WASHINGTON -- NASA has extended the Space Program Operations Contract with United Space Alliance, LLC, of Houston to March 31, 2011. The $909,593,590 contract extension supports flight operations for the Space Shuttle and International Space Station programs. The contract provides mission design and planning, astronaut and flight controller training, system integration, flight operations, vehicle processing, launch and recovery, vehicle sustaining engineering, and flight crew equipment processing. This is a cost reimbursement contract with award and performance fees.
Work will be performed at United Space Alliance facilities in Houston, Huntsville, Ala., and the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, as well as major subcontractor facilities in Huntington Beach, Calif., Houston, and Cape Canaveral, Fla. Significant subcontractors include Barrios Technology, LTD of Houston, Bastion Technologies, Inc. of Houston, Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems of Newtown, Pa., Pratt Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif., and The Boeing Company of Houston.
For more information about the space shuttle, visit:
WASHINGTON -- NASA has extended the Space Program Operations Contract with United Space Alliance, LLC, of Houston to March 31, 2011. The $909,593,590 contract extension supports flight operations for the Space Shuttle and International Space Station programs. The contract provides mission design and planning, astronaut and flight controller training, system integration, flight operations, vehicle processing, launch and recovery, vehicle sustaining engineering, and flight crew equipment processing. This is a cost reimbursement contract with award and performance fees.
Work will be performed at United Space Alliance facilities in Houston, Huntsville, Ala., and the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, as well as major subcontractor facilities in Huntington Beach, Calif., Houston, and Cape Canaveral, Fla. Significant subcontractors include Barrios Technology, LTD of Houston, Bastion Technologies, Inc. of Houston, Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems of Newtown, Pa., Pratt Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif., and The Boeing Company of Houston.
For more information about the space shuttle, visit:
The same people who started the Federal Reserve Banking System used that money to rape and pillage all the nations of the world.
Then they invested all of THAT money in Multi National Corporations.
The people who own the banks control the world right now... these same people own most of the shares in all the multi national corporations.
There are other corporations that are not owned by these people... but they don't have the same clout and power as Boeing and Raytheon.
The major corporations all have their own private armies. If you think Blackwater is a menace, think about having an encounter with a SWAT team from Raytheon.
We have huge multi conglomerate corporations with their own intelligence agencies, their own armies and the ability to print as much money as they need through the Federal Reserve.
These people don't need any more money. They don't need anymore power. They already have everything they could possibly need. Why are they continuing to foment wars?
And since they KNOW there are NO more countries, who or what are they going to declare war on.
RELIGIONS!
We are seeing the beginnings of this with Islamic terrorism. I suspect that we will soon see an increase in terrorism here in the United States. This will mean that you will soon start seeing these private armies guarding the things that the Elite want guarded.
I suspect that if we tried to take a tour of Boeing or Raytheon or any of the other major corporations, that we would quickly realize that these private armies really do exist.
During Katrina, private armies protected the rich areas. Pravadaseeker is currently reporting on a town in Arizona where the board of surpervisors is trying to turn an entire county into a gated community. I suspect this gated community would be ONLY for the rich... and I suspect that if this actually happens, the entire county will have its own private army.
I wonder if this "Gated Community County" is how the Elite are implementing Agenda 21... specifically the part of creating "Islands of Humanity". This plan in Apache County seems like a good way to create a complete "us and them" world.
The "Us's" will be the ones who are lucky enough to live inside one of the "Islands of Humanity"... aka a Gated County patrolled by a private army either controlled by the county... or an army from the nearest and largest corporation, that is in fact controlling the county. The county may in fact ONLY be the bedroom for employees and retirees from a particular corporation.
The rest of the "thems" will live on the outside, with the wild animals, no laws, no food, no hospitals, no doctors, and an army of bandits that will rob, rape and kill just for the thrill of it.
I am seeing the breakdown of nations. I think that the people in Apache County are implementing something that they have been TOLD to implement. I will bet that we will soon see this type of thing implemented in many other counties around the country.
