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The Crowded Universe: The Search for Living Planets

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By Alan Boss

Web edition: May 8, 2009
Print edition: May 23, 2009; Vol.175 #11 (p. 35)

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The Crowded Universe: The Search for Living Planets by Alan Boss

A renowned astronomer details, by day, the history of planet hunting, and argues that alien life is common and will soon be found.

Basic Books, 2009, 227 p., $26.

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  • Cosmic Energy And Mass Evolutions

    As mass is just another face of energy it is commonsensible to regard not only life, but mass in general, as a format of temporarily constrained energy.

    It therefore ensues that whereas the expanding cosmic constructs, the galaxies clusters, are - overall - continuously converting "their" original pre-inflation mass back to energy, the overall evolution WITHIN them, within the clusters, is in the opposite direction, temporarily constrained energy packages such as black holes and biospheres and other energy-storing mass-formats are precariuosly forming and "doing best" to survive as long as "possible"...


    Dov Henis
    (Comments From The 22nd Century)
    Life's Manifest
    [Link was removed] #578
    Dov Henis Dov Henis
    May. 10, 2009 at 3:22pm
  • Updated Life's Manifest May 2009

    Recapitulation of some earlier notes on the
    Scientific Comprehension Of The Origin, Drive, Nature And Purpose Of Life


    A. Uniqueness Of science among human artifacts

    ALL aspects of our culture are, of course, anthropoartifacts, including science. Yet among those artifacts science has a distinct uniqueness for us.

    During the recent several centuries in the course of human history humans have been developing science at an accelerating rate as a provider of convincing, ever closer approaching, approximate models of the real world.


    B. Origin and nature of life

    Astronomically there are two "physics", a "classical physics" system of and between galactic clusters, and a "quantum physics" system WITHIN the galactic clusters.

    The onset of big-bang's inflation started gravity, followed by formation of galactic clusters that behave as Newtonian bodies while continuously reconverting their shares of pre-inflation masses back to energy, and of endless intertwined evolutions WITHIN the clusters in attempts to resist this reconversion.

    As mass is just another face of energy it is commonsensible to regard not only life, but mass in general, as a format of temporarily constrained energy.

    It therefore ensues that whereas the in-space expanding cosmic constructs, the galaxies clusters, are - overall - continuously converting their original pre-inflation mass back to energy, the overall evolution WITHIN them, within the clusters, is in the opposite direction, temporarily constrained energy packages such as black holes and biospheres and other energy-storing mass-formats are precariuosly forming and "doing best" to survive as long as "possible"...


    C. The drive and nature of Earth life

    Earth life Genesis, formation of the first genes, was a phenomenon of serendipitous occurrence, in a supportive environment, of 'favourably-coursed' energy potential between in-coming sun's radiation and polymerizing-precipitating RNA-related oligomeric configuration.

    The drive of Earth life and of its evolution is to enhance the functionality and survivability of Earth's genes, in order to maintain and enhance Earth-biosphere's temporary constrained energy storage and to maintain the biosphere BIO as long as possible.

    It is the genes, life's prime strata organisms, that evolve, and the evolution of genomes, the 2nd stratum of life, and of the 3rd life stratum cellular organisms, is an interenhancing consequence of their genes' evolution.


    D. The formation of Earth life

    Earth Life: 1. a format of temporarily constrained energy, retained in temporary constrained genetic energy packages in forms of genes, genomes and organisms 2. a real virtual affair that pops in and out of existence in its matrix, which is the energy constrained in Earth's biosphere.

    Earth organism: a temporary self-replicable constrained-energy genetic system that supports and maintains Earth's biosphere by proliferating and maintenance of genes.

    Gene: the primal Earth's organism. (1st stratum organism)

    Genome: a multigenes organism consisting of a cooperative commune of its member genes. (2nd stratum organism)

    Cellular organisms: mono- or multi-celled Earth organisms. (3rd stratum organism)


    E. Update of underlying life sciences conception is thus feasible

    - First were independent individual genes, Earth's primal organisms.

    - Genes aggregated cooperatively into genomes, multigenes organisms, with genomes' organs.

    - Simultaneously or consequently genomes evolved protective-functional membranes, organs.

    - Then followed cellular organisms, with a variety of outer-cell membrane shapes and
    functionalities.

    This conception is a scientific, NOT TECHNICAL, life-science innovation.

    It is tomorrow's comprehension of life and of its evolution.

    IT IS FRAUGHT WITH INTRIGUING DARWINIAN EVOLUTION IMPLICATIONS.

    IT IS FRAUGHT WITH INTRIGUING TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS POTENTIALS.


    F. The purpose of OUR, human, life

    The purpose of OUR life and of its promotion is ours to formulate and set. It derives solely from our cognition.


    Suggesting,

    Dov Henis
    (Comments from 22nd century)

    [Link was removed]
    Dov Henis Dov Henis
    May. 18, 2009 at 3:34pm
  • I didn't see another possible source for the oxidation of iron in ancient seas - UV dissociation of water in the atmosphere. This is a process that supposedly robs Mars of it's atmospheric water. Is it a possibility here too? Before there was significant oxygen in the atmosphere, there would be no ozone layer to prevent UV light from reaching the surface.
    [Link was removed]
    [Link was removed] and [Link was removed] cinsel sohbet
    webalem net webalem net
    Dec. 19, 2009 at 3:05pm
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