Happy Atheist Forum

General => Science => Topic started by: Tank on August 19, 2017, 10:17:02 AM

Title: ANU-led study solves mystery of how first animals appeared on Earth
Post by: Tank on August 19, 2017, 10:17:02 AM
ANU-led study solves mystery of how first animals appeared on Earth (http://www.anu.edu.au/news/all-news/anu-led-study-solves-mystery-of-how-first-animals-appeared-on-earth)



Quote"Research led by ANU has solved the mystery of how the first animals appeared on Earth, a pivotal moment for the planet without which humans would not exist.

Lead researcher Associate Professor Jochen Brocks said the team found the answer in ancient sedimentary rocks from central Australia.

"We crushed these rocks to powder and extracted molecules of ancient organisms from them," said Dr Brocks from the ANU Research School of Earth Sciences.

"These molecules tell us that it really became interesting 650 million years ago. It was a revolution of ecosystems, it was the rise of algae."

The more we discover about 'Snowball Earth' the more it becomes evident it was a pivotal time in the evolutionary history of our planet.

Original article (http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature23457.html)
Title: Re: ANU-led study solves mystery of how first animals appeared on Earth
Post by: Tank on August 19, 2017, 10:35:26 AM
Title: Re: ANU-led study solves mystery of how first animals appeared on Earth
Post by: Dave on August 19, 2017, 11:08:03 AM
Thanks, Tank, an interesting theory - sort of backed up by other examples where an abundance and variety of food has led to greater diversity and species success.
Title: Re: ANU-led study solves mystery of how first animals appeared on Earth
Post by: hermes2015 on August 20, 2017, 08:48:35 AM
Thank you, that is very interesting. The equipment they are using is very familiar to me - it is made by Agilent and is what I train people to use. In this type of work most of your time is spent doing data analysis in the software, since the actual running of the samples is automated. Most of my training covers the use of the software and interpretation of the results.
Title: Re: ANU-led study solves mystery of how first animals appeared on Earth
Post by: Tank on August 20, 2017, 09:03:41 AM
Quote from: hermes2015 on August 20, 2017, 08:48:35 AM
Thank you, that is very interesting. The equipment they are using is very familiar to me - it is made by Agilent and is what I train people to use. In this type of work most of your time is spent doing data analysis in the software, since the actual running of the samples is automated. Most of my training covers the use of the software and interpretation of the results.
Well that's an interesting insight.
Title: Re: ANU-led study solves mystery of how first animals appeared on Earth
Post by: Dave on August 20, 2017, 09:07:23 AM
Quote from: hermes2015 on August 20, 2017, 08:48:35 AM
Thank you, that is very interesting. The equipment they are using is very familiar to me - it is made by Agilent and is what I train people to use. In this type of work most of your time is spent doing data analysis in the software, since the actual running of the samples is automated. Most of my training covers the use of the software and interpretation of the results.

Ah, "the interpretation of the results" - the final potential hurdle in the process.
Title: Re: ANU-led study solves mystery of how first animals appeared on Earth
Post by: Tank on August 20, 2017, 09:12:28 AM
Quote from: Gloucester on August 20, 2017, 09:07:23 AM
Quote from: hermes2015 on August 20, 2017, 08:48:35 AM
Thank you, that is very interesting. The equipment they are using is very familiar to me - it is made by Agilent and is what I train people to use. In this type of work most of your time is spent doing data analysis in the software, since the actual running of the samples is automated. Most of my training covers the use of the software and interpretation of the results.

Ah, "the interpretation of the results" - the final potential hurdle in the process.
Do you find their interpretation fallacious?
Title: Re: ANU-led study solves mystery of how first animals appeared on Earth
Post by: hermes2015 on August 20, 2017, 09:16:58 AM
Quote from: Gloucester on August 20, 2017, 09:07:23 AM
Quote from: hermes2015 on August 20, 2017, 08:48:35 AM
Thank you, that is very interesting. The equipment they are using is very familiar to me - it is made by Agilent and is what I train people to use. In this type of work most of your time is spent doing data analysis in the software, since the actual running of the samples is automated. Most of my training covers the use of the software and interpretation of the results.

Ah, "the interpretation of the results" - the final potential hurdle in the process.

That is why I will always have a job, no matter how automated the routine operations become.
Title: Re: ANU-led study solves mystery of how first animals appeared on Earth
Post by: Dave on August 20, 2017, 09:46:26 AM
Quote from: hermes2015 on August 20, 2017, 09:16:58 AM
Quote from: Gloucester on August 20, 2017, 09:07:23 AM
Quote from: hermes2015 on August 20, 2017, 08:48:35 AM
Thank you, that is very interesting. The equipment they are using is very familiar to me - it is made by Agilent and is what I train people to use. In this type of work most of your time is spent doing data analysis in the software, since the actual running of the samples is automated. Most of my training covers the use of the software and interpretation of the results.

Ah, "the interpretation of the results" - the final potential hurdle in the process.

That is why I will always have a job, no matter how automated the routine operations become.

Be careful, if the results are numerical some bugger will develop a "smart system", a pseudo-AI,  based on all those previous human decisions!
Title: Re: ANU-led study solves mystery of how first animals appeared on Earth
Post by: hermes2015 on August 20, 2017, 11:49:45 AM
Quote from: Gloucester on August 20, 2017, 09:46:26 AM
Quote from: hermes2015 on August 20, 2017, 09:16:58 AM
Quote from: Gloucester on August 20, 2017, 09:07:23 AM
Quote from: hermes2015 on August 20, 2017, 08:48:35 AM
Thank you, that is very interesting. The equipment they are using is very familiar to me - it is made by Agilent and is what I train people to use. In this type of work most of your time is spent doing data analysis in the software, since the actual running of the samples is automated. Most of my training covers the use of the software and interpretation of the results.

Ah, "the interpretation of the results" - the final potential hurdle in the process.

That is why I will always have a job, no matter how automated the routine operations become.

Be careful, if the results are numerical some bugger will develop a "smart system", a pseudo-AI,  based on all those previous human decisions!

No, the results are not purely numerical. The could include things like the identities of molecules and what classes of compounds they belong to. The numerical component could be the concentration of a certain compound in the substrate.