Slashdot Mirror
New Theory Links Biodiversity to the Stars
eldavojohn writes "Space.com's Mystery Monday has an article proposing a hypothesis that our solar system's undulations directly affects biodiversity on earth through cosmic-ray exposure. There's data that, through the fossil record, shows us earth's biodiversity peaking again and again until a great cataclysmic period where it is greatly reduced. The theory essentially suggests that this 62 million year cycle can be attributed to how our solar system moves within the milky way galaxy which turns out to be a 64 million year cycle. It's a plausible explanation though very tough to prove, hopefully we don't have to wait around 64 million years to draw a conclusion on this hypothesis."
Dunno... you know, there are days when I look at MySpace and think, "today would be a good day for a cataclysm".
If sheeple aren't in the cycle, how do we get them in?
When I saw "link[ed] to the stars" and "millions of years ago" I was hoping scientists confirmed that HP Lovecraft was right..
How dare you, sir! It's clearly mankind that is causing global warming, and the only way to get rid of it is if people pay higher taxes to make up for their pure evil. It's not liberalism--it's a "consensus!" Al Gore knows all.
"Sufferin' succotash."
Why buy a hybrid for $15k that gets 50-60 MPG and needs $10k in new batteries every ten years when you can buy a 10-year-old economy gas or diesel car for $1k that gets 40-50 MPG? Yes, I drive a 1994 Geo Metro. I get 45/49 MPG on nothing but gas. I paid $1300 for it a couple of years ago. My alternative at the time was a diesel VW Rabbit, which gets similar mileage but is harder to maintain. My next car will be the Laremo, I hope. 157 MPG FTW.
You don't need to worry about it. You can wait until the Rapture, and then the proof of the existence of Jesus will be clear, so you can believe. There's going to be 7 years of Tribulation after the Rapture, but that's really no big deal if you've got proof of Jesus, if you think about it.
Millions of people will probably die in the Tribulaton, and you're likely to be one of them. Be a hero and always try save others without regard for your own life. God loves that, plus it just about guarantees a violent and quick death. A head shot maybe. If you know that Jesus is real, then that's really nothing at all compared to the eternal bliss of heaven. Fundies like to hold up the Rapture as something truly awful, but really, it's no different than getting to heaven any other way, plus you have actual proof of Jesus because the Rapture can't be covered up.
Fascism trolls keeping me up every night. When I starts a preachin', he HITS ME WITH HIS REICH!
"We are due for a mass extinction,..."
your use or the word 'Due' indicates you don't understand what the hell is going on.
The most simplistic definition:
On averages x has happenned every y years. That doesn't mean the x is 'due' to happen again. That this is a probalistic chance it may occure.
OTOH, maybe every 63 million years a sentient life blooms up and spreads destructivly around the globe taking more resources then it puts back.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
The problem I see, however, is that the end-Permian event is too sudden to be explained by this process. The end-Permian extinction, which wiped out about 95% of all marine genera, is thought to have occurred in under 200,000 years. However, if the Earth slowly traveled into a region of increased cosmic rays, you should see a gradual decline in diversity, not a catastrophic, near-total collapse of the ecosystem, which is what actually happens at the Permo-Triassic boundary. The end-Permian extinction isn't a "fluctuation", it's the near-annihilation of complex life. And given that water does a reasonable job of stopping cosmic rays and other forms of radiation, why would the marine ecosystem be expected to show such a dramatic decline?
You probably didn't RTFA... Its point is exactly that those fenomena may not happen by chance, but be strictly periodic.
Rethinking email