The wealthy are abandoning the major cities. They don't care if the terrorists attack them. They and their corporate officers will be snugly tucked in some obscure county like Apache, Arizona, while their corporations manufacture their products in China or some other slave wage country.
Those of us who still have half our brains left... even though "they" have pumped flouride and other crap into the environment, and therefore into our bodies, in an effort to dumb us down to "submissive slave" level are beginning to see the handwriting on the wall.
Two societies are forming --
The Elite who work for the corporations...
and the rest of us who live some kind of Mad Max existence OUTSIDE the gated counties and cities of the Elite.
Nations are gone... terrorism in the form of religious wars will complete the destruction of nations and states... and soon only Gated Corporations, Counties and Cities will exist... all patrolled by their OWN private armies.
The Elite believe THEY are GODS... Religion has outlived its usefulness to them. They now realize that Karl Marx had it right... the STATE gives people all the rights the state thinks the people deserve!!
The religious wars... brought to us courtesy of the multinational corporations will drive a stake through the hearts of ALL religions... and the Elite will finally have their GODLESS society... Without GOD... the penultimate power mongers can believe THEY are GODS!!
Evita Peron was given CIA cancer because she ended foreign domination of Argentina's industries. The Elite killed her. The Elite also wrote her history.
While I have painted a bleak picture of what's coming. I have enough faith in the few "awake" leaders that still exist throughout the world to believe that this ELITE dream will NOT be allowed to come to fruition.
However, I do believe that this Elite "dream" will run its course for a long ways before its finally brought down and commonsense and freedom are restored.
I think that before too long more people that just me will be writing about the end of nations and the rise of corporate states... or maybe corporate cities and corporate counties.
The religious wars that will be waging outside of the safety of the corporate cities, counties and states, will be keeping the rest of us too busy to even care what the corporations are doing.
I told you this wouldn't be much of an article... But the idea is sound... and I am certain you all realize it too.
Multi national corporations are forming their own safe havens, guarded by their own private armies. They are fomenting religious wars around the globe to keep the rest of us too busy to notice what they are up to, who is running the world and that the rest of us will either have to submit to them... "take the mark of the beast" and live in their "gated communities"... or roam like wild animals outside the corporate safety zones.
"In the theology of the Catholic Church, Limbo (Latin limbus, edge or boundary, referring to the "edge" of Hell) is a speculative idea about the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the damned. Limbo is not an official doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church or any other. Medieval theologians described the underworld ("hell", "hades", "infernum") as divided into four distinct parts: hell of the damned (which some call Gehenna), Purgatory, limbo of the fathers, and limbo of infants."
: Loofahs are great for all of your rough spots like elbows, feet, and knees.
Molded into a chunk of loofah is luxurious oatmeal soap, which is my personal favorite because it's gentle and soothing. Scented with warm and sweet smelling chocolate almond fragrance oil and colored with organic dark cocoa powder, this sassy soap is wonderful for any time of year. Use it in the morning to get your circulation going and jump start your day!
Finally, chocolate you can enjoy without worrying! Once the loofah is worn out, just toss it on the compost pile.
Vegan and vegetarian friendly. :)
oatmeal base ingredients: coconut oil, palm oil, castor oil, safflower oil, oatmeal, glycerin (kosher, of vegetable origin), purified water, sodium hydroxide, sorbital, sorbitan oleate, soy bean protein, and titanium dioxide
The news articles posted on the “Radiation Protection News Room” are provided solely as a service to readers. The intent is to raise awareness of current radiation issues in the news. Providing links to a non-EPA Web site does not constitute an endorsement by EPA or any of its employees of the sponsors of the site or the information or products presented on the site.
Nuclear Power Corporation cautions against nuclear liability bill amendments (Daily News & Analysis) While opposition parties see red in the latest amendments made to the nuclear liability bill, the Nuclear Power Corporation today cautioned that under these changes no Indian or foreign manufacturer would be able to serve the nuclear power industry.
Radioactive Waste
Could high level nuclear waste be on it's way to Utah? (ABC4) A Federal judge recently struck down a ruling that is keeping high level nuclear waste from being stored on an Indian reservation in Tooele County. It’s a judicial move that could make it easier to bring the highly toxic waste into the state of Utah where it will be stored.
