Quote from: Icarus on February 23, 2013, 02:21:56 AM
A shout out to Tank who regularly delivers scientific news. He must surely be a science afficianado..
....
I do love science, and particularly biology which I have studied in various ways for the last 40 years. I find nature absolutely fascinating.
Quote from: markmcdaniel on February 23, 2013, 04:02:45 AM
These hydrothermal vents may well be where life originated. A fascinating story.
Just for information there are two types (that we know of) of Hydrothermal Vents (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrothermal_vent) Black Smokers (like those here) and White Smokers. The Abiogenesis theories generally revolve around the White Smokers because:-
QuoteWhite smoker vents emit lighter-hued minerals, such as those containing barium, calcium, and silicon. These vents also tend to have lower temperature plumes. These alkaline hydrothermal vents also continuously generate acetyl thioesters, providing both the starting point for more complex organic molecules and the energy needed to produce them. Microscopic structures in such alkaline vents "show interconnected compartments that provide an ideal hatchery for the origin of life"
This also makes interesting reading Hydrothermal vents and the origin of life (http://hoffman.cm.utexas.edu/courses/hydrothermal_vents.pdf)