CNN Breaking News: NASA to hold press conference at 2pm on possible proof of life on other planet.

[Xicano]

Something to do about twin earth like planets and bacteria and photosynthesis. That's about all I got.

[Botany]

1. I wonder if the new planets will have cats?

[LiberalEsto]

2. As long as they don't have Republicans

I'll be okay with it.

Better yet, maybe they'll EAT Republicans.

[Xicano]

3. Just as long as they don't have republicans and are very liberal. :)

Buy me a ticket. :P

[KittyWampus]

31. didn't get your joke until I saw the graphic.

NOT FUNNY! says this cat lover :D :(

[Botany]

40. Why do you hate Alf?

[MilesColtrane]

4. Cut to the important bits, NASA.

Is there anything we can exploit there?

[madmax]

5. Hope they plan

to 'Serve Man'. :evilgrin:

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Republican's of course - medium rare.

[Better Believe It]

6. Do you have a link? I can't find that "breaking news" article at CNN's website.

[Jamastiene]

8. Here:

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/12/01/did-e-t-finally-phone-home/?hpt=C2

And here:
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2010/nov/HQ_M10-167_Astrobiology.html

[Xicano]

11. Ahhh there you go.... Thanks Jamastiene

eom.

[Jamastiene]

12. NASA has it up on their site too now.

http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2010/nov/HQ_M10-167_Astrobiology.html

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/news/releases/2010/M10-110.html

[Xicano]

9. No sorry, just heard it a few moments ago as breaking news.

I checked for a link too but didn't find anything either.

[Xicano]

7. Maybe it will be a mushroom world. :)

[druidity33]

25. more likely than you think...

One of the few terrestrial organisms that can survive in space are mushroom spores. Ever wonder why ancient shamans used hallucinogenic mushrooms in their ceremonies? Perhaps the first alien invasion was the seeding of planets with mushrooms... they can open doorways to another consciousness you know.

Read some Terence McKenna... out there, but inspiring stuff.

:shrug:

[Lochloosa]

26. ...

[Roon]

37. An article in popular mechanics suggested that was how we evolved

cavemen trippin on 'shrooms invented the wheel,if you will....

[Webster Green]

10. Planetary exceptionalism.

Of course there is life on other planets, and in other galaxies. The odds that we are all alone in the universe are very slim.

[ladjf]

20. Even slimmer than slim. nt

[Jamastiene]

13. I feel like Chunk when he found the ice cream in the Goonies.

He was walking around eating the ice cream and saying, "See, you guys? I tried to tell you but nobody would listen..."

Of course, there is life out there. I've always said that and been laughed at for it. Maybe, it looks like we've found some of it. It might not be human beings on another planet, but life is life. If some life exists out there, and we've just discovered it, then other life is bound to be out there too.

This is exciting news. :popcorn:

[Xicano]

15. Very exciting indeed.

eom.

[mmonk]

14. I take the life there is more intelligent.

[social_critic]

16. Can't take much from the information available

They will probably report they detected the absorption lines for oxygen. If the finding is true, all this shows is the planet has organisms performing something like photosynthesis - ie it's breaking down CO2 and making O2.

Hopefully this will re-direct the research budget and help us close the International Space Station, which is using too much money and does very little real research. And imagine what we could do if we could use the money we waste in Iraq and Afghanistan to build giant space telescopes and other detectors.

[DearAbby]

39. They have been monitoring TV sound Waves

and ratings for Countdown and Maddow are through the roof! :thumbsup:

[mmonk]

41. Then they really are intelligent!

[Ichingcarpenter]

17. NASA stands for Never A Straight Answer

but I will watch the Press Conference.

Actually I think NASA is still something to be proud of but half the time they hedge their answers as most scientist do.

I await the news of our new extraterrestrial microbe overlords.


Any link on line?

[drm604]

18. It is not "possible proof of life on another planet".

NASA never said that. The media has distorted it.

What they've found is an unusual form of life in a California lake.

The Telegraph has had the facts on this up since yesterday.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/8174040/Life-as-we-dont-know-it-discovery-could-prove-existence-of-aliens.html

[originalpckelly]

21. Talk about distortion.

Knew it was too good to be true. How the hell would we be able to detect light from another planet, when stars usually outshine the things their light reflects off of?

They usually use the wobble of a star to detect planets. This bacteria finding is interesting, anyway. Just not the same way as people think.

[Bill McBlueState]

24. (actually, direct planetary light has been detected)

Check this out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TrES-1#Transit

[drm604]

28. It's very interesting.

We don't really have all of the facts yet, but it does sound like this may be a very unusual form of life. Maybe it uses a different genetic code. Maybe it doesn't even use DNA or RNA!

The point, I think, is that life can take more forms than we realize. So the conditions needed for it's existence may not be as rare as we've thought.

[Jamastiene]

32. Yes, that is what makes it so interesting. n/t

[DLnyc]

22. Yes, most life on earth is not intelligent enough to read a press release.

Apparently.

The telegraph article probably has a better read on it, but we'll see.

[StandingInLeftField]

19. It seems after reading the CNN story, things may have been a little overblown.

nt.

[jayfish]

33. Different, but hardly overblown. -NT-

[S_E_Fudd]

23. Heard it will be the discovery of organisms on earth that can use arsenic...

As its DNA backbone....don't really understand...but what I heard...

[Lionel Mandrake]

42. It has nothing to do with life on other worlds.

The new discovery was of a bacterium which can metabolize arsenic as a substitute for phosphorus. It does so only if no phosphorus is available. This is remarkable, but not outlandish. As and P are in the same column of the periodic table and share some chemical properties. In particular, the arsenate and phosphate ions are quite similar. In each of these ions, a central atom (As or P) is surrounded by four oxygen atoms.

"The researchers isolated the organism and found that when cultured in arsenate solution it grew 60% as fast as it did in phosphate solution — not as well, but still robustly. The culture did not grow at all when deprived of both arsenate and phosphate."

Read more: http://www.nature.com/news/2010/101202/full/news.2010.645.html

[Dorian Gray]

27. Cool. Can't wait to hear details.

[Little Star]

29. Wonder if they have been visiting us in UFOs. LOL

[JackRiddler]

30. Evidence. Not proof.

No matter how strong it is, it will be evidence. Evidence in the context of mathematical near-certainty that there is life elsewhere, but evidence nevertheless. Unless of course a secret FTL mission recovered a sample from the place, or they captured the TV signal of an extraterrestrial sitcom, or they've actually landed here. Those would be proof.

(Just doing my part for the English language while waiting with great anticipation!)

[pinboy3niner]

35. Looks like the evidence is not elsewhere, but here

We have found the aliens and he is us. :)

Edited to add link:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4638937

[Xicano]

36. When they showed it on Breaking News CNN used the word "Proof?"

Albeit with a question make after it, but the word they used was indeed "proof?" Just simply passed along what I saw at the time.

n/t

[JackRiddler]

38. Sure no problem.

But CNN? Definitely part of the problem!

;)

[pipi_k]

34. You know what would be neat? Proof of INTELLIGENT life on Earth... n/t

[RegieRocker]

43. LOL

I like it