Cleanup
Critics of the Feds reap federal $$$s (Seattle Post Intelligencer) But the cleanup -- or "failed cleanup" as GOP Sens. John McCain and Tom Coburn called it last November -- has kept contractors on the job and, at times, put more people on the payroll than during days of plutonium production.
Hanford
Former Hanford vit plant executive claims retaliation (Mid Columbia Tri City Herald) Walter Tamosaitis, a senior executive who lost his job at the Hanford vitrification plant, has filed a retaliation complaint against URS, the main subcontractor on the project.
CT Algorithm Lowers Radiation Dose (MedPage Today) A new algorithm for reconstruction in coronary CT angiography (CTA) lowers radiation dose but doesn't increase image noise, researchers have found.
Nuclear Power
Nuclear plant's use of river water prompts $1.1 billion debate with state (NYT) Just beneath the wind-stippled surface of the Hudson River, huge pipes suck enough water into the Indian Point nuclear plant every second to fill three Olympic swimming pools. And each second they take in dozens of organisms that are at the center of a $1.1 billion debate.
Beer bugs live 553 days in space (BBC News) The Beer microbes were placed on the European Space Agency's (Esa) Technology Exposure Facility, a collection of experimental boxes at the end of the International Space Station's (ISS) Columbus Laboratory.
: The news articles posted on the “Radiation Protection News Room” are provided solely as a service to readers. The intent is to raise awareness of current radiation issues in the news. Providing links to a non-EPA Web site does not constitute an endorsement by EPA or any of its employees of the sponsors of the site or the information or products presented on the site
: Earth has done an ecological about-face: Global plant productivity that once flourished under warming temperatures and a lengthened growing season is now on the decline, struck by the stress of drought.
NASA-funded researchers Maosheng Zhao and Steven Running, of the University of Montana in Missoula, discovered the global shift during an analysis of NASA satellite data. Compared with a six-percent increase spanning two earlier decades, the recent ten-year decline is slight -- just one percent. The shift, however, could impact food security, biofuels, and the global carbon cycle.
"We see this as a bit of a surprise, and potentially significant on a policy level because previous interpretations suggested that global warming might actually help plant growth around the world," Running said.
"These results are extraordinarily significant because they show that the global net effect of climatic warming on the productivity of terrestrial vegetation need not be positive -- as was documented for the 1980’s and 1990’s," said Diane Wickland, of NASA Headquarters and manager of NASA's Terrestrial Ecology research program.
Conventional wisdom based on previous research held that land plant productivity was on the rise. A 2003 paper in Science led by then University of Montana scientist Ramakrishna Nemani (now at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.) showed that global terrestrial plant productivity increased as much as six percent between 1982 and 1999. That's because for nearly two decades, temperature, solar radiation and water availability -- influenced by climate change -- were favorable for growth.
Setting out to update that analysis, Zhao and Running expected to see similar results as global average temperatures have continued to climb. Instead, they found that the impact of regional drought overwhelmed the positive influence of a longer growing season, driving down global plant productivity between 2000 and 2009. The team published their findings Aug. 20 in Science.
"This is a pretty serious warning that warmer temperatures are not going to endlessly improve plant growth," Running said.
The discovery comes from an analysis of plant productivity data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite, combined with growing season climate variables including temperature, solar radiation and water. The plant and climate data are factored into an algorithm that describes constraints on plant growth at different geographical locations.
For example, growth is generally limited in high latitudes by temperature and in deserts by water. But regional limitations can very in their degree of impact on growth throughout the growing season.
Zhao and Running's analysis showed that since 2000, high-latitude northern hemisphere ecosystems have continued to benefit from warmer temperatures and a longer growing season. But that effect was offset by warming-associated drought that limited growth in the southern hemisphere, resulting in a net global loss of land productivity.
