10 Earth Science Questions for the 21st Century
Mar 15 at 5:05pm by Aileen
The National Research Council has identified and reported on Ten Questions that will shape 21st century earth science. Some may be a little surprised that these questions are still unanswered, having been told in no uncertain terms in science classes in the last century that science already had definitive answers to questions like how the earth and other planets in our solar system formed. Live and learn. Here’s a bare list of the identified questions…
1. How did earth and other planets form?
Scientists still do not know enough about how our planet got its elements to understand its evolution, or why other planets in our system are very different.
2. What happened during the first 500 million years?
Current scientific belief is that another planet collided with ours during the late formation stage, creating the moon and melting this planet all the way to its core. Yet unknown is how (and when) the Earth developed its atmosphere and oceans.
3. How did life begin?
Scientists hope to obtain evidence from rocks and minerals, as well as investigations of Mars and other members of our system.
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Origin of Life: Outer Space?
Aug 17 at 9:09am by Aileen
The debates have been raging for years. Scientists square off and argue with each other about what is most likely to be true, and those of us on the sidelines have picked favorites and made our bets.
How – and where – did life originate? Are we alone in the universe? And if not, where are our brothers and sisters? Two recent reports have added some new evidence and analysis to the debates.
In the article, Physicists Discover Inorganic Dust With Lifelike Qualities, researchers report that particles of inorganic dust in plasmas can self-organize into helical structures in the electronically charged environment, resulting in microscopic strings of particles that assume the characteristic corkscrew shape of organic molecules like DNA and even “reproduce” – bifurcate to produce two copies of the original structure. According to computer models, these structures also evolve into more complex structures, and experience a form of natural selection so that only the ‘fittest’ structures survive.
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