Beijing dismissed as “ridiculous” a Harvard Medical School study of hospital traffic and search engine data that suggested the new coronavirus may already have been spreading in China last August, and scientists said it offered no convincing evidence of when the outbreak began. From a report: The research, which has not been peer-reviewed by other scientists, used satellite imagery of hospital…
Tag: emergence
Ancient asteroid impacts created the ingredients of life on Earth and Mars
A new study published in Scientific Reports reveals that asteroid impact sites in the ocean may possess a crucial link in explaining the formation of the essential molecules for life. The researchers discovered the emergence of amino acids that serve as the building blocks for proteins—demonstrating the role of meteorites in bringing life’s molecules to Earth, and potentially Mars. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-06-ancient-asteroid-impacts-ingredients-life.html…
Did galactic crash trigger solar system formation?
The formation of the sun, the solar system and the subsequent emergence of life on Earth may be a consequence of a collision between our galaxy – the Milky Way – and a smaller galaxy called Sagittarius. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/galactic-crash-milky-way-sagittarius-trigger-solar-system-formation…
An astronomer calculated that Earth’s intelligent life is probably ‘rare.’ Here’s what that means
A new paper used an advanced “Bayesian” model to show that the emergence of intelligent life on Earth was probably a lucky break. Source: https://www.livescience.com/intelligent-life-rare-or-common-on-Earth.html
Galactic crash may have triggered solar system formation
The formation of the Sun, the Solar System and the subsequent emergence of life on Earth may be a consequence of a collision between our galaxy, the Milky Way, and a smaller galaxy called Sagittarius, discovered in the 1990s to be orbiting our galactic home. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-05-galactic-triggered-solar-formation.html…
A famous Mars meteorite, now with nitrogen
For the first time, nitrogen-containing organic molecules have been discovered in a Martian meteorite. The famous meteorite – Allan Hills 84001 – was picked up in Antarctica in 1984. The discovery provides more clues about habitable conditions on early Mars. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/mars-meteorite-alh-84001-1st-discovery-fixed-nitrogen…
What are zoonotic diseases and what can we do about them?
Infectious diseases that leap from animals to humans are called zoonotic diseases. Covid-19 is an example of a zoonotic disease caused by a coronavirus. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/what-are-zoonotic-diseases-coronavirus-covid19…
Today is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day
Today is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, which catalyzed action to protect the environment, not just in the US but internationally. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/first-earth-day-50th-anniversary-april22-2020…
Stephen Wolfram Presents a Path to The Fundamental Theory of Physics
New submitter wattersa writes: Mathematician/Physicist Stephen Wolfram, founder of Wolfram Research and creator of the technical computation program Mathematica, has announced a discovery in the area of theoretical physics. His long-form blog post discusses the emergence of physical properties of our universe from what he describes as simple, universal, computable rules. He claims the emergent properties are consistent with relativity and…
Trump Threatens To Withhold Funding For World Health Organization
What better way to celebrate World Health Day than by threatening to withhold funding for the World Health Organization. That’s exactly what President Trump said he was considering today at Tuesday’s coronavirus press briefing. The New York Times reports: “We’re going to put a hold on money spent to the W.H.O.; we’re going to put a very powerful hold on it…