"This past decade’s net decline in terrestrial productivity illustrates that a complex interplay between temperature, rainfall, cloudiness, and carbon dioxide, probably in combination with other factors such as nutrients and land management, will determine future patterns and trends in productivity," Wickland said.
This narrated video gives an overview of net primary production and the carbon cycle. High-resolution data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, or MODIS, indicate a net decrease in NPP from 2000-2009, as compared to the previous two decades. Credit: NASA/Michelle Williams
Researchers are keen on maintaining a record of the trends into the future. For one reason, plants act as a carbon dioxide "sink," and shifting plant productivity is linked to shifting levels of the greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. Also, stresses on plant growth could challenge food production.
"The potential that future warming would cause additional declines does not bode well for the ability of the biosphere to support multiple societal demands for agricultural production, fiber needs, and increasingly, biofuel production," Zhao said.
"Even if the declining trend of the past decade does not continue, managing forests and croplands for multiple benefits to include food production, biofuel harvest, and carbon storage may become exceedingly challenging in light of the possible impacts of such decadal-scale changes," Wickland said.
I purchased a set of Mikuni Kogyo MIC's with the accelerator pump. I pulled them apart to clean them. I now need baseline settings for the item #33 (it has a spring & protrudes out the bottom of the bowl for adjusting) in the individual carb schematic, as well, baseline settings for the air/fuel mixture screw & the accelerator pump linkage.
Funny words beginning with E E-buse - To bully someone cyberly submitted by Amy E-Gadz! - Like OMG! or like WOW (old people used to use it and me and my friends thought it was halirious) submitted by a blonde E-maca-moo - Decribes everything good submitted by bizzi+chipmunk E.M.S - Early Morning Stoner submitted by pete E.N.D - Excessive Nomming Disorder submitted by Dmp1563 East Bumblefuck - Middle of nowhere, like in rural places submitted by Augie Edward Beerhands - Strapping two huge vase's filled with beer to ones hands, only once they have been drunk may the 'Edward' be relinquished. submitted by isaacMattAsh Eeep! - A sound of shock, usually said in a stupidly high voice submitted by McDee Eemish - People that have never had sex and are afraid submitted by I am not EEMISH Effigying - Pronounced: eef uh gee ing. Another word for f*ucking. eg "Those effigying b*st*rds" submitted by St. Charles, The Unlikely Bastard Egbert - Someone that has a real bad smell submitted by jordanharris Egg McMuffins - Massively oversized boobs submitted by chris Egg-sucking dog - Doesn't really mean anything, its just an insult submitted by Masta Rasta** Eggiemo - A cute name for a small ickle person submitted by Bizzi Eh - Pronounced 'ay' or 'A'. It's punctuation eh submitted by Avg Canadian Eh ehh ehhhhh - To be used when all other words can't submitted by Paulie Eichelkaas - German for sperms submitted by Matzi Elbarcs - It's just scrabble backwards but it sounds funny submitted by natjesusdude Eminent ruage - Anything associated with negativity submitted by Mark Baker Emo's - Complete idiots who think they know true pain, but only hate every body cause some where down the line they didn't get what they wanted submitted by rawker Empty your load/pisspot - To go for a piss after you have been holding it in for a time thats unnaturally long and painful submitted by Claire Laura Amy [Mackam Shlags] Encyclopaedophile - A person who has sex with books. submitted by Joe Foxon Endo - Weed submitted by Erin E Enemise - To make an enemy of a stranger and/or a friend, in fact, anyone submitted by jeuan, sometimes Jordan Epic Fail - Internet meme used among teenagers to describe a horrible failure of sorts submitted by BOING Epicness - Something that is well and truly large in scale....no not that sort of thing... submitted by bizzi + chipmunk Epix - An exclamation, adjective, or otherwise useful word that goes beyond the amount of awesomeness implied by the word submitted by Lord Gale Epizoodik of-the Blowhole - When you're withholding from getting up to poop because you know you're going to have really bad diarrhea. Typically said upon getting up and realizing the bad colon cramp you've created. submitted by Jon Waters Escape - Shut up (say it over and over while an annoying person is talking) submitted by Rosha Eshays - Really cool submitted by poobrain Eskloring - When you are looking/exploring for a skank, slut, whore submitted by Duran Ethernet - Used to catch the Etherbunny submitted by me Euuuu Mi Gawd! - Oh My God.. In Valley Girl Language submitted by GUEEEEEEEESs Evilosity - Something diabolicaly evil or horrid and used alone after you say something evil. Example: "I will whip you! Muahahahaha! Evilosity. So, how are you?" submitted by bobo Extra cheese on your taco - Yeast infection submitted by monistat Eye-boogers - The snot that gets in your eyes when you wake up submitted by JoshMars Eyegasm - When you see something so awesome it feels like your eyes are having an orgasm
Event Researchers and Educators: Faces of Tomorrow
Science and Technology Centers - Graduate Student Poster Session
September 1, 2010 2:00 PM to September 1, 2010 4:00 PM National Science Foundation, Stafford I, Atrium
Graduate students, from Science and Technology Centers across the country, will be presenting a poster session focusing on their research and outreach activities. This is a unique opportunity to talk to these young researchers.
