Naked Science Forum
Non Life Sciences => Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology => Topic started by: myriam on 20/08/2010 21:48:00
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I really wanna know about that red rain
I heard that it contains some sort of cells !!
do you know anything about it ?
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I thought it was caused by dust from the Sahara.
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I am glad it is not some form of cells
"Desert areas in North Africa are important sources of mineral dust to the atmosphere, which upon deposition can influence oceanic and terrestrial biogeochemical cycles and affect forest productivity. Here, an increase of the frequency of rainfall loaded with such dust (red rain) in the last decades is documented for a site in northeastern Spain. "
That's from an abstract of a academic paper (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V78-3WCYDPT-5&_user=10&_coverDate=04/05/1999&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1437401036&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=ec22a961b6dad01a11a60d8cb05280c0) on the frequency of red rain - I think Geezer is correct.
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Yup - another vote for 'dusty' rain.
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I was thinking about dusty rains too but not after I saw the photos of cells originating from red rains in India
as far as I knows theories are more concerned about a different form of life coming from the space because those Cells do present a form of life but not necessarily have a DNA!!
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Normally red rain is known as Saharan dust, but in this case I think the poster is referring to this:
http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/25699/
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........ 'dusty' rain.
Sounds like a pop star from the 70's. Personally I prefer Dusty Springfield.
I'll go along with the general consensus here, sandy rain
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Normally red rain is known as Saharan dust, but in this case I think the poster is referring to this:
http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/25699/
Thanks for posting that link. I have just read the paper referred to and several items come mind; the dna absence claims have been moved away from, the extraterrestrial claims have been relegated to a possibility, and the whole tenor of the paper is a bit suppositional. On a mundane note - the paper is not yet (I believe) peer-reviewed, is incredibly badly written and presented, but it does has some pretty heavy hitters putting their names to it.
As the lack of dna and astro-origin have been put on back burner it is not quite so interesting - but worth keeping an eye on in case the weird claims re-emerge, and because it's unusual to find hyperthermophiles in rain. I think a lot more work needs to be done, and the lukewarm response to such a hot discovery makes me think that most of the academic establishment will pour cold water on their claims.
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Well, I have seen some pictures of the cells and I would put a few points to it:
1. Even though the extraterrestrial contamination of the atmosphere is a valid hypothesis, I would find it unlikely that those bacteriae would have reproduced so fast in the atmosphere after entry - as to literally "rain" down on us - and not present such a fast reproduction capability in laboratory.
2. We estimate that only about 15% of existing bacteriae are known to man, so the organism may simply be a normal inhabitant of Earth that has tidal bursts of growth.
3. The absence of DNA reminds me of the claim that some "bubbles" of organic matter, much like cells without a DNA, have originated from reproductions of the Urey-Miller experiment (reproduction of the atmospheric and ground conditions of eraly Earth). If that is true, perhaps our "red bubbles" could be the result of high electrical activity over chemicals in the high atmosphere...
Personally, I favor the "tidal burst" hypothesis... our industry, even though vital to us, undoubtly messes with the environment and it would not be the first time pollution (or even natural conditions) create a "wave of growth" of some type of micro organism (such as the "red tide").
Cheers!
Julio
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Don't believe it :)
But I loved the angry discussions about why Einstein and all physicists was 'mentally ill physicists' that 'will listen to anything which uses relativistic mechanics.' Didn't really follow where the bifurcation came to be, from those 'alien cells' to that in the comments at Red cells (http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/25699/) But I recommend a read there, highly titillating, although making the whole idea slightly 'discussable' considering the views presented in the comments.
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Don't believe it :)
But I loved the angry discussions about why Einstein and all physicists was 'mentally ill physicists' that 'will listen to anything which uses relativistic mechanics.' Didn't really follow where the bifurcation came to be, from those 'alien cells' to that in the comments at Red cells (http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/25699/) But I recommend a read there, highly titillating, although making the whole idea slightly 'discussable' considering the views presented in the comments.
you'r saying Einstein and all physicists was 'mentally ill physicists' !!?!!!! I would please have a link or something to read about it. thx
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I don't care where it came from, how are cells splitting, or mothering, without an instruction set?
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Could it have to do with their redness?
Like those well-known telepathic red bubbles of pure goodness called ah, Martians?
Marsbars?
And Myriam, it's in the comment-section of my link.
But yeah, where are the code for them?