NASA Announcement on 2nd December, 2010

[Milanista]

NASA To Make Big Announcement Thursday 12/2/2010

NASA announces a news conference to discuss an astrobiology discovery on Thursday, December 2nd at 2:00pm.
A NASA press release claims that the NASA discussion will involve an “astrobiology finding that will impact the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life. Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution and future of life in the universe.”
The news conference will be held at the NASA Headquarters in Washington and will be broadcast on NASA Television and on the agency’s website at www.nasa.gov.
Conference participants will include Mary Voytek, director of Astrobiology Program at NASA Headquarters, Felisa Wolfe-Simon a NASA astrobiology research fellow from U.S. Geological Survey, Pamela Conrad an astrobiologist from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Steven Benner a distinguished fellow from Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution and James Elser a professor from Arizona State University.

Source: http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2010/nov/HQ_M10-167_Astrobiology.html

I'm pretty excited and hope to stream it from their website.

 

[Radiation]

Interesting.

 

[sauce]

Interesting?

Spoiler

ITS MOTHEREFFIN ALIENS!!! I'm scared.

 

[Radiation]

They've probably just found some moss or fungi on some moon or something.

 

[jaygrim]

I found some on mine.

 

[Radiation]

Announcement has been leaked by Wikileaks... it's pretty shocking!

Spoiler

 

[sauce]

Yo so what happened?

Can we fear for tomorrow?

 

[Lami]

Forget about it. It's a big lie no matter what they say.

"Yes, let's create this myth, install fear into them, and gain control of all sheeple"

 

[mjsmith2k]

Very cynical and conspiratorial of you Lami...







I agree though, like most stories in the media

 

[Jumbo_]

Whatever it was cant have been that interesting cos I've heard nothing on the news etc.

 

[pboreham]

Your right, it wasnt.

Basically scientists have discovered that a form of life (on Earth) can survive without phosphorus (spelling?! LOL) - one of the key chemicals that was previously thought that ALL life need to survive.

This new species uses arsenic in place of phosphorus. It actually absorbs the arsenic - whereas the amount it absorbs would kill anything else previously known to scientists.

Basically means two things - one, life on earth as we knew it may not have been the only life force to have survived on this planet and that there could have been other life on Earth long before anyone had ever estimated.

Also, the impact on NASA is that it means that it proves that there could be life out in other planets made up of different DNA (or something) than our species on Earth.

Too be honest, I thought that last part was a given! I'd very much doubt any Alien life would be based on the exact same make up as creatures on Earth.

So I dunno... bit of a 'non-story' really unless you are really into your science. As a bit of a layman (with a passing interest in all things paranormal!) it isnt exactly ground breaking in terms of 'Aliens' as like I said, surely it was obvious that not all life in the universe is going to be structured and exist using the same chemicals etc.

We are safe from the rice birds for now.