Evolution, Methane, Jobs, Food and More

Posted on January 17, 2009  Comments (2)

photo of sunset on Mars
Photo from May 2005 by NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Spirit as the Sun sank below the rim of Gusev crater on Mars.

Science Friday is a great National Public Radio show. The week was a great show covering Antimicrobial Copper, Top Jobs for Math and Science, Human-Driven Evolution, Methane On Mars, Fish with Mercury and more. This show, in particular did a great job of showing the scientific inquiry process in action.

“Fishing regulations often prescribe the taking of larger fish, and the same often applies to hunting regulations,” said Chris Darimont, one of the authors of the study. “Hunters are instructed not to take smaller animals or those with smaller horns. This is counter to patterns of natural predation, and now we’re seeing the consequences of this management.” Darimont and colleagues found that human predation accelerated the rate of observable trait changes in a species by 300 percent above the pace observed within purely natural systems, and 50 percent above that of systems subject to other human influences, such as pollution

Very interesting stuff, listen for more details. A part of what happens is those individuals that chose to focus on reproducing early (instead of investing in growing larger, to reproduce later) are those that are favored (they gain advantage) by the conditions of human activity. I am amazed how quickly the scientists says the changes in populations are taking place.

And Methane On Mars is another potentially amazing discovery. While it is far from providing proof of live on Mars it is possibly evidence of life on Mars. Which would then be looked back on as one of the most important scientific discoveries ever. And in any even the podcast is a great overview of scientists in action.

This week astronomers reported finding an unexpected gas — methane — in the Martian atmosphere. On Earth, a major source of methane is biological activity. However, planetary scientists aren’t ready to say that life on Mars is to blame for the presence of the gas there, as geochemical processes could also account for the finding. The find is intriguing especially because the researchers say they have detected seasonal variations of methane emissions over specific locations on the planet.

Martian Methane Reveals the Red Planet is not a Dead Planet
The Mars Methane Mystery: Aliens At Last?

Related: Mars Rover Continues Exploration – Copper Doorknobs and Faucets Kill 95% of Superbugs – Viruses and What is Life – posts on evolution – Science and Engineering Link Directory

2 Responses to “Evolution, Methane, Jobs, Food and More”

  1. Anonymous
    January 18th, 2009 @ 6:41 am

    Lots of plantets, such as Neptune and Uranus, have Methane. Why is Methane on Mard considered a sign of life, when it is not considered a sign of life on other planets?

  2. Curious Cat Science and Engineering Blog » Neil Degrasse Tyson: Scientifically Literate See a Different World
    September 22nd, 2009 @ 11:20 pm

    […] Know How Long it Takes the Earth to Circle the Sun – posts on scientific literacy – Evolution, Methane, Jobs, Food and More – Astronaut self portrait – Cosmology Questions Answered – Sarah, aged 3, Learns […]

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