The Daily Galaxy --Great Discoveries Channel: Sci, Space, Tech

Did the Universe Begin with a Big Bang or Big Chill? "It Was More Like Water Freezing into Ice" Says New Theory

 

          

 

The start of the Universe should be modeled not as a Big Bang but more like water freezing into ice, according to a team of theoretical physicists at the University of Melbourne and RMIT University that could our revolutionized our understanding of the nature of the Universe. The key, they propose, is to be found in the cracks and crevices common to all crystals.

Ignoring 500 Billion Galaxies: Mathematics vs Common Sense in the Debate About the Probability of Extraterrestrial Life

 

          

  
Carl Sagan said that "extraordinary claims, require extraordinary evidence." In a stunning display of mathematical logic vs common sense, David Spiegel of Princeton University and Edwin Turner from the University of Tokyo published a paper last summer that turns the Drake equation upside down using Bayesian reasoning to show that just because we evolved on Earth, doesn’t mean that the same occurrence would necessarily happen elsewhere; "using evidence of our own existence doesn’t show anything" they argue, "other than that we are here."

'Junk DNA' Defines Differences Between Humans and Primates

Scientists believed for years that the vast phenotypic differences between humans and chimpanzees would display significantly different genetic makeups. However, when their genomes were later sequenced, researchers were surprised to learn that the DNA sequences of human and chimpanzee genes are nearly identical.

In molecular biology, "junk" DNA is a collective label for the portions of the DNA sequence of a chromosome or a genome for which no function has yet been identified. About 98.5% of the human genome has been designated as "junk", including most sequences within introns and most intergenic DNA.

While much of this sequence is probably an evolutionary artifact that serves no present-day purpose, some may function in ways that are not currently understood. In fact, recent studies have suggested functions for certain portions of what has been called junk DNA. Moreover, the conservation of some "junk" DNA over many millions of years of evolution may imply an essential function. The "junk" label is therefore recognized as something of a misnomer, and many prefer the more neutral term "noncoding DNA."

Carbon -A Foundation for Life on Earth- Found Prevelant in Early Universe

A research team of astronomers, mainly from Ehime University and Kyoto University in Japan, has successfully detected a carbon emission line (CIVλ1549) in the most distant radio galaxy known so far in the early universe.

Using the Faint Object Camera and Spectrograph (FOCAS) on the Subaru Telescope, the team observed the radio galaxy TN J0924-2201, which is 12.5 billion light years away, and was able to measure its chemical composition for the first time. Their investigation of the detected carbon line showed that a significant amount of carbon existed as early as 12.5 billion years ago, less than a billion years after the Big Bang.

This important finding contributes to our understanding of the chemical evolution of the universe and may provide clues about the chemical nature of humans, who are composed of various elements such as carbon and oxygen.

Our universe began with the Big Bang, about 13.7 billion years ago. Hydrogen and helium were the only elements in this newly created universe. If these were the only elements, when and how did other elements, the so-called "metals" heavier than hydrogen and helium, originate?

Beyond Stephen Hawking: "Supermassive Black Holes Could Have Regions Where Life and Planets Exist"

The inner workings of supermassive black holes may be less hostile than we realize, possibly with stable regions where life and even planets could exist, according to Russian cosmologist Vyacheslav Dokuchaev at Moscow's Institute for Nuclear Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Charged and rotating black holes have a complex internal structure that allow photons and particles of much greater magnitude to safely orbit the central singularity.

The Milky Way Has Two Billion Earthlike Planets: How Many Will Prove to be Twin Earths?

"Aliens could have been pointing their antennas at Earth for 4.6 billion years, without picking up a signal. Maybe the inhabitants [of a Twin Earth] are at the level of the classical Romans ... or maybe trilobites. We need to check out hundreds of thousands of Earthlike worlds."

Dimitar Sasselov -- Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

MySpace Creates "Artist on Artist" Video Series

MySpace.com has announced the launch of a new profile community for the site's "Artist-On-Artist" series, featuring exclusive video clips acclaimed artists interviewing other cultural icons, actors, athletes, filmmakers, musicians, and other artists. Check out the premier interview with comedian Katt Williams.

