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- James Pilcher on July 10, 2007 4:42 AM
- James Pilcher on July 10, 2007 4:32 AM
- John B. Krug on July 9, 2007 5:27 PM
- Gary Hurd on July 8, 2007 7:55 AM
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Mark Perakh posted Entry 3224 on July 7, 2007 12:59 PM.
Trackback URL: http://www.pandasthumb.org/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.fcgi/3213
A book-length report of the Committee on the Limits of Organic Life in Planetary Systems (commissioned by NASA) based on today’s best science is available free online here (It also can be purchased in a printed form from National Academies Press - see the above link).
Commenters are responsible for the content of comments. The opinions expressed in articles, linked materials, and comments are not necessarily those of PandasThumb.org. See our full disclaimer.
Comment #186803
Posted by John B. Krug on July 9, 2007 5:27 PM (e)
Hi: Oh, please! Search for weird life?? Finding weird life forms won’t help matters if the human species is destroyed by a natural or man made catastrophe. I think the construction of human communities on the Moon, Mars and elsewhere should be a much higher priority than satisfying the expensive and luxurious curiosities of the test tube set….People first, weird life can wait. Best Regards! John B. Krug
Comment #186862
Posted by James Pilcher on July 10, 2007 4:32 AM (e)
Here’s an unfortunate opportunity for quote mining (just quote the first sentence, leave out the following context: (from page 8)
Natural selection based solely on mutation is probably not an adequate mechanism for evolving complexity. More important, lateral gene transfer and endosymbiosis are probably the most obvious mechanisms for creating complex genomes that could lead to free-living cells and complex cellular communities in the short geological interval between life’s origin and the establishment of autotrophic CO2 fixation about 3.8 billion years ago and microbial sulfate reduction 3.47 billion years ago on the basis of isotope data.
Comment #186863
Posted by James Pilcher on July 10, 2007 4:42 AM (e)
Here’s an unfortunate opportunity for quote mining (just quote the first sentence, leave out the following context: (from page 8)
Natural selection based solely on mutation is probably not an adequate mechanism for evolving complexity. More important, lateral gene transfer and endosymbiosis are probably the most obvious mechanisms for creating complex genomes that could lead to free-living cells and complex cellular communities in the short geological interval between life’s origin and the establishment of autotrophic CO2 fixation about 3.8 billion years ago and microbial sulfate reduction 3.47 billion years ago on the basis of isotope data.
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