Meeting Type Outreach
Contacts Dragana Brzakovic, (703) 292-8040 dbrzakov@nsf.gov Preferred Contact Method: Email NSF Related Organizations NSF-Wide Office of Integrative Activities Related Programs Science and Technology Centers: Integrative Partnerships Public Attachments Event Flyer
: This image shows the eruption of a galactic “super-volcano” in the massive galaxy M87, as witnessed by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and NSF's Very Large Array (VLA). At a distance of about 50 million light years, M87 is relatively close to Earth and lies at the center of the Virgo cluster, which contains thousands of galaxies.
The cluster surrounding M87 is filled with hot gas glowing in X-ray light (and shown in blue) that is detected by Chandra. As this gas cools, it can fall toward the galaxy's center where it should continue to cool even faster and form new stars.
However, radio observations with the VLA (red) suggest that in M87 jets of very energetic particles produced by the black hole interrupt this process. These jets lift up the relatively cool gas near the center of the galaxy and produce shock waves in the galaxy's atmosphere because of their supersonic speed.
The interaction of this cosmic “eruption” with the galaxy's environment is very similar to that of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland that occurred in 2010. With Eyjafjallajokull, pockets of hot gas blasted through the surface of the lava, generating shock waves that can be seen passing through the grey smoke of the volcano. This hot gas then rises up in the atmosphere, dragging the dark ash with it. This process can be seen in a movie of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano where the shock waves propagating in the smoke are followed by the rise of dark ash clouds into the atmosphere.
In the analogy with Eyjafjallajokull, the energetic particles produced in the vicinity of the black hole rise through the X-ray emitting atmosphere of the cluster, lifting up the coolest gas near the center of M87 in their wake. This is similar to the hot volcanic gases drag up the clouds of dark ash. And just like the volcano here on Earth, shockwaves can be seen when the black hole pumps energetic particles into the cluster gas. The energetic particles, coolest gas and shockwaves are shown in a labeled version.
Credits: X-ray: NASA/CXC/KIPAC/N. Werner et al Radio: NSF/NRAO/AUI/W. Cotton
Many students have a summer job and may not realize they have to pay taxes on their summer income. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) wants you to know about taxes on income earned while working a summer job.
All employees fill out a W-4 - Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate (.PDF document) when starting a new job. This form is used by employers to determine the amount of tax that will be withheld from your paycheck. You may use the IRS Withholding Calculator to verify your withholding tax is correct. Whether you are working as a waiter or a camp counselor, you may receive tips as part of your summer income. All income you receive from tips is taxable income and is therefore subject to federal income tax. Many students do odd jobs over the summer to make extra cash. Earnings you receive from self-employment are subject to income tax. These earnings include income from odd jobs like baby-sitting and lawn mowing. If you have net earnings of $400 or more from self-employment, you will also have to pay self-employment tax. This tax pays for your benefits under the Social Security Administration. Food and lodging allowances paid to Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) students participating in advanced training are not taxable. However, active duty pay received during summer advanced camp is taxable. Special rules apply to services you perform as a newspaper carrier or distributor. You are a direct seller and treated as self-employed for federal tax purposes if you meet the following conditions: You are in the business of delivering newspapers. All your pay for these services directly relates to sales rather than to the number of hours worked. You perform the delivery services under a written contract that states you will not be treated as an employee for federal tax purposes. Generally, newspaper carriers or distributors under age 18 are not subject to self-employment tax. Additional Resources:
IRS Student's Page - High School Taxable Income for Students Tax Tips - Restaurant Filing a Federal Income Tax Return Please note: To view and print .PDF documents, you must use the Adobe Reader software, which is available for download without charge.