Artist on Artist Video

Did the Universe Begin with a Big Bang or Big Chill? "It Was More Like Water Freezing into Ice" Says New Theory

 

          

 

The start of the Universe should be modeled not as a Big Bang but more like water freezing into ice, according to a team of theoretical physicists at the University of Melbourne and RMIT University that could our revolutionized our understanding of the nature of the Universe. The key, they propose, is to be found in the cracks and crevices common to all crystals.

Ignoring 500 Billion Galaxies: Mathematics vs Common Sense in the Debate About the Probability of Extraterrestrial Life

 

          

  
Carl Sagan said that "extraordinary claims, require extraordinary evidence." In a stunning display of mathematical logic vs common sense, David Spiegel of Princeton University and Edwin Turner from the University of Tokyo published a paper last summer that turns the Drake equation upside down using Bayesian reasoning to show that just because we evolved on Earth, doesn’t mean that the same occurrence would necessarily happen elsewhere; "using evidence of our own existence doesn’t show anything" they argue, "other than that we are here."

'Junk DNA' Defines Differences Between Humans and Primates

Scientists believed for years that the vast phenotypic differences between humans and chimpanzees would display significantly different genetic makeups. However, when their genomes were later sequenced, researchers were surprised to learn that the DNA sequences of human and chimpanzee genes are nearly identical.

In molecular biology, "junk" DNA is a collective label for the portions of the DNA sequence of a chromosome or a genome for which no function has yet been identified. About 98.5% of the human genome has been designated as "junk", including most sequences within introns and most intergenic DNA.

While much of this sequence is probably an evolutionary artifact that serves no present-day purpose, some may function in ways that are not currently understood. In fact, recent studies have suggested functions for certain portions of what has been called junk DNA. Moreover, the conservation of some "junk" DNA over many millions of years of evolution may imply an essential function. The "junk" label is therefore recognized as something of a misnomer, and many prefer the more neutral term "noncoding DNA."

Carbon -A Foundation for Life on Earth- Found Prevelant in Early Universe

A research team of astronomers, mainly from Ehime University and Kyoto University in Japan, has successfully detected a carbon emission line (CIVλ1549) in the most distant radio galaxy known so far in the early universe.

Using the Faint Object Camera and Spectrograph (FOCAS) on the Subaru Telescope, the team observed the radio galaxy TN J0924-2201, which is 12.5 billion light years away, and was able to measure its chemical composition for the first time. Their investigation of the detected carbon line showed that a significant amount of carbon existed as early as 12.5 billion years ago, less than a billion years after the Big Bang.

This important finding contributes to our understanding of the chemical evolution of the universe and may provide clues about the chemical nature of humans, who are composed of various elements such as carbon and oxygen.

Our universe began with the Big Bang, about 13.7 billion years ago. Hydrogen and helium were the only elements in this newly created universe. If these were the only elements, when and how did other elements, the so-called "metals" heavier than hydrogen and helium, originate?

Beyond Stephen Hawking: "Supermassive Black Holes Could Have Regions Where Life and Planets Exist"

The inner workings of supermassive black holes may be less hostile than we realize, possibly with stable regions where life and even planets could exist, according to Russian cosmologist Vyacheslav Dokuchaev at Moscow's Institute for Nuclear Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Charged and rotating black holes have a complex internal structure that allow photons and particles of much greater magnitude to safely orbit the central singularity.

The Milky Way Has Two Billion Earthlike Planets: How Many Will Prove to be Twin Earths?

"Aliens could have been pointing their antennas at Earth for 4.6 billion years, without picking up a signal. Maybe the inhabitants [of a Twin Earth] are at the level of the classical Romans ... or maybe trilobites. We need to check out hundreds of thousands of Earthlike worlds."

Dimitar Sasselov -- Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

MySpace Creates "Artist on Artist" Video Series

MySpace.com has announced the launch of a new profile community for the site's "Artist-On-Artist" series, featuring exclusive video clips acclaimed artists interviewing other cultural icons, actors, athletes, filmmakers, musicians, and other artists. Check out the premier interview with comedian Katt Williams.

Artist on Artist Video