Biological Activity on Mars

visination.com writes "Recent ground based observations of Mars have confirmed the presence of water and methane. The 300 year life time of methane on Mars is short, giving scientists reason to beleive that Mars may be biologically active." From the article: "Every one of these longitudes shows a very substantial enhancement in the equatorial zone...So this is a very intense source of methane on Mars in this region. It also requires a very rapid decay of methane...more rapid than photochemistry would allow..."

Comments

Terraforming

[Colin Smith]

You know this eliminates the possibility of terraforming Mars, don't you. We'll have "Save the microbe" campaigns every time a mission is sent there.

Re:Terraforming

[slittle]

AIUI, terraforming would take centuries (alien pyramids notwithstanding), so there's no huge rush, and we're going to have to build airtight structures to start with anyway.

Re:Terraforming

[SubtleNuance]

yes, because debating the intrinsic value of nature -- and life itself -- is something to be offhandedly dismissed.

right?

Re:Just Curious

[0racle]

Why would it. Depending on what you believe, it was either written by some primitive people or given to people on this planet relating to things on this planet.

That said, no, finding life on other planets would also not mean there is no God or that the bible is false. The ramifications for reasonable people would be very little, but there are plenty of nutcases, religious people and athiests, that will tell you otherwise.

Re:Just Curious

[TripMaster Monkey]

Actually, in all seriousness, here's a quote from the Bible:

"Now as I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel upon the earth beside the living creatures one for each of the four of them. As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction, their appearance was like the gleaming of a chrysolite, and the four had the same likeness being as it were a wheel within a wheel. The four wheels had rims and they had spokes, and their rims were full of eyes round about. And when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them and when the living creatures went, the wheels went with them, for the living creature was in the wheel".
- Ezekiel, chapter 1, Versus 15 thru 21.

Sound like a close encounter to you?

Re:Just Curious

[toygeek]

Actually that was a vision by the prophet Ezekiel, it was not a literal physical interaction.

Re:Just Curious

[UnrefinedLayman]

The Bible, while not a scientific document (and it does not intend to be one) does hold some VERY accurate, simple scientific truths. While his contemporaries believed the world to be flat (along with science at the time), the prophet Isaiah spoke of "the circle of the earth". Another scripture speaks of the Earth hanging by nothing, which is accurate.

Don't confuse one correct statement out of thousands of proclamations with the scientific process.

Galileo learned what he did through study and could prove it. Isaiah speaking of the "circle of the earth" and scripture saying the earth hangs by nothing hold no more "simple scientific truth" than a missive from Nostradamus.

The ideas presented are not science. No matter how you look at it, we cannot assume that scientific process was used to come to those conclusions--they're statements without the all important thing called proof. Faith is not proof.

Besides, we all know it's turtles all the way down.

Re:Late-breaking news:

[01000011011101000111]

I would post a list of anti-democratic and self serving actions by the US over the last 100 yrs, but it'd be trolling and would also upset me (I do actually admire the ideals America was built on); anyone who wants to can google the facts for themself... I *wish* people would start admitting the faults in their own countries :'( I'm british, and i can admit we've done some really crappy stuff in the past (appeasment, Colonizing america/australia, colonialism, various european wars, selling arms to "Bad People" - just for starters) - i think this is reason for the general low opinion of the US globally - they just won't admit they make mistakes :(
Mod this however you want - flamebait even - I'm depressed at the death of idealism now... bloody secret polic^H^H^H^H^Hservices :(

Re:Just Curious

[RichardX]

You're asking questions about accuracy of details in the Bible. A document which asserts the earth is flat, at the centre of the universe, and rests on pillars, that the mustard seed is the smallest seed, that hares and coneys chew the cud, that giants and unicorns are real, that bats are birds, that stars are small objects which can fall fromt the sky and be stamped upon, that.. well.. you get the idea. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Re:Late-breaking news:

[Paua Fritter]

For the sake of argument I will agree that the reasons used to persuade the world we needed to invade Iraq turned out be flawed.

Perhaps "reasons used to try to persuade the world" ... because let's face it, the world was not persuaded. Actually the reasons were really only good for domestic consumption.

However we have already invaded Afganistan, and I belive most people would say that was justified, so our strike rate is already 50%, and would go to 66%. If you disagree, than the strike rate would be 33%. If we have invaded another country, please advise and I will stand corrected.

LOL! How many countries has the US invaded?!!

For over a hundred years the US has been invading countries all over the world, from Mexico, to Russia, to Nicaragua, to Vietnam... must have been literally dozens of places, even if you leave the World Wars out of it. Bogus justifications (e.g. the Gulf of Tonkin "incident") are the rule rather than the exception.

But if you're talking about invasions in the last few years then you'll have to include Haiti, supposedly invaded to bring peace and respect for human rights to that troubled country ... starting by kidnapping the democratically elected president and sending him to Africa. I don't think that one does the US "strike rate" any good either.