This artist’s concept show the material around a recently exploded star, known as Supernova 1987A, is based on observations which have revealed a three dimensional view of the distribution of the expelled material. The original blast was not only powerful, it was also more concentrated in one particular direction. This image shows the different elements present in SN 1987A: two outer rings, one inner ring and the deformed, innermost expelled material. Credit: ESO/ L. Calçada
Amino acids, sugars and other chiral molecules come in two varieties that are mirror images of each other. Credit: NASA
An excess of left-handed amino acids has been found in a few meteorites, including the Murchison meteorite, which landed in Australia in 1969. Credit: NASA
Artist's concept of a neutron star, an extremely compact but massive remnant of a high mass star. Formed during the gravitational core-collapse of supernovae, neutron stars can have strong magnetic fields and rapid rotation. Credit: Space Telescope Science Institute
Supernova Explosions Offer Potential Spin on Life's Origins By Charles Q. Choi Astrobiology Magazine Contributor posted: 16 August 2010 05:14 pm ET
A mysterious bias in the way the building blocks of proteins twist could be due to supernovas, researchers now suggest.
If correct, this could be evidence that the molecules of life weren't created on Earth, but came from elsewhere in the cosmos.
Organic molecules are often chiral, meaning they come in two versions that are mirror images of each other, much as right and left hands appear identical but possess reversed features.
Curiously, on Earth, the amino acids that form the proteins for life are virtually all "left-handed," even though it should be as easy to make one version as the other. Even more strangely, samples of certain amino acids obtained from the Murchison meteorite were mostly left-handed also, suggesting there could be a bias for left-handed amino acids throughout the rest of the cosmos.
Now researchers suggest that supernovas might be the culprits behind this mysterious effect. The key lies in the nitrogen atoms common to all amino acids, explained researcher Richard Boyd, a nuclear astrophysicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and his colleagues.
As stars collapse right before they become supernovas, they generate an intense burst of electron antineutrinos that the researchers suggest would preferentially interact with nitrogen atoms in right-handed amino acids. All atoms possess "spin," and the handedness of an amino acid can influence how the spin of the nitrogen atoms within them align.
The antineutrinos, possessing a spin of their own, would prefer to interact with the way nitrogen atoms spin in right-handed amino acids rather than left-handed ones, since the spins of the antineutrinos and nitrogen atoms would align.
As a result, the antineutrinos would preferentially convert the nitrogen atoms in right-handed amino acids into carbon atoms. Boyd and his colleagues suggest this would result in the destruction of right-handed amino acids, leaving only the left-handed versions behind.
It might be possible to run experiments using intense neutrino sources, such as the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, to test whether this effect actually occurs, Boyd added.
Supernovae also would generate electron neutrinos possessing opposite spin. This would have an effect on nitrogen atoms in left-handed amino acids, converting them into oxygen atoms. However, because this reaction requires more than four times more energy, it would occur to a much smaller degree than the antineutrinos'-right-handed amino acid reactions.
A Supernova standard
Supernovas are fairly common in the Milky Way galaxy. In a standard supernova, a star explodes after it uses up its nuclear fuel supply. These standard supernovas occur roughly once every 30 years in our galaxy.
A supernova only would destroy a very small portion of the right-handed amino acids in the neighboring molecular clouds. However, as the remaining left-handed molecules mixed throughout the galaxy, these molecules could be used in the formation of new amino acids. An initial imbalance of left-handed molecules as small as one part in 1 million or even less caused by supernovas could eventually lead to a dominance of left handed amino acids throughout space.
