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#1
Science / Re: Mars Curiosity Thread.
Last post by Recusant - Today at 12:19:16 AMCuriosity is still working and still discovering interesting things on Mars. 
"NASA Curiosity rover finds mysterious life linked molecules on Mars" | ScienceDaily
The paper is open access:
"Diverse organic molecules on Mars revealed by the first SAM TMAH experiment" | Nature Communications
"NASA Curiosity rover finds mysterious life linked molecules on Mars" | ScienceDaily
QuoteNASA's Curiosity rover has identified a wide range of organic molecules on Mars, including compounds that scientists consider key ingredients for the origin of life on Earth.
The discovery comes from a chemical experiment carried out on another planet for the first time. Results show that the Martian surface is capable of preserving molecules that could act as potential signs of ancient life. However, the experiment cannot determine whether these organic compounds came from past life on Mars, natural geological processes, or meteorites that struck the planet.
To confirm any true evidence of past life, scientists would need to bring Martian rock samples back to Earth for detailed study.
The research was led by Amy Williams, Ph.D., a geological sciences professor at the University of Florida and a member of both the Curiosity and Perseverance rover science teams. Curiosity arrived on Mars in 2012 to investigate whether the planet once had conditions suitable for microbial life. Perseverance, which landed in 2021, is focused on searching for direct signs of ancient life.
"We think we're looking at organic matter that's been preserved on Mars for 3.5 billion years," said Williams, who helped develop the experiment. "It's really useful to have evidence that ancient organic matter is preserved, because that is a way to assess the habitability of an environment. And if we want to search for evidence of life in the form of preserved organic carbon, this demonstrates it's possible."
Williams and an international team published the findings April 21 in the journal Nature Communications.
The experiment identified more than 20 different chemicals. Among them was a nitrogen-containing molecule with a structure similar to compounds involved in building DNA, something never before detected on Mars. The rover also found benzothiophene, a large sulfur-containing molecule with two connected rings, which is commonly delivered to planets by meteorites.
"The same stuff that rained down on Mars from meteorites is what rained down on Earth, and it probably provided the building blocks for life as we know it on our planet," Williams said.
[Continues . . .]
The paper is open access:
"Diverse organic molecules on Mars revealed by the first SAM TMAH experiment" | Nature Communications
QuoteAbstract:
The search for organic matter on Mars has rapidly evolved in the past decade with simple aromatic, S-heterocycles, and aliphatic organic molecules detected in Gale crater. We report the in situ detection of >20 organic molecules from clay-bearing sandstones in the ~3.5-billion-year-old Knockfarrill Hill member of Glen Torridon, Gale crater, by the Sample Analysis at Mars instrument suite onboard the Curiosity rover.
These molecules were liberated by the onboard tetramethylammonium hydroxide wet chemistry experiment. Diverse thermochemolysis products, including benzothiophene, methyl benzoate, and single and dicyclic aromatic molecules were released and detected by evolved gas analysis and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Results indicate the experiment successfully released molecules preserved in ancient macromolecular or free organic matter within Martian bedrock despite ~3.5 billion years of diagenesis and radiation exposure.
#2
Laid Back Lounge / Re: Doesn't fit under any othe...
Last post by Ecurb Noselrub - April 29, 2026, 01:59:29 AMThat was great!
#3
Politics / Re: Duke of Bullshit: "The" Do...
Last post by Recusant - April 28, 2026, 03:51:23 AMThe champion of malevolent ignorance. So much winning.
"Trump Fires Every Member of US National Science Board" | Common Dreams
"Trump Fires Every Member of US National Science Board" | Common Dreams
QuoteUS President Donald Trump on Friday quietly fired every member of the independent board that governs the National Science Foundation, a move seen as an escalation of the administration's destructive war on science.
Members of the National Science Board (NSB) were notified in a brief email "on behalf of President Donald J. Trump" that their "position as a member of the National Science Board is terminated, effective immediately." One fired board member, chemist Willie May, told The New York Times that he was "disappointed" but not "entirely surprised," adding, "I have watched the systematic dismantling of the scientific advisory infrastructure of this government with growing alarm, and the National Science Board is simply the latest casualty."
[. . .]
Alondra Nelson, an academic who resigned from the NSB last May over concerns of political interference, wrote on social media that "history will not look kindly on this administration for many reasons, but the systematic silencing of independent expertise is particularly troubling."
