Biodiversity on Some Alien Planets May Dwarf That of Earth

Kepler-62f. Image courtesy of NASA/Ames/JPL-Caltech.



Joel Kontinen

It seems that we don't have optimum ocean-circulation patterns on Earth.

"Earth's dazzling biodiversity may not be so remarkable in the cosmic scheme of things, a new study suggests.

Alien planets with more favourable ocean-circulation patterns might support life in even greater abundance and variety than our own world does, the study determined.

"Life in Earth's oceans depends on upwelling (upward flow), which returns nutrients from the dark depths of the ocean to the sunlit portions of the ocean where photosynthetic life lives," study leader Stephanie Olson, of the University of Chicago, said in a statement."

However, we do not know the state of affair on exoplanets. We do not know, for instance, if a planet's contains phosphorus, without which which we would not have RNA , DNA, and our ATP, and thus we would not have life. And also if it contains all ingredients that make life necessary.



Source:

Wall, Mike. Biodiversity on Some Alien Planets May Dwarf That of Earth. Space.com. (23.8.).

Where Did We Get Our Phosphorus?

Image courtesy of Lorrie Graham/AusAID, CC BY 2.0.



Joel Kontinen


Phosphorus (P) is one of our planet’s general chemical elements. Without it we would not have RNA , DNA and our ATP, and thus we would not have life.

“’Phosphorus is one of the key elements in biology.’ says Matthew Pasek, an astrobiologist and geochemist at the University of South Florida.”

Now, Pasek, is on a search for who we got our phosphorus in the beginning. “Unlike the other elements essential for life, phosphorus is mainly found in solid form, whereas the likes of hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen are often found as a gas.“ [Studying phosphorus] keeps us grounded in actual hard rock samples. Unlike the others, there is no obvious gas form, so has to come from rock sources,” Pasek says.

Meteorites also contain phosphorus. In Pasek’s thinking, published in the journal Icarus, “found that most phosphorus should be in a solid form everywhere in the Solar System, out to about Saturn.”

Mikhail Zolotov, thinks that Pasek’s work ok, but “it is contentious that gas movement toward the Sun, which was not modeled in the paper, could be faster than the diffusion of gas away from the Sun.”

Source:

Wild, Sarah , 2018. How Phosphorus Came in From the Cold. Astrobiology Magazine (September 6).

A tiny motor that never gets tired

Joel Kontinen

Even when we sleep, our cells do not rest. Recently, Physorg.com reported on a discovery that features a tiny nano motor that produces ATP or adenosine triphosphate.

ATP has a vital task in energy production in cells. We might compare it to petrol (or gas, if you prefer) that a car needs. Our cells need adenosine triphosphate in order to function.

According to Physorg,

”ATP synthases are among the most abundant and important proteins in living cells. These rotating nano-machines produce the central chemical form of cellular energy currency, ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which is used to meet the energy needs of cells. For example, human adults synthesize up to 75 kg of ATP each day under resting conditions and need a lot more to keep pace with energy needs during strenuous exercise or work. The turbine of the ATP synthase is the rotor element, called the c-ring. This ring is 63 A in diameter (6.3 nm, or 6.3 millionths of a millimeter) and completes over 500 rotations per second during ATP production.”

The speed is really incredible. The tiny rotor completes 5,000 rotations in the time the world’s fastest man runs 100 metres.

Recently Thomas Meier of Max-Planck Institute and colleagues found out that cells use the water in nano rotors in converting power to a form that it can use more easily.

ATP synthesis speaks clearly of intelligent design. Already the first cell needed it. It can in no way have evolved through random processes.




Source:

Cells use water in nano-rotors to power energy conversion. Physorg. com. 3 August 2010. http://www.physorg.com/news200047448.html