It is "the conspiracy of the very large, supernovae, with the very small, neutrinos, to impact something that exists on the human scale," Boyd said.
There remain a number of questions concerning this idea that Boyd and his colleagues are still investigating. For instance, after stars explode as supernovas, the remnants can form neutron stars. The powerful magnetic fields of these neutron stars could affect the molecular structures of the amino acids or their precursors, which in turn might have an impact on which handedness dominates.
If this idea proves true, the fact that virtually all the amino acids used by life on Earth are left-handed might suggest that the molecules of life were not created on this planet. Instead, they might have been born in our galaxy's molecular clouds and subsequently delivered via meteorites or included in the mixture that formed the Earth when the planets were created.
"I find it really mind-boggling that the same constraints that exist on our chemicals of life might also exist for every other entity in the universe," Boyd said. "If other entities are out there, the constraints on their chemistry appear to be sufficiently similar to ours that we may have lots of things in common with them."
Boyd and his colleagues Toshitaka Kajino and Takashi Onaka detailed their findings in the June issue of the journal Astrobiology.
Supernova Explosions Offer Potential Spin on Life's Origins By Charles Q. Choi Astrobiology Magazine Contributor posted: 16 August 2010 05:14 pm ET A mysterious bias in the way the building blocks of proteins twist could be due to supernovas, researchers now suggest.
If correct, this could be evidence that the molecules of life weren't created on Earth, but came from elsewhere in the cosmos.
Organic molecules are often chiral, meaning they come in two versions that are mirror images of each other, much as right and left hands appear identical but possess reversed features.
Ads by Google Did Jesus Christ Exist?"The God Who Wasn't There" Acclaimed documentary now on DVD www.TheGodMovie.com Human Condition Explained"This is the breakthrough humanity has been waiting for"–Prof Prosen www.WorldTransformation.com/ Coffee Fool BannedGrocery stores won't stock us because we're the truth on fresh! www.CoffeeFool.com Curiously, on Earth, the amino acids that form the proteins for life are virtually all "left-handed," even though it should be as easy to make one version as the other. Even more strangely, samples of certain amino acids obtained from the Murchison meteorite were mostly left-handed also, suggesting there could be a bias for left-handed amino acids throughout the rest of the cosmos.
Now researchers suggest that supernovas might be the culprits behind this mysterious effect. The key lies in the nitrogen atoms common to all amino acids, explained researcher Richard Boyd, a nuclear astrophysicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and his colleagues.
As stars collapse right before they become supernovas, they generate an intense burst of electron antineutrinos that the researchers suggest would preferentially interact with nitrogen atoms in right-handed amino acids. All atoms possess "spin," and the handedness of an amino acid can influence how the spin of the nitrogen atoms within them align.
The antineutrinos, possessing a spin of their own, would prefer to interact with the way nitrogen atoms spin in right-handed amino acids rather than left-handed ones, since the spins of the antineutrinos and nitrogen atoms would align.
As a result, the antineutrinos would preferentially convert the nitrogen atoms in right-handed amino acids into carbon atoms. Boyd and his colleagues suggest this would result in the destruction of right-handed amino acids, leaving only the left-handed versions behind.
It might be possible to run experiments using intense neutrino sources, such as the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, to test whether this effect actually occurs, Boyd added.
Supernovae also would generate electron neutrinos possessing opposite spin. This would have an effect on nitrogen atoms in left-handed amino acids, converting them into oxygen atoms. However, because this reaction requires more than four times more energy, it would occur to a much smaller degree than the antineutrinos'-right-handed amino acid reactions.
A Supernova standard
Supernovas are fairly common in the Milky Way galaxy. In a standard supernova, a star explodes after it uses up its nuclear fuel supply. These standard supernovas occur roughly once every 30 years in our galaxy.
