisexuals）與跨性別者（Transgender）的英文首字母縮略字

捍衛婚姻法案（英語：Defense of Marriage Act，簡稱DOMA）是一項美國聯邦法律，允許各州拒絕承認在其它州合法的同性婚姻。直到這項法案的第三章在2015年被判定違憲前，捍衛婚姻法案讓同性婚姻的伴侶在聯邦法上彼此不具有「配偶」的身份，也無法享受聯邦的婚姻福利。

 The Supreme Court最高法院

Britain's fraud office has received new information regarding possible money laundering by FIFA officials as it continues its investigations, which started earlier in May this year.

Several members of FIFA have already been arrested in connection with various corruption practices by authorities in both the United States and Switzerland. A raid in a Zurich hotel prior to the FIFA presidential elections in May lead to the arrest of seven FIFA officials, while several members of the world governing body have been suspended or banned since then. Sepp Blatter was forced into announcing his resignation a few days after winning the elections after coming under increasing pressure for the various corrupt practices FIFA members have allegedly involved in so far.

Earlier this month, both Sepp Blatter and UEFA president Michel Platini were both provisionally suspended for 90 days. Blatter is alleged to have signed a TV broadcast rights deal that caused financial losses for FIFA, and is also accused of making a ‘disloyalty payment’ to Platini back in 2011, ahead of the presidential elections that year.

The Swiss authorities have also proceeded to investigate the bidding process for the hosting rights to the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, which were awarded to Russia and Qatar respectively, with both countries having denied any wrongdoing so far.

English authorities are now investigating to see if they can investigate FIFA officials on bribery charges, along with the money laundering and fraud charges. The fraud office is reportedly looking into a particular payment made to former FIFA official Jack Warner which could have been routed Sydney to Trinidad in the Caribbean via London for money laundering, while they have also been trying to look at any instances of bribery related to the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, but has not had much success so far.

"We are still examining issues around possible money laundering. I can’t yet go into detail about that but there are several aspects to it and some new information has come to us quite recently. My position would be that we cannot touch FIFA with the Bribery Act as things stand," David Green, the director of the Serious Fraud Office said in a hearing with British lawmakers, according to Reuters.

Green has claimed that presently his office does not have enough evidence to start a criminal investigation, and that without having a criminal investigation, information could not be gathered from others, including the Swiss and American authorities who have made most of the arrests so far. He has however insisted that the SFO was doing all it could to investigate various charges, including an allegation that Jack Warner demanded a multi-million bribe from the English F.A in relation to the 2018 World Cup bid.

“Don’t get the impression this is a closed book on a shelf at the SFO. We are getting new information in quite frequently,” Green added.

Contact the writer at feedback@ibtimes.com.au, or let us know what you think below.

authorities當局

 investigation調查

fraud騙局

provisionally臨時

 suspended暫停

disloyalty不忠實

Mediterranean Sea, migrant shipwreck

ROME About 400 migrants died in an attempt to reach Italy from Libya when their boat capsized, survivors said on Tuesday, the latest tragedy in the Mediterranean where the death toll from shipwrecks has surged this year.

The boat, carrying about 550 migrants in total, flipped about 24 hours after leaving the Libyan coast, according to some of the 150 survivors who were rescued and brought to a southern Italian port on Tuesday morning, Save the Children reported.

Before this incident there had already been more than 500 deaths of migrants crossing the Mediterranean from Africa this year, up sharply from 47 in the same period of 2014, said the Geneva-based International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

The survivors of the latest shipwreck were mostly sub-Saharan Africans, but no further details were available, a Save the Children spokesman told Reuters. It was not clear exactly when the boat had capsized.

The number of boats carrying migrants aiming to reach the EU from Africa has picked up in recent weeks as fine spring weather makes the passage safer. In February, more than 300 drowned when attempting the crossing in cold weather and rough seas.

Save the Children, the IOM and other humanitarian organizations have called for the European Union to bolster its sea rescue operations before the migrant flows soar as they usually do in the summer months.

On Monday, 2,851 migrants were saved in rescue operations in the Mediterranean, the Italian coastguard said, adding to at least nine who died and 5,629 who were saved over the weekend.

Italy, which handled the largest number of migrant arrivals in the EU, has become increasingly alarmed about the breakdown of law and order in Libya, which has greatly exacerbated the task of tackling the migrant flows. Libya is home to two rival governments, loosely aligned militia forces and a growing militant Islamist movement.

Separately, the EU border control agency Frontex said on Tuesday that migrant traffickers had fired shots to prevent their wooden boat being confiscated after rescuers saved the 250 people it was carrying off the coast of Libya.

After the migrants had been transferred, a speedboat approached and its crew fired several shots into the air before the assailants sped away with the empty migrant boat, Frontex said.

Frontex said the episode marked the second time this year that armed smugglers had taken back a vessel used to transport migrants following a rescue in the central Mediterranean.

(Reporting by Steve Scherer and Gavin Jones in Rome and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Editing byGareth Jones)

Mediterranean 地中海

Migrants移民

Capsized 翻船

Exacerbated 加劇

Humanitarian Organizations 人道主義組織

Assailants 襲擊者