Moon

Mars, The First Frontier?!

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In science news lately there has been quite a bustle about life on Mars. Not now, or rather, not about there being life on Mars right now, but about the likelihood of life on Earth originating from Mars. That’s right, our red brother could be responsible for the habitability of our mother Earth.

According to biochemist Steven Benner of the Westheimer Institute for Science and Technology in Florida, life came from a meteorite that originated from Mars. In essence, Mars has been deemed our creator. Let’s be serious for a second though, this is quite a discovery. Benner says that Earth was originally completely covered in water and that there was no room for life because of the corrosive effect water has on RNA. Why RNA you say? Without RNA there is no DNA and thus no life. So this meteorite, whether sent intentionally or sent due to a cataclysm on Mars, carried some RNA that helped spawn life on Earth. A little far-fetched, yet not all too unrealistic. To skeptics and critics Benner simply says:

Related Article: Sign Me Up For Mars!

It’s lucky that we ended up here nevertheless, as certainly Earth has been the better of the two planets for sustaining life, if our hypothetical Martian ancestors had remained on Mars, there might not have been a story to tell.

Now whether you are religious or you are completely for science in the explanation of human evolution/creation, this article still pertains to you! Is it so impossible to believe that maybe, just maybe we were created on Mars? That Mars, like Krypton, was in a state of panic and they sent out a ship to Earth to inhabit it? Or maybe we were expanding to Earth and some catastrophic events lead to the annihilation of life on Mars? Let us think about human history for a little; world wars, greed, power, resources, gain, want. We want and want and keep wanting, it is in our nature, and because of our wants and needs we destroy not only ourselves but everyone around us. Who says we aren’t just repeating some ancient history of ours that was completely forgotten due to complete, well almost complete, annihilation?

Related Article: Imminent Western Intervention in Syria

Whew. Tangent. Anyway, you get the idea. For all the time Earth has been around and our universe has been around, we shouldn’t get conceded with the idea that our four thousand years of recorded history is all the life our universe has to offer. Open your minds, there is definitely life somewhere out there. In that ever expanding universe, somewhere, someone, or something, is waiting. Cheers to intelligent life!

Related Article: Life, It’s All Over the Place

 

Research:

Wikipedia: Steven Benner

Science Now: Earth Life Likely Came from Mars, Study Suggests

Wikipedia: Krypton

The Fall of Atlantis

Wondergressive: Sign Me Up For Mars!

Wondergressive: Imminent Western Intervention in Syria

Long Distance Quantum Teleportation is Reality

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Researchers in multiple locations around the globe have successfully teleported photons across distances greater than 100km. We aren’t ready to beam people up to the moon for a gravity-free lunar getaway just yet, but these recent breakthroughs are a monumental step in the right direction.

Just weeks after researchers in China quantumly teleported photons a distance of 100km, researchers from the University of Waterloo completed a similar teleportation near the Canary Islands over a distance of 143 km.

The technique used isn’t teleportation in the traditional Star Trek sense, it is an implementation of quantum entaglement. The photon being teleported isn’t moved anywhere. Essentially, its information is copied perfectly and instantaneously to another photon at an intended destination.  Quantum entanglement allows us to send and receive information without any error or delay whatsoever.

Using a new laser technology that ensures the laser beam remains focused and does not disperse, scientists are paving the way for a global quantum network, the next evolutionary step of the internet.  A quantum network “could form the backbone of an internet populated by quantum computers. In theory, each quantum processor/computer connected to the quantum network could be instantly linked to every other computer via an entangled pair of photons.”

Quantum teleportation also redefines privacy.  Because it is impossible to view an entangled particle, information that is entangled would be protected and guaranteed to be 100% secure.  Quantum cryptography will replace password protection in the future.

In lieu of recent breakthroughs, Kirk’s classic catchphrase may need to be changed;  “Entangle me up Scottie!”

 

Titan’s Atmosphere Can Make DNA

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According to a recent study the atmosphere on Saturn’s moon Titan “could be creating the molecules that make up DNA without the help of water – an ingredient widely thought to be necessary for the molecules formation.”

The DNA within all life on Earth is only one potential set of nucleic acids that could have been chosen to create life on our planet.

Paul Davies, a leading astrobiologist states that “to the best of our knowledge, the original chemicals chosen by known life on Earth do not constitute a unique set; other choices could have been made, and maybe were made if life started elsewhere many times.”

This also leads to the concept that Earth’s atmosphere may have played a vital role in piecing together the foundations of life.

The Cassini research team performed experiments replicating the conditions of Titan’s atmosphere and found that “it appears to be less important that water is present to form these molecules than it is for some form of oxygen to be present in the mix of ingredients.”

This is yet another study that forces us to redefine what we think of as necessities, requirements, and definitions of life. The best part is that it’s right here in our star system!