Since the start of his second term, Trump and his deputies have assailed science across the federal government, including by eliminating the Environmental Protection Agency's scientific research arm and firing experts en masse.
[Continues . . .]
#4
Obituaries / Desmond Morris
Last post by zorkan - April 25, 2026, 11:53:38 AMEarlier this week, aged 98.
Zoologist, author, football fan.
I remember the storm when his book The Naked Ape was first published.
Of the 192 species of monkeys and apes, only we have lost nearly all of our hair.
Controversial to some. Revelation to others.
We like to boast we have the biggest brains,.
We incorrectly think that male gorillas have biggest members.
We don't live in concrete jungles we call towns and cities.
More realistically we live in human zoos, and we go back to our cages at night.
We still exhibit the tribal nature and taboos of our ancestors.
When he went to America, Morris was surprised to find that adverts for firearms (the taker of life) were allowed.
Yet no mention of the male member (the giver of life) ever was.
His observations about the game of football (he was a keen watcher of Oxford United) are startling.
They play on a green pitch - the savanna.
The players are the hunters out for the kill in the form of a goal.
The wingers are like the flankers in the hunt.
Teams and fans wear the same tribal colours.
The fans are hunt spectators who go wild when a 'goal' is scored.
The background staff, the manager and directors are the elders of the tribe.
https://news.sky.com/story/zoologist-tv-presenter-and-author-desmond-morris-dies-aged-98-13534173
Zoologist, author, football fan.
I remember the storm when his book The Naked Ape was first published.
Of the 192 species of monkeys and apes, only we have lost nearly all of our hair.
Controversial to some. Revelation to others.
We like to boast we have the biggest brains,.
We incorrectly think that male gorillas have biggest members.
We don't live in concrete jungles we call towns and cities.
More realistically we live in human zoos, and we go back to our cages at night.
We still exhibit the tribal nature and taboos of our ancestors.
When he went to America, Morris was surprised to find that adverts for firearms (the taker of life) were allowed.
Yet no mention of the male member (the giver of life) ever was.
His observations about the game of football (he was a keen watcher of Oxford United) are startling.
They play on a green pitch - the savanna.
The players are the hunters out for the kill in the form of a goal.
The wingers are like the flankers in the hunt.
Teams and fans wear the same tribal colours.
The fans are hunt spectators who go wild when a 'goal' is scored.
The background staff, the manager and directors are the elders of the tribe.
https://news.sky.com/story/zoologist-tv-presenter-and-author-desmond-morris-dies-aged-98-13534173
#5
Science / Re: Not science as such but . ...
Last post by Dark Lightning - April 24, 2026, 10:58:37 AMWe still have discoveries close to home. Given the thin skin of water on this planet, it still never ceases to amaze.
#friggin insomnia
#friggin insomnia
#6
Science / Re: Not science as such but . ...
Last post by Recusant - April 24, 2026, 09:13:14 AMYeah I remember the mysterious golden orb. Cool that they've identified it. Thanks for the link Icarus!
#7
Science / Re: James Webb Space Telescope...
Last post by Dark Lightning - April 23, 2026, 08:54:12 PMOne would expect things to be less expensive and quicker to integrate, given the knowledge base. It's a good thing to see.
#8
Science / Re: James Webb Space Telescope...
Last post by Icarus - April 23, 2026, 08:05:21 PMHere is another telescope that is spectacular in two different ways. One: it sees things that other instruments do not see or analyze, Two;It was developed under budget. The under budget concept is not a familiar one in these times.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/04/eight-months-early-and-under-budget-the-roman-telescope-is-ready-to-launch/?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/04/eight-months-early-and-under-budget-the-roman-telescope-is-ready-to-launch/?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
#9
Science / Re: Not science as such but . ...
Last post by Icarus - April 23, 2026, 07:42:49 PMThe lord works in mysterious ways. He/she/it makes strange critters........
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/golden-orb-identified-alaska-national-oceanic-atmospheric-association/?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/golden-orb-identified-alaska-national-oceanic-atmospheric-association/?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
#10
Science / Re: Neanderthals in the News
Last post by Icarus - April 22, 2026, 03:29:58 AMI suspect that instances of cannibalism may have been more of a survival mechanism than a tendency toward aggressiveness.