A supernova only would destroy a very small portion of the right-handed amino acids in the neighboring molecular clouds. However, as the remaining left-handed molecules mixed throughout the galaxy, these molecules could be used in the formation of new amino acids. An initial imbalance of left-handed molecules as small as one part in 1 million or even less caused by supernovas could eventually lead to a dominance of left handed amino acids throughout space.
It is "the conspiracy of the very large, supernovae, with the very small, neutrinos, to impact something that exists on the human scale," Boyd said.
There remain a number of questions concerning this idea that Boyd and his colleagues are still investigating. For instance, after stars explode as supernovas, the remnants can form neutron stars. The powerful magnetic fields of these neutron stars could affect the molecular structures of the amino acids or their precursors, which in turn might have an impact on which handedness dominates.
If this idea proves true, the fact that virtually all the amino acids used by life on Earth are left-handed might suggest that the molecules of life were not created on this planet. Instead, they might have been born in our galaxy's molecular clouds and subsequently delivered via meteorites or included in the mixture that formed the Earth when the planets were created.
"I find it really mind-boggling that the same constraints that exist on our chemicals of life might also exist for every other entity in the universe," Boyd said. "If other entities are out there, the constraints on their chemistry appear to be sufficiently similar to ours that we may have lots of things in common with them."
Boyd and his colleagues Toshitaka Kajino and Takashi Onaka detailed their findings in the June issue of the journal Astrobiology.
The Strangest Things in Space Space Hand-Me-Downs Did Comet Crashes Help Spark Earth Life? Ads by Google CoffeeFool® BannedGet the fresh coffee that grocery stores don't want you to buy! www.CoffeeFool.com Introduction to astronomyPursue an aerospace degree 100% online. Accredited university. www.AMUOnline.com/Aerospace RealAge® Official SiteTake the RealAge test. Lose weight and feel great for the holidays! RealAge.com Creation Or Evolution?Is evolution just a theory? You can prove creation. Order free booklet. www.gnmagazine.org/evolution/?S=2 Science News and VideosScience, Space, Tech, Health Videos Learn something new today! www.redorbit.com Comments (7) You must be logged in to post a comment: Log In | Register
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posted 16 August 2010, 3:40 pm ET gordon_flash wrote: GOOD GRIEF! It's the butterfly-causing-the-tornado theory on steroids!! Reply | Recommend (4) | Report Abuse Expand to View Replies (1)
posted 16 August 2010, 3:41 pm ET MartianSam1 wrote: I remember reading a theory that pulsar spin forced the molecules together the same way to influence handedness, years ago. That sounded pretty much like stoner astronomy at the time.
On a more practical note, if handedness shows up in more meteors, the ExoMars rover instrument to detect the handedness of molecules in samples may show a slight false positive bias. As I recall, the instrument would show full handedness in a living sample, zero handedness in a totally sterile sample, and partial handedness in a fosslized sample. Furthermore, a right handed bias would indicate second genesis.
If a cosmic bias toward left handedness exists in the solar system (with a common supernova origin that would include the meteorite mentioned in the article), it will make it that much harder to get a clear view of fossilized life in the solar system, as well as give a bias towards a second genesis being left-handed as well. Reply | Recommend (1) | Report Abuse
posted 17 August 2010, 12:02 am ET sdude61 wrote: I do not believe that the stuff of life was made here on the earth. It's a shot in the dark if they are right or not. Very thought provoking. Reply | Recommend (0) | Report Abuse
posted 17 August 2010, 12:06 am ET probe30 wrote: " We are star dust"
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posted 17 August 2010, 8:08 am ET Rascal_sage wrote: "Even more strangely, samples of certain amino acids obtained from the Murchison meteorite were mostly left-handed also, suggesting there could be a bias for left-handed amino acids throughout the rest of the cosmos."
God could be left-handed. Unexpected, certainly, but strange? Reply | Recommend (0) | Report Abuse
posted 17 August 2010, 12:49 pm ET the_life wrote: I understand that the right-handed amino-acids were neutralized during supernova explosions but how the right-handed and the left-handed acids were created in the first place in universe. Reply | Recommend (0) | Report Abuse
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